“Surprise, Angel,” I whisper, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “And surprise to you, too, Kels.” I kiss her cheek next.
“You did this for us?” Anastacia asks as Tommy walks over, putting his arm around Kelsey.
“Of course we did. This is special, and we wanted to make sure you both got a baby shower. Doing it together just made sense.”
“I swear, they’re going to go into labor at the same time,” Shark says as he stops beside us.
“That would be kind of awesome,” Kelsey says, resting her head on Tommy’s shoulder.
“It totally would,” Anastacia says.
We go into the yard, saying hello to everyone as we make our way to the patio. The decorations are bright, and though we haveno idea what we are having since we chose to keep it a surprise, we chose pink because Kels and Anastacia both love it.
They each have their own chair, decorated in bows and balloons. The tables, chairs, and trees are decorated, too, with streamers, balloons, and little cut-outs.
We eat a lot of food. We play games. We open gifts. It’s a beautiful, perfect day. Anastacia and Kelsey are celebrated, and we get all sorts of gifts for the babies—which makes the girls so happy. And the best part yet? Dorothea takes more steps—and Anastacia doesn’t miss it.
Epilogue
Anastacia
Three months later…
Dorothea’s room is trashed.
The laundry is piled up.
The dishes are overflowing the sinkandthe dishwasher.
And don’t get me started on the fridge. I’m pretty sure something is growing in there.
None of us, not a single adult in this house, has the energy to clean. Not after dealing with two screaming newborns and a one-year-old who has more battery life than the energizer bunny. I don’t know how she does it.
Oh, maybe because she gets to sleep at night. Somehow, the babies don’t wakeherup at all. She sleeps like a damn rock.
I’ve just dropped onto the bed, ready for sleep, and Grizz pulls me close.
“We need to hire a maid,” I complain.
“I’ve got the prospects coming in here tomorrow,” he says, sounding half asleep.
“You really shouldn’t have them do stuff like that. How does that prove anything?”
“It proves they know how to listen, and that they’re loyal and willing to do anything for the club.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever.”
I rest my arm over my eyes and fall into a deep sleep… for about ten minutes before the baby starts crying again.
“I don’t think I’m going to survive this one, Grizz,” I say.
“We’ve got this,” he says, sitting up with a huff. He comes around the bed to get our baby, our daughter, from her bassinet. He rocks her from side to side, sweetly shushing her.
It doesn’t work.
“I think she’s hungry,” he says.
With a sigh, I sit up against the headboard and hold my arms out. He passes Francesca over to me, and I lift my nursing bra and let her feed. She is hungry. She’s always hungry. Dorothea did not eat this much, and she definitely slept more.
