We batted around ideas for another ten minutes or so, sketching out possible author panels and merch tie-ins until eventually, the scrape of a chair signaled Bella’s return. She sat down across from us with her tea balanced in one hand, her book in the other. The title—Beekeeping Basics: From Hive to Honey—was printed in bold yellow letters across the cover.
Carolina moseyed over to our table with a kitten cradled in her arms like a baby. “Can we take him home, Dani?Please.”
“Not today, sweetie.”
Carolina shot me a pout that looked suspiciously like Brooks’s game-day scowl.
God help me, I’m in trouble.
“But he purrs like a motorboat,” she announced proudly.
“Fun fact,” Bella said without looking up from her book. “Cats can purr both when they inhale and exhale. It’s one of the only sounds they can make continuously.”
Carolina’s eyes went wide. “Like a superpower.”
Nessa shot me a grin before turning casually toward Bella. “You know, Belles, now that Dani is moving in with Brooks, a room is opening up at our place. Bennett was interested in maybe moving in.”
Bella blinked, finally glancing up. “That sounds nice.”
I hid my smile behind my drink.
“Although, if he’s going to live with you and Jared, you both should probably consider learning some ASL,” she quickly added. Her brows furrowed like she was trying to solve an advanced equation. “He signs a little different when he’s excited. His movements are sharper and faster. And he pushes his hair back behind his ear when he’s thinking about what to say.”
Nessa’s brows shot up, but Bella had already gone back to reading.
“I have a few books on sign language, though,” she added matter-of-factly, flipping a page. “You can borrow them if you want.”
I bit back a smile, warmth blooming in my chest. Bella wasn’t the type to gush or daydream out loud, not like Clarke or, hell, me. But the way she had catalogued those tiny details said plenty. I knew what it meant to notice someone like that. To want to learn their language . . . literally.
Still, neither of us were about to push her. Bella might’ve been blunt as hell, but her heart was softer than she let on. She didn’t need us meddling. What she needed was space to figure it out herself.
So, I just sipped my latte and filed away the information like any good pseudo-older sister would. Besides, if Bennett had half a brain in that handsome head of his, he’d catch on eventually.
I shifted in my chair, wincing as something—well, someone—pressed against my ribs. “Oh, for the love of—” I set my chai latte down and rubbed a hand across my belly. “BB’s doing gymnastics again.”
Carolina’s head snapped up from where she’d been coaxing the ginger tabby onto her lap. “Can I feel her?”
“Of course.” I leaned back a little, tugging my shirt tighter across the swell of my stomach. Carolina’s small palm pressed against me, tentative but eager, and a second later, the baby rolled again, right under her hand.
Her face lit up, pure wonder. “She’s saying hi to me.”
I laughed, even as my eyes stung. “Guess she is.”
It wasn’t the first time—Carolina had asked to feel the baby almost every day since I’d started showing—but each time hit me harder.
Every morning, after she stayed the night with Brooks and me, she’d sit next to me on the couch, hand glued to my stomach, whispering secrets to the bump as if the baby could understand. Watching her now, brown eyes wide and solemn, hand spread over my belly like she was guarding it, I couldn’t help but think about how lucky and loved this kid was already. Not just by me and Brooks, but by Carolina, too.
Her grin went lopsided, a little shy. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“It won’t be long now,” I said, covering her hand with mine and smiling. “You’re going to be the best big sister.”
“I know.”
My chest ached, but in the best way.
This was it, the life I hadn’t realized I’d been craving. A circle that kept widening, making room for me in ways I hadn’t known possible.
Brooks and Carolina. Pink, the brother I had always wanted. Nessa, with her books and loud opinions. Clarke, June, and the rest of my chaos crew. They weren’t just friends or coworkers anymore; they were family. The kind I’d always secretly wanted, the kind I was finally building.
