Just as I slide my lips against hers, the doorbell rings.
“Oh my God, they’re here!” she squeals. “I’m so nervous.”
“Don’t be. They’re going to be over the moon.” I give her a quick kiss. “Let them in. I’ll grab the plates.”
Thirty minutes later, everyone’s seated at the dining room table. Katie bought gifts for both couples and plans to hand them out before dessert. I can tell how anxious she is and hope the conversations about other things calms her.
“Speaking of which, Archer called today and said he’s finally eligible for parole,” Tyler says, and Gemma’s eyes brighten.
“Oh my God, yay! That’s great news,” she exclaims.
“Wow, that’s sooner than he thought,” I say. Tyler told me about Archer weeks ago. He was Tyler’s cellmate back in Vegas, and they became good friends. He’s hoping he’ll move here and work at the gym since he wants a fresh start. From what Tyler’s told me, Archer’s obsessed with working out and boxing. He could probably be a trainer and keep a steady flow of customers.
“It might be a few months before he’s released, but he’s scrambling to figure out what he’ll do, and I keep telling him to come here. The only problem is…” He hesitates for a moment. “He needs somewhere to live until he has enough money to get his own place.”
“Isn’t the apartment above the grocery store available for rent?” I say. “Maybe you could talk to the landlord to give him a deal for a few months?”
“It was rented out last week.” Tyler sighs.
Since he and Gemma live in the cottage behind our dad’s house, I know they don’t have any extra room. Most of it’s covered in baby gear now that Gemma’s due soon.
“What about Everleigh’s? She has a spare room,” Gemma suggests.
Tyler shoots her a glare, but Gemma shrugs with a grin. “You needed ideas.”
“Yeah, but not living with my sister!”
“I’m right here,” Everleigh chimes in. “I can have whoever I want in my bed.”
“Spare. Room,” Tyler emphasizes.
“Oh my bad, I thought you said…” She glances over at Owen, remembering we have little ears in the room. “Something else.”
“Mm-hmm, sure you did.” Tyler groans. “I’ll come up with a different plan.”
“Just because a man lives with me doesn’t mean I’ll jump his bones, okay? I have willpower…mostly,” she mumbles under her breath.
“Does he have tattoos?” Katie asks.
“Uhh, yeah,” Tyler responds.
“Oh okay, then yeah, she’s doomed.” She laughs. “Bad boys with tattoos are her kryptonite.”
Everleigh waggles her brows with a smirk. “I’ll be callin’ him daddy in no time.”
Katie clears her throat, eyeing Owen, but he’s not even listening.
Everleigh shrugs.
“Plus, I wouldn’t even charge him rent. He could pay in other ways, though…” Everleigh taunts.
“Absolutely not,” Tyler barks. “You’re the last thing he needs the minute he gets out of prison.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks, offended, and it takes everything in me not to laugh at their antics.
“It means he needs to focus on rebuilding his life, not getting mixed up in a relationship.”
“Who said anything about a relationship? We can be friends with benefits.”
He points at her. “Exactly. No.”
“What’s friends with benefits?” Owen asks, and we all turn toward him.
“Thanks, Everleigh,” Katie deadpans.
“Sorry,” she mouths.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Katie tells Owen.
“I’m gonna grab dessert,” I interject, hoping to shift the conversation since everyone’s finished eating.
“While he’s doing that, I have a couple of gift bags for you guys,” I overhear Katie tell them.
I take the peach cobbler out of the oven, then find the scooper and grab the ice cream. Once I have everything, I bring it all to the table and set it down in the middle.
“That smells heavenly.” Gemma inhales deeply. “Baby agrees.”
“What are these for?” Everleigh asks when Katie hands her one of the bags.
“I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts.” Gemma takes hers.
“Stop worrying, it was a surprise.” Katie smiles wide as she takes her seat. Her knee bobs under the table, and I place my hand over it to calm her. “Anyway, open them up!”
The first item they take out is a candle.
“Oh my gosh, I love the smell of baby powder.” Gemma sniffs and sighs. “So fresh and clean.”
“Well, I’ll just light this to scare off Archer. Most men run at the hint of babies.” Everleigh snorts. “Problem solved, brother.”
Tyler shakes his head, not amused.
The next thing they remove is a tin.
“Cinnabuns!” Gemma immediately takes a bite. “Ohmagawd, these are so good,” she says around a mouthful.
“And cookies!” Everleigh grabs the next thing. “Y’all tryin’ to fatten me up or what?”
“Oh, what cute pink and blue hearts. Did Mrs. Wright make these?” Everleigh asks.
“No, Mom and I did,” Owen says, and seeing his face light up brings me hope that he’s just as excited as we are. “They’re sugar cookies.”
“Mmm...delicious,” Gemma says, shoving half of one into her mouth.
“Are you gonna share with me?” Tyler chuckles.
Gemma glares at him. “I’m already sharing with your child so…” She stops mid-sentence and looks at Katie. “Wait. Baby powder candle, cinnabuns, and pink and blue cookies…”
“Are you pregnant?” Everleigh shouts.
On cue, Owen stands and removes his zip-up hoodie. Underneath is the T-shirt Katie and he made.
“Only Child Expiring Soon…” Everleigh reads in a high-pitched squeal.
“Oh my God, no way!” Gemma jumps out of her chair.
Owen spins around so they can read the back of his shirt.
“Reid Twins coming November,” Everleigh continues as her voice goes an octave higher.
“TWINS? Shut the front door!” Gemma rushes over at the same time as Everleigh, and they completely lose their minds.
Soon, the three of them are teary-eyed and squeezing the hell out of Katie.
“Be careful, my babies are in there,” I tease.
“Congrats, man,” Tyler says.
“Thank you.” I smile.
“You too, Owen. Are you excited?”
Owen shrugs. “Yeah, I guess. It’s probably gonna smell bad in here, though.”
We all laugh.
“I totally called it,” Everleigh says moments later.
“Called what?”
“That you’d be knocked up in no time. The way you two…” She quickly stops herself, remembering Owen is in the room. “Anyway…congrats. I couldn’t be happier for y’all.”
“We get to be pregnant together!” Gemma beams. “How far along are you?”