She gave me a hug.
“I’m so happy,” I whispered, tearing up a little as we pulled apart, and I looked at the three of them. “I’m sort of in shock.”
It was hard to believe that these amazing women were now my family. After a lifetime of being on my own, I finally had a real support system. And the home of my dreams.
“Oliver isecstatic,” Candace continued. “Now he can’t move out fast enough. As soon as Logan came in to tell him, he went straight to the phone to call his realtor, trying to speed the process.”
Gwen placed her hand over her heart. “Aw, I love that. And I’m so happy that Sophia and Noah will get to keep making memories here.”
I craned my neck to look around the crowded space. “Speaking of, where is that sweet little one? I need some snuggles.”
“Please,” Gwen swiped her hand at me. “With her father. He’s on duty all day today.” She cocked an eyebrow. “Why, do you have baby fever or something?”
Candace and Emilia leaned closer to me to study my face.
“I mean…maybe?” I squeaked out.
The three of them erupted in cheers.
“And Logan hinted that he’s more than ready,” I added.
The admission got even more cheers.
“So much joy,” Candace said, her eyes shining as she glanced between us. “What an honor to be a part of it.”
Gwen reached out to clasp Candace’s forearm. “You are. I hope you feel it.”
She nodded. “I do. At last.”
We all shared a moment of understanding. Our individual journeys into the Ashford family had been bumpy in different ways, but we were all finally where we belonged.
“What’s going on over here?” a deep voice asked, and we jumped.
“Logan, the man of the hour!” Emilia cheered. “Congrats!”
They all took turns hugging him while he blushed.
“Noah’s opening up gifts now, come watch,” he said. Logan took my hand and pulled me to the part of the patio where the gifts were stacked high. Noah was eyeballing them with his hands clasped under his chin.
We joined the group and watched Noah tear through present after present on a sugar high from the cake and ice cream. He paused when he got to mine.
“What is it?” Logan asked out of the corner of his mouth.
“Watch and learn,” I joked.
It might not have been the most expensive gift in the stack—that honor went to Drew’s 3D printer—but I knew it got right to the heart of what was important to Noah.
He tore into the box and pulled out the first part of the gift. “Wow! The new Slimy Kid book! It’s not even out yet.”
It turned out that Ashley’s sister worked for the author’s PR firm and pulled some strings to get an early copy.
“Look inside,” I called out.
“He signed it?” Noah’s eyes went wide as he read the inscription. “It says,Keep drawing, I can’t wait to see your graphic novels at the bookshop someday. Wow, Nina, thank you!”
“There’s more,” I said. “Mr. Cantwell said I should get you the exact notebook and pens he uses to do the Slimy Kid books. He said they’re the absolute best.”
Noah pulled them out of the box with wide eyes. “These are what he draws with?”
