A text I still haven’t had a chance to read.
She lifts the box. “And I brought donuts.”
Mrs. D. makes a small, strangled sound beside me. Somewhere between a gasp and a prayer.
Meanwhile, my mind flips through vivid images of my impending murder.
Gabe’s baby sister.
What the actual fuck?
The room tilts sideways as all hell breaks loose.
Footsteps thunder from down the hall.
“Oh my God,” Connor shouts. “Is that?—”
Ollie barrels past him. “IT IS.”
“Ahh!” Snooki squeals like she’s just spotted a parade. She darts past the boys and latches on to Pix’s waist, clinging to her like a balloon she’s afraid might float away. “Princess Luna!”
“Princess… Luna?” I ask, because surely I misheard that this woman is royalty. Of the moon.
I’m immediately smacked in the gut from every direction.
“Dad,” Connor mutters. “You’re embarrassing us.”
Pix’s eyes meet mine. “Dad?” she echoes, one brow lifting as she takes in my trio of offspring.
My package deal.
The one that will always come before any relationship.
I pull my boys in close, hands braced on their shoulders. If you’re going to run for the hills, Pix, now would be the time.
Instead, she gives me exactly one unreadable look before turning all her attention to Snooki. She drops down so they’re eye to eye and wraps her in a hug like this is the most natural thing in the world.
“Hi,” she says softly. “And what’s your name, Princess?”
“Snooki,” she replies gleefully.
“I’m Connor,” my teenage linebacker adds, lifting a hand in a shy wave.
“Oliver Evans,” my goofball announces, bowing with a flourish. “At your service, Your Highness.”
Oh, for Christ’s sake. Maybe Her Highness would like to remind him to clean his room.
“I’m your biggest fan,” Mrs. D. says, finally breaking free of her starstruck chokehold. Hands pressed to her chest, she bounces on her toes like she might actually pee herself. “Come in,” she insists, ushering Pix forward before I can stop it.
Snooki climbs fully into Pix’s arms, settling there, and it’s too much.
Suddenly, I’m not at all sure how I feel about any of this.
Viviana. Ava. Whatever name she’s using. She’s a stranger.
Except she isn’t.
Her brother saved my life more than once.
