I nearly choked on my coffee. “You put frozen peas under the sheet?”
“Yes, Daddy, because that’s how you test. It’s in the book with the princess, remember? But we didn’t know if it was the letter p or the vegetable, so we did both.” Audrey stepped forward and lifted the sheet, pulling out two pieces of paper with the letter P written all over them. “This didn’t work, so then we had to do the other pea.”
The logic was absolutely insane and completely perfect. I looked at Emily, who had one hand pressed to her lower back where the frozen peas had apparently made contact, her expression caught somewhere between bewilderment and delight.
“So.” She cleared her throat, clearly trying to keep it together. “The verdict is in? I’m officially a princess?”
“Yes!” They rushed at her, throwing their arms around her in a tangle of limbs and excitement. “We knew it! We knew you were!”
“Well then.” Emily hugged them back, her eyes meeting mine over their heads. Christ, she was gorgeous. “I guess I should start working on my royal wave.”
“You have to wear a crown,” Alice insisted.
“And a fancy dress,” Audrey added.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
I stood there in the doorway, coffee cooling in my hand, watching Emily with my daughters. Watching her fit into my life like the missing piece I’d been too stubborn to look for. Yeah. I was in so much trouble.
CAM
The gravel crunched under my tires as I drove up the long driveway to my parents’ place. The house sat back from the road, a sprawling ranch style home surrounded by tall, leafy trees and immaculate gardens. If it weren’t for my mom’s luxury SUV parked in front of the garage, you would never tell my parents were multi-millionaires.
“We’re here!” Alice unbuckled herself before I’d even put the truck in park.
“Hold on, monster. Let me stop first.”
But she was already bouncing in her seat, craning her neck to see if her cousins were outside yet. Audrey was more patient, waiting until I’d properly parked before opening her door.
I grabbed the dessert I’d brought and climbed from the truck, helping first Audrey, then Alice out. The scent of grilling meat wafted on the air, making my stomach growl.
“Audrey! Alice!” My brother Travis’s daughter Annabella came tearing around the corner of the house, her dark curls flying behind her. Her brothers, Oliver and Leo, were right behind her. Within seconds my girls were swept up in a tornado of cousin energy.
“Uncle Cam!” Oliver skidded to a stop in front of me, grinning. “Dad says we can play blob tag after dinner.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“That’s what makes it fun.”
Fair point.
I followed the chaos of children around to the back deck where Dad stood at the barbecue, spatula in hand. His hair had gone mostly gray in the last few years, but he still had the broad shoulders and easy stance of a man who’d spent his life doing physical work. He was wearing the apron Mom had gotten him for Christmas. It said “Grill Sergeant” in big block letters, and he was absolutely rocking it.
“Cam!”
“Hey, Dad.” I shoved the dessert into the outdoor fridge.
He flipped a burger with unnecessary flair. “How’s it going, son?”
“Good. Busy. I need to talk to you about the Goldsboro franchise at some point, but it’s not urgent.”
“Sure thing, if you think you’ve got time. Your mom’s been worried about you handling everything at home with her laid up.”
“We’re managing.” Mainly thanks to Emily, but I didn’t want to get into that here.
As if on cue, Mom appeared in the doorway, moving carefully on crutches. She was only two weeks post-op and was already trying to do too much.
Travis’s wife Brooke was right behind her, hands hovering like she was ready to catch Mom if she fell.
