Hazel squeals so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear. "Oh my god, Sharon! That's incredible! Congratulations!"
"Thanks. It's still pretty new. We literally just found out this morning."
"Is it...?" She trails off delicately.
"All three of them," I confirm. "We won't know who the biological father is until after the baby's born, but honestly, it doesn't matter. They're all the dad."
"That's beautiful. Really." Hazel's voice softens. "I'm so happy for you. And don't worry about Hawaii. Jessica's amazing. I'm sure she'll handle everything perfectly."
We chat for a few more minutes about her engagement and the wedding plans, and by the time I hang up, I'm smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. Good things do happen. People do fall in love for real, not just for show. Sometimes the universe doesn't completely screw you over.
"Hazel's engaged," I announce to the living room, where all three of my alphas are pretending to watch TV while obviously eavesdropping on my conversation.
"To the fake boyfriend?" Jett asks.
"Former fake boyfriend. Actual boyfriend now. He proposed last night."
Pine smiles, that soft secret smile he gets when he's genuinely happy for someone. "Good for them."
"Yeah." I flop down on the couch between Cassian and Jett, immediately sinking into Cassian's side. He wraps an arm around me, tugging me closer, and I go willingly. "Also, I told her about the baby. She's sending Jessica to Hawaii instead of me."
"Jessica's going to flip," Cassian says.
"Oh, she's going to lose her mind." Jessica's been not-so-subtly asking about my sex life for months now, claiming she needs to live vicariously through me since her own dating life is "a disaster of epic proportions." Finding out I'm pregnant with triplets is going to make her entire year.
As if summoned by my thoughts, my phone buzzes with a text. Jessica.
Jessica:HAZEL JUST CALLED ME
Jessica:SHARON OLIVIA MARTINEZ
Jessica:YOU'RE PREGNANT???
Jessica:AND I'M GOING TO HAWAII???
Jessica:THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
I can't help but laugh. "Jessica knows."
"Called it," Jett says.
I text back:You're going to Hawaii. I'm growing a human. Fair trade.
Jessica:I'M COMING OVER
Jessica:RIGHT NOW
Jessica:DON'T TRY TO STOP ME
"Jessica's coming over," I announce.
"Of course she is," Pine says, but he's smiling. He likes Jessica, even if she makes him uncomfortable sometimes with her tendency to ask invasive questions and then answer them herself.
Thirty minutes later, Jessica barges through the front door like she owns the place. She's wearing a bright yellow sundressthat shouldn't work in late October but somehow does on her, her dark curls wild around her face, and she's holding what appears to be an entire bakery's worth of cupcakes.
"I brought cupcakes!" she announces. "Because apparently you're growing a person and I'm going to Hawaii and we're all winning today."
"Pretty sure I'm the one growing the person," I say, but I'm already reaching for a cupcake. Red velvet, my favorite.
