“No. It’s not that. It’s everything. You’re just…incredible.”
Is that what he’s been trying to tell me for the past few weeks?
“Thank you?”
Connor tipped his head back and laughed, the rich sound filling the space around them. Then, taking one of her hands in one of his, he said, “You don’t even know it, do you? How wonderful you are?”
From the way he was gazing at her, his eyes sparkling, his face lit up with a broad smile, she was finally starting to understand how much he appreciated her and maybe how much…
“I love you, Julia.”
Whoa! Good thing they were sitting down, because she suddenly felt dizzy, and she gripped the edge of the picnic table for support.
“I’ve been trying to tell you for weeks, but I couldn’t get it out. But I do. I love you.” And then, before she had a chance to reply, he leaned forward and gently kissed her lips.
Ava chose that exact moment to show off her vocal abilities. “Wawawawawawa,” she said, flapping her hands up and down excitedly.
Connor and Julia pulled apart to look in the same direction she was, and there, floating leisurely on the lake, were a pair of ducks, a mallard and his mate, not far from shore.
“Wawawawawa,” Ava repeated.
“Maybe she’s trying to say water,” Julia said.
“She is pretty smart,” Connor said proudly.
They watched the ducks for a minute before they swam away, and then Julia plunged the teething ring back in Ava’s mouth.
“See. This is exactly what’s been happening lately. You don’t know how many times I started to tell you I love you and we’ve been interrupted.”
Julia smiled, her heart bursting at the seams. “But Ava’s the sweetest interruption ever.”
Leaning down, he kissed her again, with a bit more zeal this time.
“We’re in public,” she reminded him after they pulled apart.
“Don’t care.”
“Connor?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled against her lips.
“I love you too. You and Ava both.”
“Thank God,” he said, exhaling loudly.
Julia giggled, and then wrapping her arms around him and Ava, she gave them a big squeeze. After letting go, she said, “We should probably head back to the car and get the cooler. It’s almost time for Ava’s lunch.”
“Not to mention yours,” he teased.
“You know how I love my food.”
“I hope not quite as much as you love me.”
“I could never love anything that much. Well, except for this little girl,” she said, tugging on Ava’s toes.
As they trudged back up the hill to the trail, Connor said, “What about our own kids? Didn’t you say you wanted two or three?”
If the sun hadn’t been beating down on the top of her head, she might have thought she was dreaming. Were they really having this conversation? Was this really going to happen for them?
“You have a good memory,” she said as their hands automatically entwined.
“I remember everything you’ve ever said to me.”
“Even when I said you were cocky and too good looking?”
He chuckled. “Yes, even that. I hope I’ve proved you wrong.”
Eyeing him up and down, she said, “Well, you’re still good looking.”
Squeezing her hand, he said, “I would love it if you still told me that twenty years from now.”
“I guarantee it,” she said, smiling up at him.
When they reached the Jeep, Connor took out the cooler while Julia changed Ava’s diaper. Then they found a patch of grass underneath a sprawling maple tree and spread out a blanket.
“Ahhh. This is the life!” Connor said after they’d eaten. He had lain back with his hands behind his head, and Julia and Ava sat beside him.
Ava had just finished her bottle, and her little eyes were starting to close, her body going limp in Julia’s arms. Julia felt like she could stay like this forever, just her, Connor, and Ava, their own little family.
“I love watching you with her,” Connor said, breaking into her thoughts.
Julia smiled down at him. “I didn’t even know you were looking.”
“I can’t wait to see you with our children someday.”
Shifting her body to face him, she said, “When that happens, I’ll still love Ava just as much. She may not share my blood, but she shares my heart, and she always will.”
Sitting upright, Connor scooted next to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and kissed her cheek.
“I know that,” he said. “You’re the most loving person I’ve ever known.”
“You and Ava are easy to love,” she said, her eyes misting over.
“I can’t promise you that life will be perfect. But I can promise that I’ll love you, and Ava, and our own children with everything I have. Forever.”
And of that, she had no doubt.
Epilogue – Two Months Later
“We made it!” Julia said as they pulled up in front of the lake house.
“Barely!” Connor replied sarcastically, although he was smiling.
“We only had to stop a few times.”
“I would say five times is a bit excessive for a four-hour drive, wouldn’t you?”
Julia laughed. “C’mon. Let’s get Ava inside. She’ll be more comfortable here than in the car.”
Even though the drive to Petoskey had been challenging, Julia was exhilarated by the sights and sounds of summer on Walloon Lake. Over the past two months, she’d been mentioning the idea to Cam, and she remembered when Cam had finally agreed…
“But she’ll be so far away. What if something happens to her and I’m way down here?” Cam said.
They’d been at Connor’s house during one of the drop-offs when Julia had brought it up, and she’d asked Connor ahead of time not to interfere.
“I won’t let her out of our sight for a minute. I promise. We’ll be just as diligent about watching her there as we are here,” Julia said.
Cam appeared to be considering it, but Julia could tell she still wasn’t sold. And then she remembered something. Maybe it was underhanded, but she needed to use everything in her arsenal to convince Cam.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to take Ava to visit your sister in Denver this fall?”
“Well…yes…but…”
“Imagine how we’ll feel when she’s all the way across the country. At least Petoskey is only a few hours away,” Julia said.
Connor shot her an approving look before he ducked his head back down and continued playing with Ava.
“But that’s different. I’m her mother,” Cam argued. And then everyone froze except for Ava, who had just knocked over a tower of blocks and was giggling.
The adults exchanged looks and waited for someone to speak. Finally, Connor, who had abided by Julia’s wishes up until then, spoke up.
“I’m her father, and I’m going to miss Ava when she goes to Denver just as much as you’re going to miss her when we go Up North. We both have to compromise, Cam.”
That did the trick. Cam stopped arguing and agreed to let Ava go as long as they called her every day and sent pictures of Ava to assure Cam that she was fine.
“Hell, we’ll Facetime with you if that’ll make you feel better,” Connor said. And then noticing the disgruntled expressions on Julia’s and Cam’s faces, he said, “What? I thought that was a good idea.”
Julia shook her head. “It’s a fine idea. We’re upset about you swearing in front of Ava.”
“She’s right. Julia and I talked about this the other day. Ava’s starting to learn more words, and we don’t want her to pick up any of your bad ones!”
“Oh. Sorry,” Connor said.
And now here they were, loaded down with luggage for a four-day stay. It would be just the three of them on Thursday and Friday, and then Julia’s parents were joining them on Saturday and Sunday.
Since meetin
g Ava earlier in the summer, Julia’s parents had made a concerted effort to smooth things over with Connor just as Julia had anticipated. They’d fallen in love with Ava at first sight, and there were no further mentions of Alec.
Connor and her father might never be the best of friends, but as long as they were respectful of each other, that was all Julia could ask for. Debra, on the other hand, had become quite enamored with Connor and, of course, with Ava. She’d offered to be a backup babysitter for them any time, and between her, Barbara, Harper, and McKayla, they had a whole slew of helpers at their disposal.
When Julia had asked her parents if she and Connor could use the lake house, they’d immediately said yes. But when she’d mentioned that they were bringing Ava too, her mom had asked if they would mind having company for a couple of days. How could Julia say no? Besides it being their house, she wanted her parents to spend more time getting to know Connor and Ava. Plus, with her parents there, she and Connor might be able to sneak in some alone time.
They were still adjusting to having Ava in their lives, but they were doing it together, and the thought of that was thrilling to her. Her life had become so full of love and happiness that she went around with a perma-smile.
Since that day in the park when she and Connor had exchanged I love yous, they’d talked about marriage in vague terms. A lot of their sentences started with “When we get married…” or “When we have more kids…” They hadn’t gotten engaged yet, but she felt sure they would someday. In the meantime, Finn and Harper had recently announced their engagement at a July Fourth barbecue at Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien’s house.
Nobody had been surprised, least of all Julia, who could tell the second she’d seen Harper that something was up. Harper was the worst secret keeper on the planet, and when Julia saw her hiding her left hand behind her back, she knew. She pulled Harper aside, and making sure that nobody could hear, she whispered, “Show me your hand.”
“Why?” Harper said, playing dumb.
“Just show me your left hand.”
That was all it took. Harper excitedly pulled out her left hand from behind her back and waved it in front of Julia, after which, they’d jumped up and down like teenagers.
“I’m so happy for you!” Julia exclaimed, and she might have said it a bit too loud because, before long, they were surrounded.
First, it had been Liam, who’d been walking by with a plate piled high with food. He’d stopped in his tracks and said, “What was that I just heard? Are you two finally engaged?”
Julia smiled, thinking that he could have been directing his question to either one of them. Everyone in the family knew how she and Connor felt about each other. But Liam zeroed in on Harper, who had snapped her left hand behind her back again.
“What’s going on?” McKayla said as she came up beside them.
“Harper and Finn are engaged,” Liam replied.
“Well, it’s about time,” McKayla said.
If Julia was sometimes loud, McKayla was even louder, and the next thing they knew, Finn, Connor, Barbara, and Daniel had gathered around them.
Finn looked at Harper quizzically, and she shrugged. “It’s Julia’s fault,” she said.
“What is?” Barbara asked.
“I thought we were going to do this after dinner,” Finn said, but his eyes were sparkling.
“Do what? What is everyone talking about?” Barbara said, growing more excitable by the moment.
“Calm down, honey. They’ll tell us when they’re ready,” Daniel said.
Taking a deep breath, Finn said, “Mom, Dad, Harper and I are—”
“Engaged!” Liam finished, which earned him a punch on each arm from both of his brothers.
“You idiot! You were supposed to let them tell,” Connor said.
“Sorry, but it’s not a big surprise. They’ve been together forever. I’m already taking bets on when you and Julia will be getting engaged.”
A few months ago, Liam’s comment would have caused Julia to shrink with embarrassment, but not anymore. She just smiled brightly at Connor, who smiled back.
“See? I’m guessing two or three months, tops,” Liam said, which earned him another punch from Connor.
“And you’ll probably wreck their announcement too,” Finn said.
After that, they all sat down to eat and to discuss Finn and Harper’s wedding plans.
“We don’t want anything too big,” Harper said. “We want it to be simple and preferably outdoors.”
“Wouldn’t it be so cool if you got married on Jekyll Island at the same time as Will and Megan?” Julia said. But looking at Finn’s expression, she realized her mistake.
“Uh, no,” he said. “I’m not real interested in sharing my wedding day with a man Harper used to date.”
Harper shook her head at him. “You could hardly call it dating. We only went out a few times, and we only kissed once.”
“Didn’t need to be reminded of that,” Finn said, knocking back his beer.
“When are Will and Megan getting married anyway?” McKayla asked.
“They’re thinking around Valentine’s Day,” Julia replied.
Up until then, McKayla and Liam had been kind of quiet, and Julia wondered what might be going on with them. She assumed that McKayla had been invited to the barbecue to celebrate Harper’s engagement, but maybe there was another reason she was there.
“February will be the perfect time to get out of Michigan for a while,” Harper said.
And then the conversation drifted off to other topics.
As Connor stumbled into the lake house with all their bags, Julia was brought back to the present.
“Do we really need all this stuff for four days?” he asked as he set the bags in the foyer and came into the living room to join her and Ava.
“Yes. We really do,” she replied, laughing.
“What all is in there, anyway?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Probably not,” he said. “Whatever it is, I trust you.”
“Here. Why don’t you hold Ava while I start to unpack?” When she went to hand Ava to him, Julia said, “Go to Da-da.”
“Da-da,” Ava repeated.
Julia froze with Ava suspended between them.
“Did you hear that?” Connor asked.
“I think she said Da-da,” Julia said.
“Da-da,” Ava said.
“Oh my God. She did say it!” Connor said, taking Ava from Julia and planting kisses all over her chubby cheeks.
They’d been trying to get Ava to say Da-da for the past few weeks, and while she’d made some attempts, the words hadn’t come out clearly until then.
As if she could sense how happy she’d made them, Ava said it a few more times. “Da-da, da-da, da-da.” She was rewarded with more kisses from Connor and a tight squeeze from Julia.
“This is so exciting! We should probably call Cam and tell her,” Julia said.
Connor shook his head. “Not yet. I want it to just be the three of us for a little while longer.”
One look into his eyes and she melted, just like always. “Okay,” she said softly.
The next two days were idyllic. They slathered Ava with sunscreen and sat with her at the water’s edge, taking turns holding her in their laps and letting her splash in the water. Julia was put in charge of picture-taking, and she sent dozens of photos to Cam to assure her that Ava was safe and having fun.
But since it was their watch, they took a few liberties, such as letting Ava play in the sand and getting completely dirty before they rinsed her off in the lake. She’d had on a pair of baby sunglasses (princess ones of course), and Julia had been diligent about keeping the sand out of Ava’s eyes. But still, she had a feeling that Cam wouldn’t have approved if she’d have known.
At night, Connor grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for them, and they ate outside on the deck, with Ava in a seat that hooked onto the table.
“I would have never known about thi
s contraption if you hadn’t thought of it,” Connor said, shaking his head in amazement.
She smiled and said, “See. She really does need all this stuff.”
When Julia’s parents arrived on Saturday, she and Connor eagerly let them take over with Ava. For the first two nights, they’d let Ava sleep in the portable crib in the room they shared, but once Debra got there, she insisted they move the crib to the master bedroom, which was much larger.
Julia had hesitated at first, wondering how Cam would feel about it, but then Connor had reminded her that her dad was a pediatrician.
“If anyone can take care of Ava, he can,” Connor had said.
So, on Saturday evening, after swimming, boating, and picnicking on the lawn, Julia and Connor settled into their room—alone.
Smiling, she curled into his side and laid her hand on his bare chest.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too.”
He turned on his side so he could look into her eyes, which were brimming with love and contentment.
“I can’t wait until we have a baby of our own,” he said, “but first, I want to marry you. From here on out, no more mistakes.”
Caressing his face with the back of her hand, she said, “Loving you could never be a mistake. And if it is, it’s the sweetest mistake I’ll ever make.”
THE END
Stay tuned for Liam and McKayla’s story in Book Three of the O’Brien Brothers series.
Author’s Note:
If you enjoyed The Sweetest Mistake, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. And while you’re there, check out my other sweet and sexy contemporary romance novels!
I love to connect with readers. Please visit my website (susancoventry.org), and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Thanks for reading!
Susan
The Sweetest Mistake (O'Brien Brothers #2) Page 21