“Well, sweetie, you were kind of busy between getting married and going on your honeymoon,” December crooned, which made Sloane smile. It was still hard to believe some of our kids were married. Like, when did that happen, us getting old?
December hugged her. “Still can’t believe you’re my daughter now.”
“And that we’re family.” Brielle, Sloane’s mama, came over. December let go of Sloane, which allowed Brielle to give herdaughter the biggest squeeze. She also squeezed December’s hand. “I guess we’re just making it official now.”
We all had been in each other’s lives for so long that we were like family.
“You still owe us all a wedding though,” Billie said, as she came down the stairs with Fawn, Ares’s fiancée. Ares was Brielle’s son. Billie and Fawn carried empty boxes, so I assumed they’d been working upstairs.
Billie hip-bumped Sloane. “So have we decided on a date for that?”
We all threw some out there for Sloane. She and Dorian got married in Vegas recently, and we’d all nearly missed it. They’d decided to impulsively get hitched after graduation.
“Um, no, not yet,” Sloane said, chewing her lip.
“Well, no pressure, baby,” Brielle said, hugging her daughter. Maybe she picked up on the expression. She rubbed Sloane’s arm. “We’ll be ready when you are.”
“I know,” Sloane said, but I noticed her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I have an idea,” I said, deciding to change the tone of the conversation. I wasn’t sure why it suddenly felt heavy but, me being me, I couldn’t help but try to make things light again. We were all having so much fun a minute ago, and I wanted to keep that going. I clapped a little. “We should throw Bru, Wells, and Bow a housewarming party! We could divvy up roles and?—”
“Hire catering. Oh my God, please let me be in charge of that. There’s a service I’ve been wanting to try out before we move forward with Dorian and Sloane’s big wedding.” December clapped, too. “Ah. This will be so much fun.”
“And I could play the music,” Aspen said, looking excited herself. “I have some friends who would love to join me.”
Aspen’s friends ended up being Grammy Award–winning artists when she named them, and that made usallexcited of course.
“I’d love to help with the decorations,” Fawn said. “I bet Ares would have some great ideas. And you, too, of course, Sloane.”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Sloane said, and, to my delight, her expression brightened again. She beamed at Fawn. “Oh my God, I’ve got so many ideas for something like this.”
She proceeded to tell us all about them, and the room’s excitement went into overdrive.
“This will be so much fun,” Sloane said.
“And a housewarming party is okay with you, right, Bow?” Greer asked, looking at her daughter. I suppose I’d gotten kind of ahead of myself. I hadn’t asked her.
“Of course, it’s okay!” Bow clapped. “How can I help?”
We decided to divvy up roles right there, and did so well into the evening. We called for takeout because the guys texted that they were getting dinner. I stared around the room of busy mamas, daughters, and significant others as we planned what was clearly going to be the prelude to probably the biggest wedding of the year in Maywood Heights. And, as we planned, I thought about the future. How this group of women would just get bigger as our sons and daughters had kids. We’d then be planningtheirevents, and I just got so overwhelmed.
“You okay, Cleo?” Bow asked me at one point. I was almost tearing up thinking about the future. Of course, she noticed. She was an empath, just like her brother, Thatcher, tended to be.
“Oh, I’m so happy, sweetheart,” I said, hugging her, and she grinned. This girl was probably going to be my daughter-in-law someday, and she had no idea how happy that made me. She was perfect for my son. Both she and Bru were. They were a trio, and, as far as I was concerned, that only meant my son, Wells,would have more love in his life. He may just raise his kids in this home.
This family made me so happy.
Ramses
The kids’ house was packed, but that didn’t surprise me. Between the wives and our children, they’d managed to turn a simple housewarming into the social event of the season. Even the press was here, which was wild.
Smiling, I gazed around at what they’d created. Bow, Bru, and Wells’s house was fully furnished and decorated. One would have thought an interior designer did this job, with the rustic farmhouse charm, not the wives of Maywood Heights.
I could appreciate a good design layout, being an artist myself. I grabbed my wife while she was rushing around. Brielle Mallick liked to make things perfect. I snuck a kiss to her lips in a dark corner.
“Ramses, I’m busy,” she said, giggling like a schoolgirl. The fact I had power over her like that did something for me. Maybe a little too much when I caged her in.
I pressed my hands against the wall, enjoying the light smell that wafted off her tanned skin. She smelled like peonies and heaven. I smiled. “There’s always time for this.”
