Imperfectly Beautiful (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #3)

Secrets and Strip Poker

-JORDAN-

"You think I'm ready for all this?" Nate asked as we stood outside of the doorway to Grace's classroom and listened to her teacher finish up reading a story about colors. "Taking care of a little tiny human?"

I sucked in a breath as Grace turned towards me. Her dark curly hair swung behind her and she waved with an excitement that made me flashback in time for a split-second to the days when I'd picked the twins up from school and they'd gazed at me with the same childlike wonder.

She attended half-day preschool 3 days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while Maria met in-person with the students she taught through an online school. Typically, Grace spent Monday and Wednesday afternoons with me and Lia and Fridays with Tony's mom, but this Friday Katherine was busy helping Maria get everything arranged for the holiday party that she and Tony were set to host that night and Lia was out shopping for the perfect outfit with Paige. Thus, Nathan and I had temporarily left from working at the theater to come pick her up and bring her back with us.

No matter how many times I laid eyes on my granddaughter, it always seemed just a little surreal. I couldn't believe just how quickly the years had gone by—and the realization that I was just months away from being 'Papa' to two tiny humans was mind-boggling.

Lia and I had married and started a family incredibly young, but I wasn't sure that I'd fully comprehended exactly what that looked like until I was now watching Nathan go through it.

Maria had inevitably been young having Grace in high school, however at 22, Nate was the same age I'd been when I'd first held him in my arms. Although in my head I'd pictured myself as all grown up then, I'd done a lot of changing since then and I knew he would too.

For the first time I understood exactly why my mom had been less than thrilled when I'd shown up at her house, distraught over Lia wanting to leave, and revealed that I'd eloped and she was having my baby, but I was about to lose her. I could still very clearly remember the tears that had gathered in Mom's eyes even though she'd kept her composure and calmly heard me out through my semi-drunk ramblings.

At the end of it all she'd expressed her concerns, but she'd ultimately closed out with the fact that she believed babies were a gift from God and I needed to go fix things with my wife. In her words, regardless of the circumstances, we'd created a new life together and we were forever bonded as a family no matter what happened. That concept had stuck with me ever since.

Nathan, Maria, Natalie, Logan, Grace, and the little angel baby that Lia and I'd lost were precious little pieces of heaven to me and I was grateful for each and every moment and lesson that I got to teach them and learn from them along the way. All the money and fame and success in the world were worthless to me without my family—my wife and children were my greatest accomplishments and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Through my highest highs and lowest lows, they were there when nobody else cared. I could only hope that same sense of familial love and purpose would translate to my children as they embarked on their lives and their families.

I knew that hope was at the core of Lia's worries too. She had spent many of the last few nights whispering to me her concerns that Nate had gotten himself in over his head. In her mind's eye, he was jumping head first into something he wasn't prepared to handle. If I was being honest, from his past conversations, I wasn't so sure that settling down had been anywhere in his plans, but I always tried to assure her that he was going to be just fine in the end

I'd made my share of mistakes when I was young—playing the field, chasing after girls I knew were no good for me, and even rushing things ahead with Lia to the point that we'd crashed and burned before starting again—still, deep inside I'd always been a hopeless romantic. I'd known that fairytale love was out there and I'd looked everywhere for it until I could find it. One kiss and hookup with Lia had been enough to convince me she was the one I was looking for, but we'd still done a lot of growing in our love for each other. Just that small spark never would've been strong enough to maintain the relationship we'd built over the past twenty-plus years.