by Anthology
“Plus, we all know everyone is waiting for Benji and Lucy to have a baby,” Claire said, and Lucy scoffed at her.
“Whoa, no. We don’t have time.”
“Yes, you do,” Avery said, and Lucy laughed.
“And so do you. Why don’t you have another?”
Avery giggled hard at that. “No, I don’t! I’m currently working with an awesome songwriter for Selena Gomez. Plus, we’re waiting until we can drink legally before we add in another.”
“You’ll need it,” Autumn agreed, and that had everyone in stitches.
“Okay, girls, go try your dresses on,” Autumn called, and when everyone got up, Baylor stayed in her seat.
They looked back at her, and she shrugged. “What? I could maybe get it up my thighs, but even I’m not sure on that. So I’m good.”
“Party pooper,” Claire teased.
“Yeah, who told you to get pregnant when we had a wedding coming up?” Avery added, and Baylor snorted.
“Aren’t they already married?” Baylor asked, and that made them both grin as they headed toward where Autumn and the salesperson were waiting for them.
Looking around the cute little shop, Baylor had a smile on her face as she rubbed her belly. While there was no point for her to be there, she was glad she was. She loved her sisters-in-law, along with her stepmother slash mother-in-law. Add in Angie and Ashlyn, and Baylor was in heaven. Growing up with only her dad, she had yearned for a big family like the one she had now. Yeah, they were all crazy, but God, she loved them. She couldn’t wait for her little bundle to join them.
It would be complete bliss.
When her eyes met a section of the store with a sign that read Maternity, she found herself getting up and heading toward it. Looking through the dresses, she thought they were adorable, and a part of her wished she needed one. She didn’t, though.
“Oh, Baylor, I forgot to tell you,” Autumn said, coming over to Baylor and rubbing her back. “Lord, I’m losing it. Anyway, pick one.”
Baylor’s face scrunched up. “What?”
“Pick one of these dresses. I want you to look amazing at the baby shower. I hired a photographer.”
“Mom…” Baylor said in complete disbelief. This woman was insane. It was a baby shower, not a damn wedding.
“Yes?”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“For the love of…” she muttered, looking through the dresses. “But they’re all wedding dresses!”
“So?”
“They’re also expensive!”
“Again, so?”
Rolling her eyes, Baylor picked a few before waddling to the dressing room because the simple fact was there was no arguing with Autumn Sinclair. She tried on two that were too tight on her ever-growing belly, and when she went to try on the third, she paused. Scoffing, she drank in her body and shook her head. She would never look the same ever again. The baby was huge, and her usually very fit body was stretched to hell. Dark purple and red marks ran up her sides and along her thighs. She hadn’t eaten badly during her pregnancy, she had taken care of herself, but her little person decided it didn’t have enough room. She wondered if she even had abs anymore.
But she guessed that was a part of motherhood.
Sighing loudly, she reached for the third dress, a beautiful, off-white lace number, but before she could pull it over her bump, her phone rang. It was Jayden.
“Hey.”
“Hey, you guys done?”
“Nope, your mother is making me pick out a dress for the baby shower.”
He laughed. “She’s crazy.”
“Exactly my thought,” she said on a sigh. “Oh, and by the way, I’m disgusting naked. How do you still wanna do me?”
“What’s disgusting? What are you talking about?”
“My body is ruined.”
“Your body is fucking hot, and I love it, so stop talking about it.”
“But it is.”
“No, it’s not. Shut up, I love that body,” he demanded. “I’m getting hard just thinking about that curve of your ass. The thickness of those sexy thighs and God, those tits, mmm, yeah… When are you coming home?”
As her face turned red, she let out a little giggle. “Jay, be real. I’m covered in stretch marks.”
“And? They mean you grew my child, and again, I think that’s hot.”
“You’re insane.”
“About you, yes. Now hurry home so I can pick you up and do you against the wall.”
She laughed. “Please, like you could lift me.”
“Oh, baby, challenge accepted.” Giggling, she rolled her eyes, but inside she was elated. “See you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too,” she said before hanging up and laying her phone down. With the biggest grin on her face, she pulled the dress up and over her bump, zipping it up the side. When she looked back at herself, her grin didn’t leave. She loved it. The lace was so elegant, and it fit great across her breasts, while hitting her right at midthigh. It fit her belly perfectly, which was always the hard part. There was beading, but not too much for people to assume it was a wedding dress. It was stunning.
She had the perfect blue and pink kimono that would go great over the top and downplay it a bit. With a nod, she decided this was it and went out to show Autumn.
Autumn was waiting, and when she saw Baylor, her eyes lit up. “Oh, I love it.”
“It’s almost nineteen hundred dollars,” Baylor said dryly, fully expecting to pay for it herself.
“So? It’s perfect,” Autumn said sternly before popping off the tag and walking away.
“Aw, you look beautiful, Baylor,” Avery gushed, holding Ashlyn in her arms as she wiggled to get down.
“Yes, I love it!” Claire declared, and when she grinned over at Lucy, Baylor felt like something was up.
“It’s perfect,” Lucy said, and Baylor eyed her.
“For a baby shower?”
“Yes,” Lucy said slowly, and then she turned, leaving quickly.
Yeah, something was up.
But Baylor was more concerned with getting home.
To the challenge her husband had accepted.
4
A Sinclair Baby Shower
The baby shower for Baylor and Jayden was completely over-the-top.
Autumn had gone above and beyond, but if Baylor was honest, she loved it.
It was at dusk, and the sun was slowly going down, which gave such a romantic feel to the party in Jayden and Baylor’s backyard. Instead of lots of pink and blue, Autumn had done gold and white. Everything was sparkling and not Baylor at all, but in a way, it was perfect. Each table was covered in a huge arrangement of white peonies that had gold painted bottles and spoons in them. Balloons filled with gold glitter were everywhere, and above the cake—which was four layers of cheesecake, Baylor’s biggest craving—were balloons that spelled out Congratulations J&B.
Standing in the middle of the baby shower with Jayden holding her waist, Baylor all of a sudden started crying.
“Oh, God,” Jayden said, shaking his head, but Baylor couldn’t help it. “What is wrong? You said you loved it.”
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” she cried, which had him breaking out into a burst of laughter.
Turning her so she faced him, he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lips and then her forehead. His kisses were like a drug, a beautiful drug she wanted to overuse. Pulling back, he looked deep into her eyes, his green ones shining with love as he whispered, “I say that every time I see you.”
With her lip puckered out, she stared up into his eyes as he slowly wiped her face free of tears, kissing her hard on the lips. Sinking into the kiss, she let go, her tears falling again and her heart filling with such love. She hadn’t wanted this party; she hadn’t wanted to be paraded around as the big fat lady at a party full of her friends and family. But now, in Jayden’s arms, his lips pressed to hers, she didn’t want to be anywhere el
se.
Pulling back, she looked up into his beautiful eyes, her own eyes flooding with tears. “I could say the same about you. I don’t know of many people who wear suits to a baby shower, but you wear it well, Mr. Sinclair.”
He nodded, shrugging his shoulders as he dusted them off. “I know. Thought since you were going to look so incredible, I had to keep up. Though, I’m lacking beside you, baby.”
She giggled happily as she leaned into him. “I beg to differ.”
He went to say something, mischief in his eyes, but then someone pushed Jayden away.
“Get your hands off my best friend,” Markus said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek.
Crying out in joy, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as he lifted her only slightly off the ground. She hadn’t seen him in months since he’d moved to Florida, and he wasn’t supposed to be here.
“I thought you couldn’t come!” she gushed, pulling back to look down into his dark caramel eyes.
“You think I’d miss today? No way. I’m staying for the week, so you better drop this kid while I’m here so he can meet his uncle Markus,” he said, hugging her tightly before setting her on her feet. “Man, you look amazing. And all the glowing shit, it’s true. I didn’t realize you were so big, though. You’ve been taking good selfies for Facebook.”
Glaring, she smacked him. “I hate you.”
“I love you too!” he said, kissing her once more.
“I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so happy,” Baylor exclaimed, and he grinned back at her.
“I know. Thank your hunky husband, he demanded I be here. Paid for it and all, you know, because I’m a poor little hockey player in the AHL.”
Baylor rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You just blew all your money.”
“That too,” he agreed, and Baylor couldn’t stop grinning. “But yeah, I’m excited and ready for this baby to get here.”
“Me too. Did you bring anyone?” she asked, and he scoffed.
“Please, we both know I fucked that up,” he reminded her, and Baylor nodded. It wasn’t like her best friend to cheat, but he had, and because of it, he’d lost the one girl he really loved. Though it had taken losing her for him to realize it. “But that is the last thing I want to talk about,” he said before bringing Jayden back over to the conversation. “You can have her back. I gotta go see your mom and her dad.”
“Thanks, asshole,” Jayden teased, and Markus grinned.
“But, hey, Sinclair,” he said as he slowly backed away and Jayden took her in his arms, kissing her temple.
“Yeah?”
“I’m completely jealous of you right now,” he said, and Baylor grinned. There wasn’t any kind of anything between the two of them, but it was still really great to hear.
When Markus turned his back on them, she looked up to her husband and smiled. “You are the best husband in the world.”
Grinning, Jayden nodded. “I know.”
“No, really, you didn’t have to bring him in for me.”
“Yeah, I did. I knew you wanted him here,” he said simply, moving her hair behind her ear before running his hands down her braid and then down her side.
“Thank you,” she whispered before going on her toes to kiss his jaw. As she pulled back, she said, “I love—”
But she was interrupted when Autumn came up to them. “Hey, Baylor, can you come with me real quick?”
Looking to her mother-in-law, Baylor’s brows came together. “Yeah, I guess…”
But before she could even finish, Autumn was dragging her away. Grinning back at Baylor, Jayden said, “See you in a few.”
Confused, she walked into their guesthouse, or more accurately, she was pushed into the guesthouse before Autumn shut the door quickly. Turning to Baylor, Autumn said, “Take off the kimono.”
“Huh?” she asked, but Autumn was already removing it before handing her a big bouquet of peonies. “What in the world am I supposed to do with this?”
Before Autumn could answer, though, a knock came to the door, and she opened it.
Baylor’s father, River, popped his head in and asked, “Ready?”
“Ready?”
“Yes,” Autumn said, kissing Baylor’s cheek and then leaving her with River.
“Dad? What in the world is going on?”
Her father had a happy little grin on his face as he held out his arm to her. “Why don’t you come on out here with me?”
“Okay, but why?” she asked, feeling like something was going on.
Reaching for her, he laughed as he tucked her arm in his. “You know I love you and I’m proud of you, right, Little Fifty?” he asked, his eyes misting as he used Baylor’s nickname.
Watching her father, she slowly nodded. “I thought I was supposed to be the emotional one? I’m the one having the baby, Dad.”
“I know, and I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks…? I’m so confused about what’s going on,” she said, her eyes widening. “Wait, are you dying?”
He laughed. “No, come on,” he said, pulling her out the door, and when she looked out into the yard, everyone was looking back at her in an almost circular shape. In the middle was Jayden, standing with an older man she was pretty sure was the pastor of his family’s church. The same person who had married their parents.
What in the world?
Clearing his throat, Jayden held her gaze as his face curved in a grin. “Baylor, I fell in love with you three years ago. I’ll never forget the moment I saw you.” Baylor couldn’t move; she was trapped in his gaze. “I was on the beach with my bonehead brothers—”
“Hey, I’m amazing. Jace is a bonehead,” Jude said, and Jace scoffed.
“Other way around, buddy.”
“Like I said, boneheads,” Jayden reiterated, and everyone laughed, but no one looked away. Though, who could? He was beautiful. “I saw you standing with the girl my brother was hitting on, and I was just captivated by you. Completely and utterly stunned, but then you challenged me in hockey. Only wearing short shorts and a tank top, but you didn’t care. You threw on a pair of skates, and you swept the floor with me. I think that’s the moment I fell for you.”
The tears were there before she could even try to stop them.
“Things didn’t work out at first, and even more so when I found out you were the daughter of my new coach, but I never stopped loving you. When you pushed me away, I pushed back, needing you to love me as much as I loved you. When you finally gave in, I knew I had won it all, that nothing could top the way I felt. But you proved me wrong,” he said, pausing as he looked away, moving his hand over his mouth before sucking in a deep breath. “You married me,” he said, his voice breaking when he looked back at her. “And now you’re carrying my baby. I don’t think you know what that does to me, how I fall for you over and over again, each day. I couldn’t do this thing called life without you, Baylor Irene Moore Sinclair, and I know I didn’t give you the wedding you deserve. That I didn’t give your dad the chance to give you away or to have the pictures of us from that day on the wall. So, I’ve got a question,” he said, but it was hard to listen because she was sobbing like a damn baby.
“Yeah?” she croaked out, and everyone was grinning at her. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd that had gathered in her backyard. Autumn was crying as she held Angie close to her, while the rest of family smiled back at Baylor, all of them holding on to the ones they loved. Their friends, a group consisting of all the Assassins, were there, all with tears in their eyes as they watched Baylor cry. Usually, she would be embarrassed, but all she saw was Jayden, grinning at her with all the love and admiration in the world in his eyes.
Only for her.
“Will you marry me, again? Right here, with all our friends and family as witnesses and your dad giving you away?”
She didn’t even pause or think, she just beamed, nodding like a fool. “You don’t even have to ask.”
“Oh, really?
I never know with you. Wasn’t sure if you hated me today.”
“Never,” she said as she started to pull her dad along, but Jayden held his hand up to her.
“No, wait. I have the greatest singer/songwriter ever on hand to sing as you walk down the aisle,” he said. He looked to Avery, but she was crying on Jace.
Looking up at Jayden, Avery groaned, “Dude, I’m crying here.”
“So? I paid you, get out here,” he demanded, and soon the tears turned to laughter as Avery dragged her guitar with her over to the chair that was waiting for her.
“Jeez, he’s mean,” she said to Baylor, wiping her face.
“He’s the best,” Baylor said, and Jayden sent her a grin that could light up an arena.
Running her fingers along the chords, Avery looked up as she started to play “The One” by Kodaline.
Their song.
A song that to that day still gave Baylor chills and butterflies. Her lip started to wobble, and within seconds, more tears were rushing down her face. She was pretty sure she was about to run out of them. “You suck,” she called to Jayden, and he chortled a bit.
“Hey, we can’t do this without our song,” he said as she and her dad started to walk to him. It was a short walk, but they walked slowly because she wanted to hear the whole song. “Plus, I love watching you cry.”
“’Cause you’re sadistic,” she said. Everyone laughed because, really, how silly were they?
“No, it’s ’cause I’m watching you. Everything about you, I love.”
Breathless, she leaned into her father as she swooned completely. For a quiet man, Jayden really knew what to say to make her swoon like a schoolgirl. When Baylor finally reached him, Jayden held his hand out to River, which he quickly took, shaking it hard.
“Thank you for this, Jayden,” her father said, his voice a little rough. Jayden nodded, but her father didn’t let go of his hand. “I should hate you. I mean, you ran off with her, married her before you two’s draft celebration dinner. I had no say, I wasn’t even there, but you know what I felt?”