Nicole laughed.
The front door abruptly burst open, slamming into the wall with so much force that it sounded like a gunshot.
All conversation halted as everyone looked toward it. Several immortals rose and drew weapons.
Nicole palmed a knife, just as startled as the others.
Cliff ran in, tugging Emma behind him by their clasped hands. Both breathed hard, as if they’d parked at the end of David’s long driveway and had run at top speed to reach them.
Tears coursed down Emma’s cheeks.
Nicole’s stomach sank.
“Bastien!” Cliff bellowed as they stumbled to a halt in the living room.
Bastien stood so quickly that his chair fell over. “What is it?”
Melanie rose, her face full of concern. “Cliff? What’s happened?”
He turned at the sound of their voices. As soon as Cliff spotted them, his eyes filled with tears.
Oh crap. Had someone died? One of the vampires at network headquarters?
Please, not Stuart or Miguel. They’d both been struggling in recent months.
Bastien strode forward. “What is it? Tell me.”
As Cliff met Bastien’s gaze, his lips curled up in a tremulous smile. “Emma’s pregnant.”
Utter silence descended upon the group.
Then a rousing cheer swelled, loud enough to raise the roof.
Bastien raced forward and dragged Cliff into a hardy embrace.
Relief and happiness suffused Nicole.
The best friends clung to each other for many long moments while Melanie zipped forward to hug a grinning, weeping Emma.
When Bastien finally stepped back, his face was as tear-streaked as Cliff’s and Emma’s. “I’m so happy for you both.”
Everyone present abandoned their dinner to crowd around the couple and express their joy. Nicole and Sean hurried over to give their friends exuberant hugs.
When Seth finally made his way through the throng, Cliff hugged him as hard as he had Bastien.
“Thank you,” Cliff whispered hoarsely. “For everything.”
Smiling, Seth clapped him on the back. “I’ll always be here for you, Cliff. You and Emma are part of our family.” When Cliff stepped back, Seth offered Emma his congratulations. “You just took the test today?”
Smiling, she nodded.
He motioned to her flat stomach. “May I?”
“Yes, please.”
Seth rested his big hand on her flat stomach, fingers splayed a little.
Quiet fell as they all waited.
Nodding with apparent satisfaction, he withdrew his touch and stepped back. “All is well.”
Everyone sighed with relief.
Seth raised his brows. “Would you like to know the sex?”
Emma stared at him. “You can tell that already?”
Nicole had thought couples usually had to wait a few months to learn that.
“Yes,” he said simply. “It’s in the chromosomes.”
Cliff and Emma looked at each other, excitement blooming on their faces. Emma nodded. So did Cliff. Then they turned big smiles on Seth. “Yes!”
The Immortal Guardians leader smiled. “Then congratulations. You’re having a baby girl.”
Pure joy shining in his handsome features, Cliff whooped and swept Emma into his arms, lifting her feet off the floor and twirling her around. “We’re having a girl!”
“And…” Seth said.
The couple looked at him.
His smile stretched into a grin. “You’re also having a boy.”
The look of shock that blanked the couple’s faces nearly made Nicole laugh.
Cliff’s hold loosened.
Emma slid down his front until her feet touched the floor. She looked at Cliff, then Seth. “We’re having twins?”
Clearly enjoying their astonishment, Seth nodded.
Emma met her husband’s eyes. “We’re having twins.”
“A son and a daughter,” he whispered.
She nodded.
Drawing her into a tight embrace, he buried his face in her thick hair. “I love you so much, Emma.”
She clutched him tightly, one hand fisting in his dreadlocks. “I love you, too.”
The touching moment tugged at Nicole’s heartstrings. After all the couple had been through, they were finally living their dream.
Bastien suddenly thrust a fist into the air and shouted jubilantly. “I’m going to be an uncle!”
Cheers and laughter erupted.
When Cliff released his wife, well-wishers crowded around to offer hugs and pats on the back.
Nicole smiled and swiped at damp cheeks as she watched.
Wrapping an arm around her, Sean pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
As grateful to have Sean in her life as Cliff was to have Emma, Nicole leaned into his side. “Now he has everything he wanted,” she murmured happily.
Sean cupped her face with his free hand and gave her a tender smile. “And I have everything I wanted.”
Her heart swelled with emotion. “I love you, Sean.”
“I love you, too.”