My body ached, but it was the good kind of ache. The kind that happened when you spent a week doing demo and then rebuilding. The kind from manual labor, working side by side with good men, and seeing your project come to fruition.

Tomorrow would be the big reveal and final taping of Fix it Up, followed by the wrap party. I would be sad for the project to be over, because it had been a great experience, but, luckily, some of the guys were coming back in a few weeks for the viewing party.

So at least we’d get the chance to see each other again and knock back a couple of beers while we watched our episode air.

I’d come home after working twelve hours, showered, then gathered up the present I’d bought and walked around the block to Reardon’s place. He’d brought Chloe and the baby home from the hospital a couple days ago, and he’d said I could stop by that night to drop off my gift and see the little guy.

I’d never been around kids much, but I liked them, although at this stage they were usually kind of freaky looking, with their wrinkled skin and hairless bodies.

I told myself I’d say the kid was cute, no matter what it actually looked like. I didn’t want to piss Rear off or hurt Chloe’s feelings.

I walked up to their door, knocked, and waited, enjoying the slightly cool weather and darkening sky.

“Hey, Jed, good to see you,” Reardon said with a grin when he opened the door, then he looked down at the oversized bag I was carrying and asked, “What’d you do, buy out the store?”

I shrugged and held the bag out to him.

“I wasn’t sure what to get, so I got a bit of everything.”

Reardon chuckled and said, “You didn’t have to do that, a card would’ve worked. Come on in, they’re in the living room.”

I followed him into the house. When we got to the living room, it looked like they’d basically moved downstairs. There was a basinet, baskets of clothes, and the couch was folded out to a bed. Although, right then, the bed was made and Chloe was bending over it, changing the baby, who was laying on top of a blanket.

“Who smells good now?” she was asking in a sing-song voice. “No more poopy whoopys for Benjy Wenjy.”

The look on Reardon’s face was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He was practically beaming, his gaze on his soon-to-be wife and new son proud, and so full of love, I almost felt like I should look away. Like it was a private moment I shouldn’t witness.

Not even knowing the moment existed, Chloe looked over at me and laughed good-naturedly, lifting her son up to cradle him in her arms, completely at ease and confident her second time around as a mom.

“Hey, Jed, sorry for the chaos and clutter, this little guy’s been keeping us pretty busy,” Chloe said with a smile as she crossed to me so I could see her son.

“Please, don’t worry about it,” I said with a wave of my hand, not caring in the least, then told her with a laugh, “When I was younger, I roomed with three guys in a one-bedroom apartment. Nothing about your beautiful home compares to that.”

“Sounds gross,” she chuckled, holding out her arms.

I’d held babies before and knew that’s what Chloe was offering. Since it felt rude to say no thanks, I took the baby in my arms and held him close to my chest.

“It was,” I admitted, then steeled myself and worked on controlling my expression as I looked down for my first look at the new baby.

To my surprise, he didn’t look like a hairless rat. He was actually pretty cute, with a tuft of blonde hair, lightly golden skin, and wide, unblinking blue eyes, which were looking up at me like he could see into my soul.

“Hey, Ben,” I said softly, a feeling of contentment coming over me.

I walked to their loveseat and sat down so that I could hold him comfortably.

“Here, babe, Jed brought you a bunch of stuff,” Reardon was saying. I looked up to see him hand the bag to Chloe, which she set promptly set on the floor and starting digging in.

“Oh, Jed, this is too much,” she protested, but she sounded happy and excited, and I knew I’d done well.

I was mesmerized by Ben’s blue eyes, but listened while Chloe pulled stuff out, laying it on the floor while she shouted out what the item was to Reardon, as if they were taking in inventory. And, maybe they were, what did I know about it?

“Baby handprint kit, Honest Company bath set, amber teething necklace, baby wrap sling, swaddle blankets, bottle warmer and sterilizer, and, oh my gosh, Reardon, look at this R2D2 knit hat and onesie that says Storm Pooper.”

“Wait, what?” Reardon asked, rushing over to pick up the last two items she’d taken out of the bag.

He grabbed them, then clutched them to his chest dramatically and said, “Thanks, man, these are too cool.”

I chuckled and said, “You’re welcome.”

“Really, Jed, thanks for everything, you didn’t have to do all this,” Chloe said, coming over and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

I half shrugged, embarrassed that they were making such a fuss.

“How would you like to stay for dinner?” Reardon asked. “We’re going fancy tonight, pizza and salad. I’ll even throw in a beer.”

“Sounds perfect,” I said. And even though I was exhausted, hanging out with my friends enjoying beer and pizza did sound just about perfect. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if a certain pixie-sized bombshell with beautiful eyes and sweet-tasting skin were here to join us.

Unfortunately, I knew Serena was putting in a long night finishing up the final touches on the Camu house. Luckily, the next night we’d be going out for our first official, out in public, date, and I absolutely could not wait.