Or how about when the child was off to kindergarten. Or when it was off to college and they were empty nesters.
A snort of a laugh rattled him. “I would never have pegged you as such a worrier.”
“What?” Her nose scrunched and she knocked her fist into his shoulder. “I am certainly not a worrier. Why would you say such a thing?”
“No reason,” he said, and pretended to laugh it off. “Just picturing that football player sized baby in there.”
“That is a legit worry,” she flipped her hair and narrowed in with a teasing grin.
“Happy twelve weeks,” he whispered, and nudged her softly.
She smiled back, then glanced at his mother meaningfully.
“I will,” he said, and grimaced as he pictured it.
Itwasn’tamatterof preference, or a flipped coin or fairness, it was the obvious thing for the Halseths to go back first. Even Patricia knew she wasn’t Haley or Finn’s top choice to hold the baby first.
Ryder had settled into the little loveseat while Zoe went back with Evan and Scott. Undoubtedly, Finn and Haley’s friends would invade soon, but they had arranged spacing all of their visits.
At least Patricia despised sitting still and had left to find someone important to commune with. Just three of them left, and the waiting room was oddly quiet.
Grady and Claire were sitting next to each other across the oblong coffee table between them. Even after spending an hour smoothing his hair, Grady’s surfer blond mess would magically muss without even being touched. After hours of waiting, it was wild now.
With a giggle and a loving gaze, Claire playfully smoothed it down, but it popped right back up again.
Ryder snorted a laugh, arms folded across his chest, drawn into the cute scene.
“Look in a mirror,” Grady teased, and turned to include Ryder. “Yours is messier than mine.”
Ryder scrunched his hands in his hair and cringed. “First the seltzer campaign, now the deal with Bellamy? As part of the modern guy image, I’ve gotten to ditch the suits, grow some edgy stubble, and I don’t have to sop my hair in products anymore.”
“I thought you normally dressed so spiffy because you liked the slick image,” Claire said, smiling softly and he knew the difference was still throwing her off.
He laughed under his breath and shook his head. “I both blame and thank you. Since you left, I…” Fuck, this wasn’t the time or the place. “My priorities have changed.”
Claire tilted a look at him, her brow tightening as she tried to read him. “Youlookmore relaxed, but you work twice as hard as you used to.”
“I didn’t say they changed in a healthy way,” he huffed, and shook his head with a laugh. “I don’t fucking know.”
His phone buzzed and he jumped to check it.
Claire lifted an eyebrow, assuming it was work, as it always had been work that had him jumping like that.
“Zoe texted me. I get to come back. Scott and Evan are leaving,” he said, realizing how wide he was grinning and he quickly searched his area to grab his jacket and the gift.
“I’m jealous,” Grady teased, and his matching blue eyes warmed rather than chilled. Jealousy had been a nasty divide between them for too long.
Losing Claire to Grady had been the best thing that had happened to his relationship with his brother relationship, oddly enough. Not a situation he would recommend outside of their formerly estranged, strained relationship.
“Ha. My one night with Zoe has provided many, many residual benefits,” he laughed and stepped back. “Maybe we’ll let you in first to see our baby,” he added with a shrug. “Maybe.”
“What?” Patricia yelped from halfway down the echoey hall and grabbed her chest. “Did you… Ryder, are you saying…”
“Fuck,” he mumbled, his smile dropping and he felt awful. He crossed to his mother and stuffed his hands in his pockets, chest puffed up and he nodded confidently. “We wanted to wait until twelve weeks, to tell you.”
“But you already told Grady?” In his entire life, he’d never seen her bottom lip pout.
“I… I… yes. I did. He and Haley. They’re my best friends,” he said plainly, but the words squeezed his chest and eased the tension in his jaw. “Zoe and I were going to tell you together, over brunch, when I was up for the appointment next week.”
