“I bet Luke’s going to give him a run for his money when this one’s born,” Scarlett said, rubbing her belly.
“No, we said no baby talk. Adult talk only, please and thank you,” Maeve said. “Now, wash your face so we can apply the face mask.”
Panic cut through me.Wash my makeup off?I couldn’t do that. It was my shield. My armor.
“Are you alright, Lydia? She didn’t tell you to cut off a toe,” Scarlett said.
“It’s just I don’t go anywhere without my makeup on,” I said.
Claire looked at me in the mirror and offered me a smallsmile. “It’s just us. You don’t need to look any certain way to hang out with your family. Or your brothers’ families.”
“And just think how smooth and soft your face will be…” Maeve was talking, but my mind was stuck on the word “family.” These ladies were a part of my family now. My idiot brothers managed to level up somehow, and these genuinely nice women were now my family too.
“I’m going to need makeup remover. Soap and water aren’t going to cut it,” I told them.
Twenty minutes later, I was lying on the floor alongside Maeve, Claire, and Scarlett, swapping stories about my brothers.
“Luke said—” Scarlett started, but before she could get another word in, the other two started cracking up. I shot my gaze around the room, trying to figure out what I’d missed.
“Sorry. It’s just that’s Scarlett’s favorite phrase.”
“She can’t keep his name out of her mouth. Never has,” Claire added, wiping tears from her eyes.
“Shut up. It’s not always his name in my mouth. Sometimes it’s his…”
She stopped herself, looking at me out of the corner of her eye with a satisfied smirk on her face.
“Anyway,” Maeve said, trying to change the topic. “How’s things going staying with Charlie and Sheila?”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “I love my dad, and Sheila is great, but living at my childhood home again as an adult is rough. I feel like a teenager if I sit in my room, but hanging out on the couch is just as strange. And good God, how much news does one person need to watch?”
“I’d invite you to stay here, but I don’t have a third bedroom, and Veda’s not the best sleeper yet.”
“You can always come stay with me and Reid,” Claire offered. “We have more than enough space.”
“No. No way. You guys just got married. I’m not going to infringe on your honeymoon phase,” I told her.
“Cool, so you’ll move in with me and Luke,” Scarlett stated matter-of-factly.
“Um, no. You’re having a baby.” My face told her exactly what I thought of that insanity. These women barely knew me. I could be a psychopath for all they knew. Yet, they were eagerly inviting me into their homes, into their lives. I had forgotten that feeling of small-town living. Where people offered you a hand instead of stepping on your fingers on the way by. I think I missed it.
“Psh, that’s not for months,” she said.
The door opened, and speak of the devil, Wyatt and Luke walked in, each holding a sleeping baby.
“Hey, doll. Ladies,” Wyatt greeted, his eyes landing on me. “Fiona,” he said.
I looked to Luke in confusion, but he just shook his head. The other women didn’t seem to be in the know either, all looking at Wyatt in bewilderment.
“FromShrek,” he said, looking around the room. “Because she’s green…”
“Oh, I get it.” Maeve grinned. The other three had all peeled the masks off a while ago, having gotten started before me.
“If I have to explain it, it’s not funny,” Wyatt grumbled leaning over to plant a kiss on Maeve’s lips.
I hurried to wash the mask off my face so I could help them clean things up. By the time I was finished plucking little green pieces of clay off my skin, they were pretty much done. The pillows were put back on the couch along with thefolded blankets. The drinks were put away, the leftover food discarded or wrapped and saved for later.
“You ready to go, baby?” Luke asked Scarlett.
