It was just a simple plastic stick, almost a replica of one I’d seen when we were in Aureus. Its job was to determine if I was pregnant, which seemed like such a big task for such a small, unassuming thing. Yet, for whatever reason, I couldn’t truly wrap my head around it.
Shaking the swirl of thoughts away before it could get any louder in my mind, I yanked open the package the rest of the way, reading the directions. I followed everything exactly as listed, and after a moment, I found myself waiting anxiously for the results. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t be happy if I was growing a little witchling, but it wasn’t something I had truly thought about. Breathing deeply, I waited until the time limit was up.
Hells bells and tarot tells.
“Olive,” I croaked out, stepping back into the room. “I…”
She didn’t say anything, giving me a tight hug instead. Everything she didn’t say was conveyed in her accepting embrace, and I knew—even with it being a shock—everything would be absolutely amazing.
Holy hellsticks, I’m going to have a baby.
“Time to party!” Brynn sang as she shimmied her way down the sidewalk. The longer she was away from the old council, the more she’d come out of her shell. And she and Sebastian had been inseparable ever since.
“Yes, girl!” Olive cheered, pulling Brynn into a hug. The doors opened, and a witch in a formal suit walked out, his smile brightening as we approached.
“Welcome to the Crystal Cauldron! I take it you are the party for Aris Kersey?” I grinned at the name and nodded, knowing Olive had almost nothing to do with this leg of our journey.
“I picked the place out, but Torryn insisted on the rest,” Olive whispered, linking her arm through mine. The place was impeccable, with beautifully set tables, dim lights, and candles on every table with a red, black, and white theme. It was a place my parents likely frequented just to make people think they were fancy, but I was never invited. I pushed the thought away, knowing it had no place here.
“Here’s your private room, enjoy,” he said as he pulled open the door and bowed. Stepping into the room, I gasped as I looked around, my heart warming that he’d taken the time to set this up.
“Oh, my goddess, look at the cake!” Brynn gasped, tugging us over to look. It was so perfect and adorable, I had to blink away tears. The cake was made to look just like Mr. Stripes, his pink bowtie lined in edible glitter for extra fun. It was so perfect, I didn’t want to eat it.
Apparently, the custom dessert was only a small part of the surprise, along with a table in the corner lined with mimosas, my and Olive’s favorite drink. Olive was already over there, making one for her and Brynn. I froze until I saw her pour one full of orange juice and bring it over to me first, giving me a conspiratorial wink. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings about what I’d learned only an hour ago, but knowing Olive was here, looking out for me, helped settle some of the worry. She went back for hers as I walked around the room, taking in everything my soon-to-be husband had done.
There was a table set for three in the middle with a pink bouquet centerpiece. Balloons floated throughout the room, glittering strings hanging down with a picture tied to each one. The black and white photos stood out against all the pinks and golds filling the room.
“Turn them over!” Brynn crowed, flipping one and letting out a long ‘aww.’ Turning to the closest one, I pulled it forward, smiling at a picture of me clinging to Kye’s back, kissing his cheek. For once, his cocky grin was replaced by a genuine laugh, his mouth open, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Written on the back in shiny gold ink, ‘You’re my favorite type of sunshine.’ The sentiment meant so much more from my broody man, although over the last several years, I’d seen him smiling more and more, and I loved to think I played a role in that.
The next was a picture of Torryn hugging me from behind, both of us smiling at the camera. I flipped it over, eager to see what sappy thing he’d written, tears welling when I read, ‘The moment I first saw you was the moment you stole my heart.’
“No crying! It’ll ruin your makeup!” Olive teased, but my hormones were all over the place, the entire thing making me want to cry and dance with happiness. Each new picture was another reason why they loved me or a fun memory we had together. My heart was near bursting by the time I sat down.
“Man, you are one lucky witch. I’ve never seen anything quite so romantic,” Brynn swooned, laying her napkin in her lap with a soft sigh.
“I don’t know... Sebastian seems like the romantic type,” I teased, and Brynn’s cheeks flared a bright red as she looked anywhere but at us.
“Oh, don’t be shy! We know you’re right behind Aris and the guys,” Olive laughed. “Goddess knows, Allain doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body, so it’ll be up to me to propose. I’m thinking this fall. It can be a proposal and a wedding all in one!” If anyone else had said the same, I would have laughed, but it was so perfectly Olive, I couldn’t even tease her.
“You’d do that?” Brynn asked, gasping in shock.
“You’ve known her this long and still doubt her? She’ll do anything to challenge outdated views,” I teased.
“You aren’t wrong,” Olive agreed, tipping her cup my way. “I figure if I want something, I should give it to myself.”
“Ah, ladies. Are we ready?” a waiter asked, making us all jump. They’d come in while we were distracted, a line of five of men carrying trays loaded with more food than we’d ever be able to eat. Within minutes, our table was loaded with plates, three small servings on each. I grinned, knowing Torryn specifically asked for them to serve us this way. I always said I felt bad when I could only eat a portion of what normal restaurants brought out, especially because the guys always shared bites of theirs, so I could taste everything. The way he listened to even the smallest and silliest things I said made me feel so special.
“So, what’s next on our list?” I asked, almost afraid to hear what Olive had cooked up.
“Dancing!” she announced, digging into the plate in front of her with a happy hum. “This place is amazing!” Going dancing with them was definitely an idea I could get behind and was immensely grateful for the custom Converses she’d managed to get for me.
“Eat, Aris! You don’t want a hangover on your wedding day,” Brynn reminded me as she took a sip of her mimosa. I nodded, but her question had me in my head, trying to mull over what the guys’ reactions would be. Torryn and Caspian would be excited, but Kye would likely be the one to freak out. Drayce and Xan were the difficult ones to read, but either way, we’d be happy. This baby would be coming, ready or not. Life had felt like such a whirlwind rush, I could hardly keep up, but spending the rest of my life raising witchlings with my guys sounded like a dream.
We worked our way through the mix of sweet and savory dishes until I felt like I was going to explode. The waiters swept in as quickly as they’d come before, clearing our plates and carrying over our cake. With a simple spell, the picture of Mr. Stripes lifted off, expanding into a canvas which he handed to me with a grin before serving up the cake left behind.
“That was seriously so cool!” I gushed, turning the canvas over and looking at the sweet picture of my baby.