“Did Chloe find out?” Skyla’s response makes me take notice. It tears me up that Gage has turned his life, and by proxy hers and mine, into a spectator sport that none of us want anything to do with.
Lex waves it off. “Chloe’s all into that life-doesn’t-give-you-all-that-many-surprises bullshit. She’ll probably have afaun—half-man, half-goat.” She smears a grin over her face. “I’m taking an online class on Shakespeare to fill in some of my GE requirements.”
“Nice”—Michelle muses—“at the pace you’re going, you should have your degree by the time you’re forty.”
“Better than none at all,” Lex quips right back. “What are you two having?” She looks to Skyla and me. We know what we’re having. But do we want the world to know what we’re having?
Bree giggles into her sleeves. “Oh, come on. You’re having your baby girl.” Her eyes fill with spontaneous tears as she looks to her best friend. “I’m sorry, but I’m so excited I can’t fight it.”
Skyla bites down over her lip a moment, that huge smile blooming is proving to be unstoppable. “I can’t fight it either. It’s true. We’re getting our little angel back.” She looks to her mother and Lizbeth howls something out that would make every werewolf proud to have her as a part of the pack.
“A girl!” Lizbeth howls once again, this time commanding the attention of the entire house.
“A girl.” I tap Skyla’s lips with my own. “Our girl. And I cannot wait to hold her again.”
Lex twirls a pencil in the air. “That brings me to my next question. Do we have the bachelorette party before your monkey comes into the world, or per tradition a weekend prior to the big day?”
Bree tips her head our way. “I don’t know. Skyla’s going to have the baby just a few weeks before the wedding.”
“And she’ll be breastfeeding.” Lizbeth is quick to toss a boob into the mix.
“I will,” Skyla adds. “Which is exactly why I don’t even want a bachelorette party. With the baby and the wedding, and my hormones going wild, I think I have enough on my plate already.”
“Screw you, Mess.” Em dots her finger over Michelle’s legal pad. “Pop it in there somewhere before she shoots the kid out. I want tapas and margaritas, dammit. And you’re not ruining this for me.”
“Fine,” Skyla concedes. “But I get a say in it.”
Bree clears her throat. “Actually, Chloe called it. And, trust me, I know how weird that sounds, but nobody is happier for you than my other bestie. She’s not going to do a thing to stop this wedding. She’s pulling out all the stops to make sure this happens for the two of you.”
Skyla drums out a husky laugh. “And there’s not a force in the universe that could keep me away on our wedding day. I’ll be walking down the aisle that day in December come hell or high water.”
Lexy clears her throat. “Yes, well. Hell seems to follow wherever you go, and seeing that this is Paragon, there will be high water. What’s the contingency plan in the event it rains?”
“It won’t rain.” Skyla shakes the thought off just as a roar of thunder rattles the windows and the storm outside rages ten times harder as if Paragon were protesting. “My mother will ensure it.”
Lizbeth chortles from the kitchen as she bops her way over with Em’s baby girl, Ella, bouncing on her hip. “Don’t you worry, Skyla. I have friends in high places, and that day is as good as filled with sunshine.”
Lex clicks her tongue without looking up from her laptop. “If you’re talking about your boyfriend Demetri, he hates Skyla.”
“But”—Michelle lifts a finger—“he likes Skyla with Logan.”
Skyla pulls out an exhaustive to-do list Lex printed out for her. “Demetri Edinger isn’t happy with me in any capacity. Don’t be fooled. That man hates me.”
“Oh, Skyla,” Lizbeth grunts as if she shot her. “That man adores you. He was rooting for you and Gage the entire time. Anything that ended that union had to do with Gage and the fact he lost his mind. He’ll come around again, Skyla. That boy loves you something fierce. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he came crawling back right before the wedding.”
Now it’s my turn to grunt, “Gage can do what he wants, but he’s not getting Skyla back.”
“Ha!” Tad shakes the newspaper he’s holding loose, and suddenly he’s visible to the room once again. The boys are squealing in the next room with their cousins as Drake and Ethan teach them how to slaughter an entire infantry with the latest greatest video game that’s harnessed their attention. “So you’re really next, huh?” Tad leers my way.
“That’s right. I’m the lucky one.” I thread my fingers with Skyla’s.
Tad leans in and scowls at the two of us. “So where, pray tell, do the two of you expect to shack up?”
“I’ve got a house,” I’m quick to answer.
“And”—Skyla takes a breath—“we will be moving in next December. Until then, we’ll be right here.”
“Oh, thank God.” Lizbeth groans with relief. “I need to have my fill of that baby before you leave.”
