by J. S. Cooper
“Where’s Mommy?” Harry pulled away and ran to the couch. “I’m hungry.”
“She went with Auntie Meg to go and see the doctor.” Nancy went and sat next to him. “They’ve gone to check on the baby.”
“Oh, with Uncle Greyson?” He turned on the TV.
“Yeah,” she answered. “Auntie Meg said she wanted both of them to be there.”
“What about me?” He changed the channels. “Didn’t she want me there?”
“You don’t need to be in everything, Harry.” I gave him a look. “You know you don’t like doctors’ offices.”
“I don’t like them at all,” he groaned. “Yay, Sponge-Bob!” He turned the volume up. “Will Mommy let me come and see the baby when she has one?”
“I’m sure she will be happy to let you be a part when she has another baby.” I laughed. “Let’s worry about the wedding first.”
“That’s when you and Mommy are going away and me and Nancy are going to stay with Auntie Meg and Uncle Greyson?”
“Yes.” I laughed again. Harry was more excited about going to spend a week with Meg and Greyson than he was about his parents getting married.
“Ssh, Daddy. I’m trying to watch TV.”
I rolled my eyes and walked to the kitchen. Nancy followed me, and I smiled at her. I couldn’t believe how lucky I’d gotten. Nancy was such a beautiful, loving girl, and we had already settled into our father-daughter relationship.
“Want some water?”
“Yes, please.” She nodded and smiled at me. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m good. You?”
“Great,” she laughed. “Better than I thought I’d ever be, to be honest.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I’m glad Patsy confessed,” she continued. “Saves everyone from going to trial.”
“Yeah. Hopefully medication will help her in the mental hospital. I think she has a lot of issues.” I sighed and walked over to her. “If you ever need to talk, just let me know.”
“I know.” She nodded, and I gave her a quick hug.
“I love you, you know.” I looked into her eyes.
“I know.” She grinned. “I love you too, and Katie and Harry.” She smiled. “And Meg and Greyson. I know it sounds weird, but I feel like they are my family as well.”
“They are your family.” I grinned. “We’re all one big crazy family.”
“I’m glad you and Katie are still getting married.”
“So am I.” I laughed. “If she had called it off, I’m not sure what I would have done.”
“I would still have been here for you.” She looked at me seriously, and I hugged her again.
“I know and I love you for it.” I kissed her cheek. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have a daughter like you.”
“I wonder what Greyson is going to be like as a dad.” She giggled, and I laughed as well.
“Trust me. I can’t wait to see,” I laughed. “Greyson Twining as a father is going to be hilarious.”
“Tell me how you really feel.” Greyson’s deep voice filled the room, and I turned to my friend.
“You’re back!”
“Yeah.” He walked to the fridge. “Do you have any beers?”
“Yeah, check the bottom.” I looked at him for a second. “You okay?”
“It was overwhelming.” He looked at me with wide eyes. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.”
“Did you see what sex it is?”
“No, it’s too early.” He laughed and took a big gulp.
“Ooh, I guess it is.”
“Meg and Katie came up with a new plan.”
“Oh?”
“A double wedding.”
“What?”
“Yeah. They want a double wedding.” He laughed. “I have no idea how that’s going to work, but they think it’s a great idea.”
“That sounds cool.” Nancy grinned at us, and I laughed.
She was super eager to be a bridesmaid, and I knew that she would be even more delighted to be a bridesmaid for both Meg and Katie.
“Are you bringing a date to the wedding?” Greyson teased her, and Nancy blushed.
“Don’t go putting ideas in her head.” I frowned at Greyson and he laughed.
“Daddy going to get the shotgun?” He teased me.
“Wait until you have a girl.” I winked at him. “You’ll have a whole arsenal of guns.”
“Argh,” he groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
“You wouldn’t really shoot my boyfriends, would you, Dad?” Nancy looked at me curiously, and I have her a quick stare.
“I wouldn’t test me to find out.”
Greyson burst out laughing then and I joined him. Nancy rolled her eyes and walked to the door. “I’m going to go and see Katie and Meg and find out about the baby.”
I watched as she exited the room and then turned to Greyson.
“I can’t believe we’re family men.” I shook my head. “How did this happen?”
“I don’t know.” He took another gulp of beer. “We were supposed to dominate the world, not be dads.”
“How does it make you feel?” I asked him softly.
“It makes me feel like I won the lottery.” He looked up at me and smiled. His eyes were bright, and I could see the happiness and excitement shining through. “I feel like we finally got one thing right.”
“We’re ruling the world in our own way.” I nodded. “We’re ruling the world with love.”
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds and then left the kitchen to join our fiancées. We’d come a long way, Greyson and I. When we’d first met, neither of us would have predicted that all we needed to make us happy was the one thing we’d never believed in. It was ironic in a way, but it was the best kind of irony. Greyson and I were brothers for life and now we had the families that completed us. We’d done so many things wrong in our lives, but now we were finally getting something right.
Epilogue
Nancy
I sat on the couch with Harry on my lap and I closed my eyes. This moment was perfect. I stared at Brandon as he kissed Katie, and I couldn’t believe that I’d ever thought about trying to bring him down. He was my father and I loved him.
I hugged Harry to me tightly. I couldn’t believe I’d ever been jealous of him. He was my little brother and I’d loved him on sight. The fact that he obviously adored me hadn’t hurt either. I was finally happy and content. I felt like every part of my life was complete. I had my family and I loved them—every single one of them. It almost made me forget about him—the one who’d broken my heart.
I knew I had college to look forward to and I knew that I had the most perfect dysfunctional family I could ask for, but I still thought about Hunter every single night. Hunter was the one I couldn’t stop thinking of. I knew my dad wouldn’t approve. Hunter wasn’t the sort of guy anyone wanted their daughter to be with, but that was part of the reason why I wanted him so badly.
“I love you, Nancy.” Harry leaned back and kissed my cheek, and I held him tight.
“I love you too, Harry,” I whispered back to him and smiled.
I was going to enjoy this moment. I was going to enjoy my family. I was going to try and forget Hunter once and for all. This was my life now and I was going to enjoy every second of it.
Thank you for reading After The Ex Games, the conclusion to The Ex Games and The Private Club. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please think about leaving a review and recommending the series to a friend. There will be a spinoff series coming out called The Love Trials that will focus on Nancy.
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