Page 46 of Christmas in Quincy (The Edens 0.50)

He’d knocked me up in that room.

I rounded the table and came to Austin’s side.

He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. “Tired?”

I nodded and hummed, leaning into his broad chest. “Yeah. I really don’t want to go to this party tonight. Next year, let’s go somewhere.”

“Actually . . .” He reached into the diaper bag on the table, fishing around the front pocket until he came out with a piece of paper.

A receipt.

For a room at The Eloise Inn.

“What is this?”

“Your Christmas Eve gift. We’re leaving the day after Christmas for Quincy.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Your dad offered up the plane. My mom has to work anyway so we agreed to celebrate when we get home. Channing is spending the week at his girlfriend’s place. So we’re escaping.”

It sounded perfect.

We’d been so busy lately, with work and life, a break, just the three of us, was long overdue.

Austin had quit working for my father after all. It had become a conflict of interest and he’d decided it was best to keep his business separate from my family. Of course, Dad completely disagreed, but given the fact that I was living with my own personal bodyguard, he’d eventually realized it was the right move.

Replacing Dad’s income hadn’t been any trouble for Austin after all. Thanks to a couple of glowing referrals from my father, Garrison had taken on several large clients and was poised to have its biggest year yet. In the past two years, Austin’s team had doubled and he’d scrambled to expand to meet his growing client list. He’d put in a lot of long hours over the past twenty-four months, but we were finally settling into a routine. We were finally in a good place to take this vacation.

Brynne poked her head inside the door. “Did you tell her?”

“Yep.” Austin grinned.

“Good.” She walked in with the box of vanilla cupcakes. “I almost blurted it out today. Twice. I suck at keeping secrets.”

“You knew?”

She nodded. “You need a vacation. I’ve got this place covered.”

“Thank you.” I tipped my head up to Austin. “And thank you.”

He dropped his lips to mine. “Love you.”

“I love you too.”

Shaun threw his teething ring on the floor and took a chunk of my hair in his fist.

“What do you think, buddy?” Austin unwound his fingers. “Ready to go to Montana?”

Our son let out a loud coo before opening his mouth as wide as possible and inserting his fist.

Austin kissed his hair, then did the same to mine before letting us go. We loaded up the diaper bag and locked the bakery doors.

Then we went home to pack for another Christmas in Quincy.

Want more of Quincy and the Eden family? The Eden series continues with Indigo Ridge.

Acknowledgments