“Kids,” Max said. “Ryder wants more.”
I tipped our daughter onto my husband’s lap and kissed him on the forehead. “It’s Gwendoline’s first birthday tomorrow. Give my body a break; we have time.” My cheeks pinched as Gwendoline squirmed under her father’s tickles. I hadn’t said anything to Ryder but I was three days late. I’d picked up a pregnancy test at the grocery store and tomorrow morning we could take the test together like we had with Gwendoline.
“This one needs a little brother to take care of her,” Ryder said.
“God, please, we need some more testosterone around here,” Max said.
“Are you having another girl?” I asked.
“We don’t know yet, but seriously, if it’s another girl, you can have it.”
I smacked my brother on the arm as Ryder chuckled. “You don’t mean that,” I said.
“I don’t. But I’d really like a son.”
“I don’t mind what we have as long as all twelve of them are healthy,” Ryder said.
“Twelve?” Max gasped. “Well, when you’ve had three daughters, tell me again that you don’t want a son. All that pink. It gets to be too much.”
Ryder shrugged. I really wasn’t sure whether he would ever mind having all daughters. “I’m not committing to anything more than two at the moment,” I said.
“Two what?”
I turned to find Grace and Sam approaching.
“I’m so pleased you made it; how’s the house?” Max asked.
“Oh my God, we’re buried in boxes and contractors. Who knew a nineteenth century farmhouse would be so much work?” Grace sank to the grass on a sigh. “I’m so glad I hired people to decorate. We turned up with our suitcases last night. I can’t take any credit. Apart from the art. We have the most beautiful Chagall in the dining room.”
“It’s colorful, that’s for sure,” Sam said with a grimace.
Grace started to laugh. “It will grow on you, my love. I promise.”
“It better, Grace Astor,” he replied as he kissed her on the head.
“Lauren loves her bedroom but insisted that I put Miles’s cot in her room so he doesn’t get lonely,” Sam said and Grace shook her head.
“Something tells me it’s not her baby brother she’s worried about. But she’ll be fine.” Grace beamed. “And we’re only up here on weekends. You’re next,” she said, lifting her chin toward Ryder and me.
“I love it up here,” Ryder said.
I turned to him as Gwendoline clambered up his chest. “Really?”
“Of course. It’s nice to get out of the city without having to fly to England.”
“Yes, the trip’s shorter.”
“What trip?” Harper called out as she joined us and Max pulled her onto his lap. “You know we have a thousand square feet of patio to socialize on with enough chairs for everyone, right?”
“We’re trying to convince Ryder and Scarlett to buy a place up here,” Max said. “You interrupted our sales pitch.” He stood, wrapping his arms around her. “Now that we’re all here, let’s go get some beers.”
I glanced up at Ryder as he slid his arm around my waist and we headed back to the house behind everyone else. “You want a place in Connecticut?”
He blew a raspberry on Gwendoline’s neck and she covered his lips with her chubby fingers as she giggled. “Yeah, I think it would be nice to have a place up here with your family. But I know that it’s maybe not what you want.”
I’d been dead set against a place in Connecticut after my divorce—there were too many memories and broken promises—but now all that felt redundant. Life before Ryder was forgotten. I wanted what was best for my family and my future.
“I think it would be great,” I said. The way Ryder’s lips started to twitch at the edges gave away how happy he was. “You don’t mind not going back to Britain so often?”
“My life is here with you and our family. We’ll still visit and Darcy can come over and stay. I actually saw a plot of land a couple of weeks ago that might be perfect.”
“Land?” How long had he been thinking about this?
“About a mile from here. Maybe we can go and take a look tomorrow.”
“Okay. But there’s something we have to do before that. And we have to be home to prepare for the party.”
“What?”
I shrugged. “Just a pregnancy test.”
Ryder stopped with a jolt and turned toward me, our baby in his arms between us. “You’re pregnant?” he whispered, his head dipping to take in my face.
“I don’t know. That’s why we need to take a test.”
“You’re pregnant,” he said. “Gwendoline, did you hear that? You’re going to have a baby brother.”
“Shhh,” I said as he kissed my forehead and then our daughter’s crown. “We don’t know anything and we certainly don’t know if it’s going to be a boy.”
“I know,” he said. “I know because I’m the luckiest guy on earth. I’ve done nothing to deserve it, but the best things keep on happening to me.”
What he didn’t realize was I was the luckiest woman on earth. I had everything I’d ever thought possible and more. He might be British aristocracy, a duke and one of the most powerful men in Manhattan—what was more important was he was the best man I knew, my lover and my best friend.
The most incredible things kept on happening to us and, pregnant or not, I had everything I’d ever dared wish for.