Yeah. Hey, pot. Meet kettle. I harp on Dani about getting over her fears, but I’m just as bad.

I run down the stairs and into the kitchen to get breakfast ready for Dani. She’s been running on fumes lately since Owen has been going through some growth spurt and feeding more than usual. Even though it isn’t much, at least it’s something I can do to help.

“Hey, baby?” Dani says, walking into the kitchen a short while later. “Mmm, that smells good.” She walks by, Owen in her arms, and snags a piece of bacon off the plate. “My mom texted and asked if you could bring me over to her place on your way to the office. It would be easier since all of the wedding planning stuff they’ve been collecting is over there anyway.”

I wave her off when she goes to nab another piece. “Yeah, baby.”

“I can drive us over if you need to get down to CS,” she offers, her head tilting slightly.

“No, Dani-girl. It’s never a problem if I’m a little late because I’m taking care of my family.” And it isn’t. They are and forever will be my number-one priority.

“So,” she starts, and something in her tone has me looking away from the eggs and waiting for her to finish. “My mom mentioned keeping Owen tonight. I think we should take advantage, baby. I can pump enough so that she has all the milk she needs and we can celebrate my eight-week mark.”

I feel my brows pull in as I try to understand what she’s saying. “I’m a little lost here?” I try to play it off, but the fact that she’s talking about leaving him overnight is a huge milestone here.

“I noticed. Had you realized what I was talking about, I’m pretty sure breakfast would be forgotten and we would have Owen dropped off already. It’s been two weeks since my appointment with the doctor, baby. He said eight weeks until all activities could return as normal. It’s time to make love to your woman.”

And then I switch off the burner, eggs forgotten, and rush up the stairs to pack Owen’s bag.

Tonight, I fuck my woman.

“I thought you wouldn’t ever get over here,” Lyn complains and reaches out to take Owen from my arms. She doesn’t even pay me any attention as she walks over to the couch and starts to make baby sounds in Owen’s face.

Lila rolls her eyes and takes Owen’s bag from me. “Come on. The makeup guru is waiting for you.”

Following her lead, I walk into a kitchen full of insanity. My mom is running around with her hair in rollers, Melissa is barking at a Mexican man who looks terrified, and Maddi is standing with her hands on her hips, clearly not happy that I’m late.

“Sorry,” I grumble and sit in the chair she’s pointing to.

“How hard was it to stay on track, Dani? How hard, huh?” she snaps and starts to apply my makeup. I wisely decide to keep my mouth shut and let her do what she does best.

I feel my hair move, and I open my eyes.

Sway pops his head around and gives me a big smile. “Almost show time, little mama.” He reaches over my shoulder, and I slap his hand away when I feel him trying to pop my top button.

“You crazy man!”

He laughs, straightens, and starts to work on my hair.

Almost an hour later, my hair is pulled back in a loose chignon and my makeup is done flawlessly in a natural way that highlights all of my features. My eyes are lined heavily to showcase my eyes, and Maddi decided to paint my lips a bright red.

I walk into my parents’ bedroom, and with the help of Melissa, I step into my dress. She gives me a huge hug and quickly walks from the room, but not before I see the first tear fall from her eyes.

“Mom!” I call as I walk through the insanity.

Lyn is trying to step into her dress without letting her sister hold Owen. Maddi is finishing up Stella’s makeup while doing hers as well. Sway’s decided that Owen’s little baby hair needs to be styled into some type of baby mohawk. Megan and Molly are laughing from the sidelines as Sway starts to make blowfish faces at the baby.

“Out here, baby.”

I follow the sound of her voice out the back door and onto the back deck.

When my eyes take in the transformation their backyard has taken, I take a deep breath and will myself to believe that this moment is happening.

Today, I’m surprising the man of my dreams with the wedding he’s been begging for. He’s waited this long, and I know he would have waited longer, but I’m ready to be Dani Cage. For our family to become whole.

With our fathers’ help, I had them enlist him in some case they needed help with at CS, and I got a promise from both of them that they wouldn’t return him home until later that evening.