Devotion (The Hunted Series Book 4)

by Ivy Smoak

  He smiled. "Oh, I definitely missed that."

  "But seriously, James. That is the sweetest gift you've ever given me. How am I supposed to compete with that? And your birthday is tomorrow."

  "This is pretty good." He kissed my stomach. "Actually, this is really, really good. I love it. I couldn't have asked for a better present."

  "It is a little terrifying though."

  "It's okay. We're going to be fine."

  "How do you know?"

  He pulled me into his arms. "Because everything's alright as long as you're with me."

  I sighed as I listened to his steady heartbeat. There was no better sound in the world. No better feeling than his arms around me. Nothing at all was better than this.

  "Thank you for tonight, James. It was perfect."

  He kissed my forehead. "Thank you for taking a chance on me." He yawned and pulled me even closer.

  "Thank you for choosing me," I whispered against his chest.

  "I'll always choose you."

  ***

  I slipped out from underneath his arm and grabbed my phone. I needed to make his birthday special. Despite what James said, I needed to give him something great. I wanted to surprise him. I clicked on Rob's number in my phone and held it to my ear.

  "It's a little late," Rob said and cleared his throat. "Daphne's going to think I'm getting a booty call. Wait, is this a booty call? Am I dreaming?"

  "I'm sorry to wake you, but I need a favor," I whispered, ignoring everything he had just said.

  "Whatever you need, baby mama."

  I laughed and sat down on the couch. "I'm going to have to get used to that nickname. I was wondering if we could somehow manage to put together a last minute surprise party for James? Maybe at Mason and Bee's? James and I stayed at their hotel last night..."

  "Done."

  "You didn't even ask them."

  "I'll make it happen."

  I smiled. "Thanks, Rob. And can we maybe make it a small thing? Just our closest friends?"

  "You want me to uninvite people?"

  "What do you mean uninvite people? I only just told you about it."

  "I already sent out 150 invites while we were talking."

  "What?"

  "I'm just kidding. I'll take care of it."

  I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. But when he said he'd take care of it, I knew he would. "How are you feeling?"

  "Tired. But I'm super excited to be an uncle. And James seems really excited about it too."

  I glanced at the bed. "Yeah, he does." I smiled at the thought. He wanted the baby. He hadn't been upset at all. He was just happy. We were happy.

  "You're going to make great parents."

  "Thanks, Rob."

  "But it's not even going to compare to how awesome of an uncle I'm going to be. Speaking of which, are you going to do that thing where all your friends also call themselves aunt and uncle to the baby? Because I kind of like the idea of being the only uncle. Since I'm technically the only actual uncle."

  "I'll talk to James about it."

  "I'll take that as a yes. Mason and Matt can suck it."

  I laughed.

  "Okay, I have to go. I have a lot to do. Plus, I need to buy James a bunch of presents that I originally wasn't sure I was allowed buy because I didn't know if he knew yet. You know?"

  "Shouldn't you be taking it easy? Maybe..."

  "My older brother only turns 30 once. And I didn't...I mean, I didn't know if he was going to get to. I want to make it special."

  I closed my eyes. He was right. It had to be special. "Thanks, Rob. I'm sure whatever you get him he's going to love."

  "Lots of tequila and strippers?"

  "Please don't do that."

  "Ugh. Fine. Go back to bed, Penny. I got this covered."

  "No strippers."

  "What was that? I'm going under a tunnel. I think I'm losing the connection."

  "Didn't I just wake you up? Hello? Rob?" I pulled the phone away from my ear. The line was already dead.

  Chapter 39

  Sunday

  I slowly opened my eyes to see James staring at me.

  "I'm the luckiest man alive," he said with a smile.

  I blinked, letting his face come into focus. "Happy birthday, baby." I reached up and ran my hand against the scruff on his chin. "You're also the handsomest man alive."

  He turned his head to kiss my palm. "I was thinking for my birthday that I just want to relax and hang out here today."

  "Are you sure? I thought maybe we could go out to dinner somewhere and tell everyone the good news."

  "I don't think you've ever turned down a lazy day in." He lowered both his eyebrows.

  "I wasn't the only one that almost lost you. Your friends and family experienced that pain too. They want to see you."

  "Mhm." He yawned and slowly sat up. "I think you're planning something."

  "I'm not planning anything." I smiled at him. "I'll even let you choose the restaurant."

  "Okay. But we're going home right after dinner."

  "You turn 30 and suddenly your new bedtime is 8 o'clock?"

  He laughed. "I just want to be alone with you. Maybe we can go for a walk in Central Park tonight?"

  "That sounds perfect. The simplest things are my favorite things to do with you." I gave him a swift kiss on the lips. "Now get dressed, old man, we have places to be."

  I squealed as he pulled me on top of him.

  "What's the rush?"

  There was no rush. Right now all I wanted was for us to get lost in each other again.

  ***

  "Oh, I almost forgot. Bee accidentally left her sunglasses at the hospital. I told her we could drop them off for her." I pressed the button for their floor after we stepped onto the elevator.

  "We can just give them to her at dinner tonight."

  "But we're right here. It'll only take a second."

  James shrugged his shoulders and I tried to hide my smile. The doors dinged open on Mason and Bee's floor.

  I knocked on their door, but there was no answer.

  "I guess she's at yoga or something. Which means Mason is on a run. One sec." I pulled out the key I had to their place. Bee had given it to me for when they went on business trips together. They had one plant in their apartment, and Bee was terrified of killing it. She said it was her practice baby. I smiled as I put the key into the lock. Maybe I needed to get myself a plant too.

  "Are you sure it's okay for us to just go in? What if they're...you know." He winked at me.

  I laughed. "Then they should have answered the door. Besides, that's what spare keys are for. Returning your friends sunglasses if you happen to be in the neighborhood."

  "I guess," James said and put his hands in his pockets.

  I opened the door to an empty apartment.

  "At least they're not naked," James said with a laugh as he walked in.

  Awkward. It reminded me of when I had almost given James head in front of a houseful of surprise guests for my graduation party.

  "Surprise!" everyone yelled as they jumped out of their hiding places.

  James laughed and wrapped his arms around me. "Do you think they heard my naked comment?" he whispered in my ear.

  "I have no idea."

  He laughed again and kissed my cheek. "Thanks for the surprise. I knew you were acting weird."

  I smiled up at him.

  "Happy birthday!" Jen screamed and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, God, I'm sorry," she said and pulled back. "Does it still hurt?"

  "I'm okay," James said.

  "I hope it's alright that I invited Ian," she said.

  James glanced at Ian who was standing off to the side of everyone else. "When did that happen?"

  "You were unconscious for a long time. Come with me." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward Ian.

  James smiled at me from over his shoulder.

  "Whoa let me help you," I said and grabbed a huge gift wrapped box from Rob. H
e was holding it with one arm while balancing a crutch. "Geez, what's in here? This is ridiculously heavy."

  "It's a surprise, but you probably shouldn't be lifting it either. You can just put it on the ground." He adjusted the sling on his arm as I placed the box down in front of me.

  "And you should probably sit down." I looked down at the cast on his leg.

  "I keep telling him to sit down. Hi, Penny," Daphne said and gave me a hug.

  "How do I suddenly have so many women meddling in my life? Last time I checked, I still had my spleen so..."

  "Very funny. Thanks for putting this all together," I said and gave him a hug.

  "Anything for you guys. You know that." He kissed my cheek. "But yeah, maybe I should sit down."

  Daphne looped her arm behind his back.

  "Being an invalid does have its perks," he said to her and she smiled up at him.

  "You guys are adorable," I said.

  "Adorable?" Rob scrunched up his nose. "I hate that word. To the couch!" He pointed to where everyone else was gathered.

  James was already sitting there. He had saved a space beside him. I sat down and rested my head on his shoulder.

  "To James," Rob said and lifted up his glass. "The best brother and friend a guy could ask for."

  Everyone clinked glasses and I took a sip of my water.

  Mason cleared his throat. "James, you had us all worried sick. And the past few weeks have been...well, frankly, fucking terrible."

  James laughed.

  "It's not funny yet, man. But, either way, I thought we could all use some positivity. James, two years ago you gave me some advice. The best advice I've ever gotten, really. And even though I never ask for your help, you're always there for me. Bee and I wouldn't be together right now if it wasn't for you. And I don't want to steal the show in any way. But Bee and I have some news."

  "We're engaged!" she shrieked and turned her hand so we could see the huge ring on her finger.

  "Oh my God!" I got up and gave her a hug. "I'm so happy for you. And you, Mason." I gave him a hug too.

  "Thanks, Penny," Mason said. "And it's because of you too. If James hadn't met you, he never would have given me the advice that he did. And seeing you and him together, it made me realize what I was missing, you know? So, thank you."

  For some reason I started crying. "That's so sweet of you to say."

  "Don't cry." He smiled at me.

  "Sorry." I quickly wiped away my tears. "I've just been really emotional recently."

  "I think we all have."

  I wiped away the rest of my tears and looked back at Bee. "Your ring is beautiful. Tell us everything. How did he propose?"

  "It was so romantic." She smiled up at him. "He proposed at the top of the Empire State building."

  I glanced back at James. I rarely ever won one of our bets.

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  I took a second to soak in this moment as I looked around the room. Mason and Bee were finally engaged. Rob was in love. Melissa was snuggled up next to Matt. They seemed to be hitting it off really well. And Jen and Ian looked so happy together. I sat down next to James. "Let's tell them our news a different day," I whispered. "Let's just enjoy this moment right now."

  "I was thinking the same thing." He touched the bottom of my chin so that my lips met his.

  "Okay, okay," Rob said. "Congrats you two. But you said you didn't want to steal the show, so stop stealing the show. I want James to open the present I got him."

  Mason laughed. "Yeah. Sorry. We just couldn't not tell you guys."

  "I'm so happy for both of you," James said. "And thanks for what you said. That meant a lot to me."

  Mason walked over to him. He leaned down and gave him a hug. "I meant every word."

  They did that thing where they slapped each other on the back.

  Bee and I smiled at each other.

  "Where's the present you got him?" Mason asked.

  "By the door. Could someone go grab it for me?" Rob asked. "I've been told I'm not allowed to get up any more."

  Mason laughed. "The Hunter men have suddenly rendered themselves useless." He walked over to the door and grabbed the box. "Shit, this actually is pretty heavy. What the hell is in here? Bricks?" He put the present down on the floor in front of James.

  "It's a surprise," Rob said. "Actually, it's kind of a surprise for all of you. Open it."

  James tore the paper and slowly opened the box.

  "So, I was doing some research, and these are all the best books," Rob said. "About what to expect and everything. Things you should and shouldn't do. And there's some vitamins in there that Penny needs to start taking immediately."

  James laughed as he lifted up the bottle of prenatal vitamins.

  "Vitamins?" Matt asked. "Why did you buy Penny a present?"

  James smiled at me. "Well, we weren't going to say anything yet. But Penny and I have some news too. She's pregnant."

  "What?!" Melissa screamed. "Ah!" She attacked me in a huge hug. "You're going to be a mom? This is crazy." She hugged me again. "You're going to be such a great mom, Penny. Are you so excited?"

  "We're very excited," James said and rubbed my back.

  "I'm so happy for both of you." She gave James a hug. "You two didn't wait very long at all. I didn't realize that you wanted kids right away. But I'm so, so happy for you."

  "We didn't really plan it. But I couldn't be more excited. It was the best possible surprise. I'm sorry Mason and Bee, we didn't want to steal your thunder. We weren't going to say anything..."

  "Are you kidding?" Mason said. "I'm going to be an uncle!"

  "No," Rob said. "Technically I'm going to be the only uncle."

  "Congratulations," Mason said, ignoring Rob. "You really can't tell at all. Are you sure?"

  "We're sure," James said. "It's this tiny little dot, but it's there. Here, let me show you." He pulled out his wallet and handed the picture of the sonogram to Mason.

  I hadn't realized that he had put the picture in his wallet. Everything he did just warmed my heart so completely.

  "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Jen said. "This is so crazy exciting!"

  "It's definitely a boy," Rob said.

  I laughed. "No, we don't know."

  "When do you get to find out?"

  "Actually, we want that to be a surprise too."

  "You seriously don't want to know ahead of time?"

  "It's more fun this way." James rubbed my back again.

  He was saying everything I felt. I didn't need to say anything at all. Instead I looked through the box that Rob had given James. There was everything from naming books to actual books for the baby. So that we could read him bedtime stories.

  "How does it feel to be knocked up?" Matt asked.

  Melissa punched his arm.

  "I'm just so happy. And hungry. We haven't eaten breakfast yet."

  "Oh, we'll go get the cake," Bee said and quickly stood up. "You know this means we have to hop on the kid train soon too, Mason. We want our kids to grow up and be friends."

  "We have a little time," said Mason. "Matt and Rob are three years younger than James and me. And we all get along great. But yeah. I'd like our kids to grow up together. Which means all of you have to speed things up too," Mason said to Matt and Rob.

  "Well, Daphne and I are moving in together," Rob said. "Babies are next after that, right?" he said with a laugh.

  "You're moving out of your place in Newark?" I asked.

  "Well, yeah. James asked me to run Hunter Tech. I kind of need to be here. And I want to be here." He put his arm around Daphne.

  "You asked him to run Hunter Tech?"

  Rob laughed. "I think you two have a few things you need to talk about. Let's all go help with the cake."

  Daphne helped Rob to his feet and everyone went into the kitchen.

  "You asked him to take over?" I asked. I couldn't hide my excitement. This had to mean that he was going to teach again. That he
finally realized what truly made him happy.

  "Yeah. He wants to settle down. I think he was looking for an excuse to move here so that it wouldn't seem so crazy fast with Daphne. And he needs a little structure in his life. Besides, he was handling all my emails and stuff while I was in the hospital and he really took care of things for me. Thanks for having him handle that, by the way."

  "I never asked him to handle it."

  "You didn't?"

  "No. I guess he just...did it."

  James smiled. "Even more reason why he'll be a great fit. And he has a lot of great ideas for the company."

  "And what about you?"

  "The doctor said less stress. And I want to be there for you and the baby. I don't want to be working all the time."

  I smiled. "Won't you be bored?"

  "I may have applied for a few local teaching jobs," he said with a smile.

  "Yeah?"

  "You sound surprised. I told you I'd think about it before the wedding. I thought about it...and that's what I want."

  "You're going to be a professor again?"

  "Well, we'll see. I haven't heard back yet or anything. And I don't want to start anytime soon. I think I need some time off."

  "James, you don't even understand how happy that makes me."

  "I think you just want to be able to call me Professor Hunter all the time again."

  I laughed. "I'll never tire of calling you that. But no, that's not why. It's because you finally realized what you love."

  "I love you."

  "I mean besides me. You love teaching. It's what you were meant to do."

  "I kind of feel like I was meant to be a father too. I know I said I didn't want kids for a long time, but I'm not lying when I say I'm excited. I'm really, really happy."

  I smiled. "I know. And, I have something for you. I'm sorry I didn't wrap it. I was going to if we had gone home last night, but," I grabbed the onesie from my purse, "this was what I was going to give you to tell you I was pregnant."

  "God, it's so small." He unfolded the onesie I had picked up from the hospital gift shop. It had the Giants logo on it. "I'm pretty sure this is for a baby boy."