Zander and I stare at one another, then we both look at my stomach. Are there four babies in there?
“They would’ve told us if you were having four babies,” he assures me.
“Four cousins!” Wren screams, and she and Leia dance around in a circle.
“Is this Emmett’s idea of a joke?” I ask. “That he thinks we’re having quadruplets and didn’t know what colors to pick for each kid so he’s just doing all of them? Like purple would be a girl, pink would be a girl, blue and green would be boys?—”
Then a yellow one shoots off into the air, interrupting all of our thoughts.
“Oh my god. Five—what is five? What is the word for five babies?” I ask no one in particular.
“Quintuplets?” Briar cringes.
I stare at my belly. “There’s no way. I’d be bigger if we were having quintuplets.”
Zander just stares at my stomach, his face turning a shade whiter.
Briar passes Colter to Uncle Bruce and shouts, “Emmett! Get out here and tell us what’s going on!”
Emmett comes out from the vineyard, and he and Bennett jog up the hill while a mix of colored smoke still lingers in the air.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!” Emmett pants as he finally makes it into The Knotted Barn.
Everyone goes back inside because we’re freezing, but Zander’s still standing on the balcony, staring at the sky and the smoke fading away. I return to his side.
“Five,” he says. “Five.”
I turn toward him, and Emmett blurts out, “No! I’m sorry. They sent me the wrong thing. They were supposed to be five of the same color. I don’t know how it got mixed up.”
Zander and I go back inside with everyone else.
“So, there’s only one?” I ask.
“Yes! Yes, you’re only having one baby.” He laughs to himself but catches Briar’s eye and sobers quickly.
“Emmett, tell us what it is,” I say.
“I’m really upset about the surprise. I’m sorry. They’re gonna hear from me, so don’t worry.”
“Emmett!” we all shout.
“Crap. A boy. You’re having a boy!”
We all erupt into cheers and screams.
Zander pulls me into his arms, his face buried in my neck. “Oh, thank fuck. I mean, I want to have five kids with you, but I’m not sure I want to do it all at once.”
I whisper into his ear, “It’s a boy. We’re going to have a son.”
His voice cracks as if he might be crying, but then his tears spill hot onto my cheeks, and he kisses them away. We share a special moment right before my family presses in—hugging and clapping and shouting and giving us their congratulations in one big group hug.
By the time all the excitement dies down, my cheeks hurt from smiling and Zander’s hand is welded to mine.
We carry on celebrating through the night, and it’s so nice to see everyone loving on us so much. But the second we get inside the honeymoon suite at The Getaway Lodge, his mouth crashes onto mine.
Although I’m tired, I want him more.
My hunger for him aches. My back hits the wall, and his hands frame my face, his body flush against mine.
