“I gotcha. It’s cool, and I won’t say anything, except I’m happy for you.”

Slim shook his friend’s outstretched hand. “Thanks and likewise. What a great night this has been.”

“Indeed it has. I gotta hit the head and get back to my wife before she gets a better offer.”

“She’s never going to get a better offer, and she’s smart enough to know that.”

Adam smiled. “I got really lucky. I hope you do, too.” He took off toward the men’s room, leaving Slim alone to think about his next move.

Chapter 22

Owen had brought Laura home from Adam’s wedding at ten o’clock. She’d wanted to stick it out until midnight, but he could see that she was exhausted and had talked her into coming home to bed.

While she slept in his arms, their busy babies played a soccer game in her belly.

Owen smiled in the dark each time a little foot or elbow connected with his body and wondered how she could be sleeping through the party they were having. She’d been incredibly tired as the third trimester got under way, which was why they’d been arguing over the Christmas gift she’d given him—tickets to Anguilla for Evan and Grace’s wedding.

Laura had cleared the travel with Victoria and David, and insisted they had to be there when his best friend and her cousin got married.

Owen disagreed, preferring to stay home where they’d be close to her doctor and midwife in the event of any problem.

They were at a standoff, with Laura insisting they were going and he insisting they weren’t. The rare disagreement was working on his already frazzled nerves as he waited to see if his father would call again. It had been more than ten days since the last call, and Owen wondered if he’d missed the opportunity by ignoring the first two calls.

They’d spent a lot of time with his mom and Charlie over the holidays, and seeing how happy they were together made Owen determined to do what he could to win her freedom from her nightmare of a marriage.

But the bastard had yet to call again. Why didn’t he call? It wasn’t like Owen could call him in prison. No, he was forced to wait for Mark to make the next move, which only added to his anxiety.

Between the ongoing argument with Laura and the stress of waiting to see if his father would call, Owen knew there was no chance he’d sleep tonight. He disentangled from Laura, who’d reached for him in her sleep out of habit, and settled her on the pillow next to his. Sweeping her hair back from her face, he kissed her cheek and stared down at her for a long moment, wishing he could make her see his side of their debate.