“Our wife is having our babies tonight,” Alex coolly replies.
“It’s go time?” Vincent chimes in.
I nod once. “Yep.”
“Where’s the go-bag?” Vincent asks.
Max is already fumbling through his pockets for the car keys. “I’ll pull the car around to the back door off the kitchen.”
“I’ve got the wife,” Alex says and steps closer, slipping an arm around my oversized waist to help keep me upright. “Come on, we’ve got you.”
Tears spring to my eyes as I look up at him. “What about the restaurant?”
“It’ll be fine,” he says.
“It’s the grand opening!”
“And it’s going to be fine. The staff was prepared for this.Everybody knows what they need to do, and they’ll do it,” Alex replies way too calmly.
“But it’s your big night.”
He laughs lightly and kisses me on the lips. “Baby, it’s our night. And our night is about to get a hell of a lot bigger.”
“How are you so calm?” I whisper. Another contraction hits, and my knees buckle as I hold on to him for dear life.
“I promised you, didn’t I?” Alex says, his gaze soft and filled with love. “I promised you we’d handle this. Look at us, handling it, and you’re still surprised?”
“No, I’m… oh, for the love of… I’m impressed!”
“Good. Then let’s get you to the car before you push the rascals out in time for dessert,” Alex replies and helps me out the back door of the kitchen, which leads us right into the back alley where Max parked the car, leaving the engine running.
“I love you three so much,” I gasp as the contraction slightly subsides, giving me a moment to breathe. “We need to start timing these…”
“You have the watch,” Vincent reminds me as he opens the passenger door, then he and Alex help me get in. “And we’ve got you, baby.”
“We love you,” Alex adds and plants one more kiss on my forehead before he gets in the back seat with me.
Vincent calls shotgun, and Max is about to drive like the gates of hell are about to open up behind us, I just know it.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
RAINA
“The Velvet Dream. It sounds very nouveau riche,” Matty says. “Pretentious, but not too pretentious. I like it.”
I lean back in my chair.
For five years, I’ve been working toward this moment. Tonight, we open the doors to my own personal and highly anticipated project. It hasn’t been easy, not while running The Black Swan and raising Asher and Emily at the same time. Then again, it hasn’t been too hard either, because Asher and Emily have three amazing dads who have been nothing but supportive and just perfect.
I think this is as close to heaven on earth as I’m ever going to get, and I’ll take it. I’ll take every day that God gives me, as long as I’ve got my family beside me.
“It sounds good, though,” Kaleb chimes in, one arm resting around Vivian’s shoulders.
We’re gathered around the breakfast table, still absorbing the end result of six months’ worth of hard work. The Velvet Dream is an experience from the moment you walk through its Art Nouveau-style doors with their thick glass and sumptuous brass frame details. A subtle scent of vanilla and cinnamon hits you as soon as you step into the waiting area, where a hostess will take your coat and lead you to your table.
“Do you think twenty tables is enough, though?” Matty asks, looking around before he goes over his notes again.
We were going to have this final pre-opening meeting in the back office, but with Kaleb and Vivian popping in on the heels of their Hawaiian honeymoon, I figured we could both welcome them and hash out the last of the details without much of a fuss.
