“You’ll have to ask your dad about that,” Annie says as she smiles up at Jake.
Jake leans in and kisses her cheek. “I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”
“Oh, I forgot!” Luke chimes in. “Aunt Annie’s going to have another baby. I sure hope it’s a boy.”
The entire room goes silent, and Annie and Jake freeze. I watch as Annie’s cheeks flush deeply.
Oh, dear.
When the silence goes on a little too long, Luke looks around at all the dumbstruck adults, his eyes widening in realization.“Oh, I forgot. That’s a secret. We’re not supposed to tell anyone. Sorry!”
“Well,” Jake says as he finally regains the ability to speak. “I guess the cat is out of the bag.” He puts his arm around Annie and draws her close. “We are expecting. Annie is two months along. We weren’t quite ready to announce it yet, but I guess that’s a moot point now.”
Luke looks over at me and Shane, who took a seat beside me. Shane’s now got Ava standing on his thighs.
“Am I in trouble?” Luke asks us.
When the room breaks out in laughter, Luke smiles in relief.
Bridget walks over to Annie and leans down to hug her. She hugs Jake as well. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“Please let it be a boy!” Aiden says.
Elly walks into the great room. “Lunch is ready. I set the food out on the buffet in the dining room so you can all fill your own plates. I set up a kids’ table in the kitchen, and we have enough seats and high chairs for all the grandkids. Bridget and Ingrid will help me with the kids, so the rest of you can have a relaxing meal in the dining room.”
Molly takes Henry back.
Aiden pauses to ask, “Daddy, after lunch, can I go outside and play in the snow?”
Jake frowns as he glances out the big wall of windows at the back of the great room, at the snow that is still falling heavily. “We’ll have to see, buddy. It’s really coming down out there.”
“But you said we could!”
“I said we could if the weather cooperates. Right now, it doesn’t seem to be doing that.”
Luke says as he slides off the sofa. “I want to play in the snow, too.”
“Maybe,” Shane says. “If the snow stops.”
While Elly, along with help from the grandmas, takes the kids to the kitchen to eat lunch, the rest of us gather in the dining room to sit around a long table designed to accommodate a huge family.
“I’ll hold him,” I offer to Molly as she sits with Henry in her arms. “So you can eat.”
She hands me the baby, who feels incredibly small and light in my arms. I’m used to carrying Ava, who’s a little over a year old now.
While I’m cuddling my new nephew, Shane fills a plate for me and brings it to the table. I eat with one hand, while I cradle Henry in my other arm.
Lia and Jonah are taking turns holding Hazel so Jamie can eat.
When everyone is finally seated, Calum raises his glass and makes a toast. “To family. To my beloved wife, Bridget, who has given me the world. And to all the people in this room who make all of our lives worthwhile.”
“Cheers!” everyone says as they tap their glasses and take a sip.
When I get a moment, I say to Annie and Jake, “Congratulations on the new baby. I’m really sorry about Luke spilling the beans. I honestly don’t know how he found out you were expecting because Shane and I didn’t know.”
Jake laughs. “Aiden must have told him. But the crazy thing is, we never told Aiden.”
“How did he find out?” I ask.
