“Nope,” I replied, closing my eyes. “That was epic.”
“Perfect date night,” Gray said as we smiled at each other. We fell asleep there, naked with clothes all over the place. We didn’t care.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gray
It was back to normal in the house all too soon. I worked the days that Hayden was gone aside from taking care of Gram and Ava if needed. The girls still worked opposite shifts, so one of them would be home with her. I covered if Becca needed to get anything done that was complicated with a toddler.
Other than that, I worked. Hayden got a new schedule that included Friday and Monday off, with Sundays depending on if they had an event or not. He offered to help with the planning, even extending that to being there.
“You’re a perfectionist,” I teased him over dinner the Saturday before their first wedding. It was smaller and easy to plan, but he was going in for a portion of it.
“I am. I’m also the manager,” he reminded me, grinning. “I know she could do it on her own, but I just need to know it goes well. This is the future of the theater, so that a good review would be better than a bad one.”
“You'll be off for dinner. Right?” I asked as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Always.”
I did some work while he was gone for three hours, arriving at Gram’s house in his work clothes. “How was it?” I asked as he gave us all a thumbs up.
“It went perfectly. The catering was flawless, even though it was a small crowd. Everything was great when I left, and the party should end around seven. They’re leaving for their honeymoon tonight.” He smiled, and Becca hugged him. “We have a side business, Becca.”
“Is the planner happy with the job?” She asked as he nodded.
“That’s great news,” Gram said as she set a pot roast on the table alongside a massive plate of veggies. There was another plate piled high with rolls, and a fruit salad besides that. “Help yourselves.”
We sat around the small apartment, eating heartily. Ava even shoved bite after bite into her mouth, making her mom’s smile. Jackson and Amy curled up on the couch after dinner, holding hands as they talked close together.
“What are you hiding over there?” I asked as Amy blushed.
“Um…it’s early yet, but I’m…pregnant.” Her face turned red as Becca and Mari screamed, scaring Ava. Gram stared at her and Jackson with tears in her eyes. Becca hugged Ava before they rushed the couple to take turns squeezing Amy.
“Hey. She’s pregnant,” Jackson said as the girls laughed.
“We can hug her. Nothing will happen,” Mari told him, hugging his wife again. “When are you due?”
“Late March,” she told us as Jackson grabbed her hand. “It’s early, but I can’t keep it from you. I feel great, so things should be fine.”
“Do you want a boy or a girl?” Becca asked, and the couple looked at each other.
“I want healthy. The rest of it doesn’t matter.” Jackson said before he kissed her as she giggled.
“That baby will be gorgeous.” Gram gushed as Amy blushed again. “With your dark hair, Jackson and both of your eyes being blue. I can’t wait to have two grandbabies.”
Becca and Mari looked at each other with tears in their eyes. “You guys do know she’s thought of Ava that way since day one, right?” I asked as Mari wiped her eyes.
“Of course. It just makes it official.” Becca looked around at us. “We couldn’t ask for a better family.”
We talked about what they planned to do to the house, and Amy told us that she wanted to know what the baby was before any serious decorating. They would find out in around three months, and Mari declared that she was going to have the best baby shower in the world. Her and Becca had something small and quick, but with the adoption being so sudden, it had to be that way.
“I only have a few friends here. Who’s going to come?” Amy asked as Becca raised a brow.
“People came to your wedding.” She gave Amy a look that dared her to argue, and the blonde sighed.
“There’s no stopping you, is there?” Amy asked, and the girls shook their heads.
Amy was tired early, and they headed home so she could get some rest. The girls left with Ava next so that she could have a bath before bed.
“Do you want a baby?” Gram asked us as I looked at Hayden.
“I’ve been so focused on work and everything going on. I think so,” he answered as our eyes locked. “Being around Ava has been fun, and now there will be a newborn.”
“I agree. I’d like to think about it down the line.” I said, holding his hand. “We’re going to plan a wedding for now, and see what happens.”
We made our way home once Gram was ready for bed, holding hands. “Another baby,” I mused as I dropped my keys on the counter.
“Do you want one?” Hayden asked me as I smiled.
“I think I do.”
We went to bed, making love as we discussed our future. This Christmas would be Ava’s first Christmas as a toddler, and the following one, we’d be married, and there would be a new baby. “It’s crazy,” Hayden said as he reached for the water we brought back with us.
“It’s perfect. Shit. They’ll have the baby around our wedding. They can fly, right?” I asked as Hayden chuckled.
“Yes, they can fly. The other passengers might not like it, but babies sleep a lot on planes,” Hayden told me as I raised a brow. “You’ve never flown with a baby?”
“I don’t know. I guess not.” I shrugged as he laughed.
“It probably won’t be ideal at all times with a baby and a toddler, but everyone will be there,” Hayden’s eyes shimmered, and I pulled him close. “It’s going to be perfect.”
“It is Hay. I can’t wait to marry you.” I kissed him, pulling his naked body against mine.
“I love you.”
Things seemed to pick up around the building. We both worked, and the girls worked while balancing watching Ava. I noticed that Jackson traveled less now, staying near Amy. He was cautious with her as the pregnancy went forward, making her roll her eyes at us when he couldn’t see her face. She had a hard time keeping up with work but asked to keep the job when Jackson offered to hire someone else. Amy assured him that she would get the work done in between resting.
She couldn’t stand the idea of not working. Amy liked keeping busy, doing too much for a part-time position when she wasn’t exhausted in pregnancy. Jackson always told her that she did too much and looked a little smug now.
Ava was growing fast, looking a lot like her mom. She had dark blonde curls with blue eyes, and sadly, I could see Ryan in her expressions. I wondered how the fuck that happened when he was so focused on Hayden. I didn’t fault the man for his choice in partners, but it seemed like he was deceptive. In my opinion, people could sleep with anyone they chose to as long as nobody got hurt. The hurt in this situation came full circle, and the girls still knew nothing about that.
“Did Ryan have a family?” I asked one night before we were going to bed.
“Nobody close that he mentioned. Are you worried about someone trying to take Ava away?” Hayden asked as I shrugged one shoulder.