“Holy shit, Jagger, are you…” I couldn’t even say it, my throat tightening like a damn woman.

Jagger held out that hand to Paisley, who took it with a smile that could have rivaled the sun for its brightness. “You want to?” she drawled softly as he tucked her under his arm.

“So we went up to West Point last weekend to see the parents—” Jagger started.

“—and got married!” Paisley finished.

Silence reigned for a heartbeat before we all started to call out our congratulations.

“That’s amazing!” Ember squealed.

Paisley’s face fell a little. “I’m sorry you guys weren’t there, but it was just Anna and my parents. We figured with the guys deploying, it just seemed like the right time…” Her hands smoothed along her waist, and I felt Ember suck in her breath.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re just so happy for you!” Morgan said through a huge smile.

“Good.” Jagger laughed, pulling Paisley in for a kiss. “Because there’s more.”

Ember’s eyes widened and flicked from me, to the wineglass, and back to Paisley. “No way. She’s pregnant,” she whispered in my ear.

“We’re having a baby!” Jagger said, happier than I’d ever seen him.

Holy. Shit. A baby. A tiny Bateman.

The girls all screamed at a shrill pitch, abandoning their seats to envelop Paisley in a huge hug and an unintelligible feminine barrage of questions and coos started.

Jagger made his way around the gaggle of ecstatic girls and took the seat Morgan had vacated. I leaned over and pulled him in, hugging him with a slap on the back. “Congratulations, man.”

“Thanks. Some week, right?” He shook his head, his eyes wide with the kind of disbelief he’d had when we’d told him Carter had given up his Apache for him. “I don’t know how I got this lucky.”

“You deserve every piece of this, brother.” I meant every word and made sure he knew it. No one was more deserving of happiness than Jagger. Well, maybe Grayson. I raised my beer. “To family.”

“To family.” One by one Grayson and Will joined, celebrating.

I swallowed the beer and the tiny stab of envy I couldn’t quite keep at bay. Fuck, I wanted that—December with a ring on her left hand and my last name. I wanted to watch her lithe body change with our baby, and hold that tiny, perfect combination of us both. I was done being her boyfriend. I wanted to be her forever.

“How is her heart?” Will asked. As awkward as it could have been, Jagger and Will had made their peace in the last year, turning a bitter rivalry into a close friendship for the sake of Paisley.

“The timing isn’t ideal,” Jagger admitted, locking his eyes on his wife. Holy shit, his wife. “But she’s strong, and her heart isn’t giving her any trouble. They’ll monitor her more frequently, but the doc isn’t too worried.”

Will visibly relaxed. “Congratulations, man. Any fool can see how happy you make each other.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry it was so fast, but we were there, and I wasn’t exactly going to leave her a pregnant fiancée for this deployment. God knows I was just looking for the excuse to marry her. Now she’s as protected as I can make her. Make them, I guess.” He sighed, nearly splitting his face with a smile. “A baby!”

“God, I hope it’s a girl,” Grayson said. “I’d love to watch you lose your mind in about nineteen years.”

Jagger’s eyes widened to a nearly impossible size, and we all burst into laughter. “Don’t worry,” I said, punching his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll find a guy just like you.”

“Fuck my life,” Jagger muttered, chugging his beer.

We only laughed harder.

Hours later, the temperature dipped, and everyone started to move inside. I waited until we were the last ones, and then pulled Ember into my arms next to the dying fire.

“How wonderful for Jagger and Paisley,” she said, yawning.

“I’m happy for them,” I answered. Jagger was right. The marriage protected Paisley in a way that Ember was still vulnerable. She had no legal access to me while I was gone, and she’d aged out of her dependent ID card. She couldn’t even get on base without going through the hassle of getting a pass.

She wiggled deeper into my lap, distracting me as she curled so her head lay on my shoulder. I pulled the blanket over us and then kissed the top of her head. “I love you,” I said into her hair.

She sat up with a smile and turned, hooking her knee over my lap, straddling me. “Then it’s a good thing that I love you, too.” She kissed me, opening instantly to leave no doubt in my mind where her thoughts were headed. Her skirt rode up her thighs until there were only my jeans and her panties between us.

Hell. Yes.

One of my hands burrowed through her mass of fire-lit auburn curls to the nape of her neck as the other drifted down her spine until I held her perfect ass. Then I claimed her mouth, sinking into her with deep, swirling strokes of my tongue.

She moaned and slid her fingers under my beanie and into my hair. That one sound was all it took and I was hard, ready to take her in our backyard. I might not have cared if our neighbors could see, but Ember would have, so I tucked the ends of the blanket behind my back, shielding her from anyone who might be looking out their windows at two a.m.

“Josh,” she whispered against my lips as my hand skimmed the soft skin of her inner thigh. Her hips rolled over mine, and a wave of lust slammed through me, quickening my pulse. “Touch me.”