“Look, if things don’t work out, these are the people I’m going to call over to bring a box of tissues and let me cry snot all over their shirts.”
“That’s really disgusting imagery,” Axel sneered, making a face.
“It’s early,” Tessa cautioned, her hand moving unconsciously to her stomach. “But we’re expecting.”
Scarlett’s eyes flew wide, her mouth curving into a delighted smile. So did Dakota’s.
“Oh my God!” I chirped, practically bouncing in my seat.
“Expecting what?” Axel cocked his head with exaggerated confusion.
Dakota smacked his chest. Rainbow’s head popped up, like she was ready to defend him. “A baby, Axel.”
He looked from her to Blake, his expression shifting to mock horror. “Gross, dude.”
“A baby is not gross,” Dakota protested.
“The thought of him planting his DNA flag in someone is.”
“Axel!” Dakota smacked his chest again, but she just laughed. Jace and Scarlett snickered. Rainbow barked once, sharp and pointed, like she agreed with Dakota.
“Even the dog thinks you’re an idiot,” Ryker said.
“The dog has four and a half legs and ate an entire cake last week. Her judgment is questionable at best.”
“Wow.” Ryker wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tight. “Here you were, giving me grief about dating your sister, while you’re busy knocking mine up.”
“She’s my wife,” Blake growled, but there was affection in his tone.
“My wife,” Tessa repeated dreamily, like she still couldn’t believe it.
“And now, the future mother of my child.”
“Tessa, you look like you’re about to jump his bones. Save it for private, yeah?” Axel grinned wickedly.
“You have no idea what ‘my wife’ and ‘mother of my child’ do to us women in the romance book world,” Tessa sighed dramatically.
“Jesus. You need to read a good horror book instead. Oh!” Axel snapped his fingers, jostling Rainbow, who gave him an offended look. “I should write one about Blake.The Curious Case of Dr. Blake Morrison’s Missing Personality: A Tragic Tale of a Man Consumed by Responsibility and Absolutely Zero Fun. It would be a bestseller.”
Blake glared at him. “I hate you.”
“The feeling’s mutual, but here we are, sitting around a fire, like a found-family Hallmark movie. Life’s weird.”
The conversation lulled for a moment, everyone processing the baby news in their own way. Scarlett and Jace exchanged a loaded look. Dakota’s smile turned wistful. And Ryker’s hand tightened on my shoulder.
“Where’s your new friend?” Tessa asked, glancing around like Harper might materialize from the shadows. “Harper, right?”
“Went to bed early. She started her new job at the penitentiary,” I said, poking at the fire with a stick. Sparks danced up into the night.
“At the prison?” Dakota’s head snapped up, her eyes suddenly bright with something I couldn’t quite read. Hope? Calculation? “Knox’s prison?”
Right. In all the chaos of my charges and Ryker being investigated and not charged, I hadn’t filled Harper in on Knox.
“Maybe Knox will get out soon,” Dakota continued, her voice almost cracking as she stared at Tessa and Blake. “How great would it be if he was home before we all start our families?”
The mention of her brother shifted something in the air. The firelight caught on Dakota’s face, highlighting her love and longing and a grief that came from years of separation.
Axel’s usual smirk faded. He looked down at Rainbow, his jaw tight. “He should be here.”
