“Why do you think I haven’t hired anyone yet? Will you get on that?” Wade says with a grin before his attention is diverted to Billi beside him making a mess with Ruby and Isla.
“I’ve offered my services too, but for some reason he doesn’t take me up on it,” Papa Dean sighs.
“Yeah, ’cause you’ll be making inappropriate cracks at all the brides and their friends,” Cole chuckles as he sips his drink.
CeCe smirks. “Besides, you’re too young and carefree to settle down to one career.”
“That is the truth.” Dean grins. “Gotta decide what I want to do when I grow up first.”
“Alright, let’s get this cake show on the road,” Mama Jo says, coming out from the kitchen with the slab cake in a box. Behind her trails my second-best PIC, Mabel, with a little surprise cake for me to share with everyone. She winks at me and I her. After seven years together, our mother-daughter relationship has blossomed into something so special. Her own mother still comes around—I will say, a little more now than before—but I sometimes feel like I know Mabel better than even Cole does. Our late-night chats about boys and school, talks about her future and what she wants to do—it all just flows so easily between us, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
The whole crew sings happy birthday to my dark-haired, amber-eyed little man, who claps his hands and shows off his adorable dimples as we all cheer. Ivy takes photos of all of us together, and Cole, Sofia, Isla and I help Luca blow out his candles. They girls must, at all times, be involved in everything we do.
“This cake has your name on the box, Dad,” Mabel says with a grin.
Cole looks around the table, and then at me.
“What is this?” he asks. “Should I be opening this?”
I shrug. “Yes. In fact, I dare you to, baby,” I tell him with a grin.
Cole’s eyes narrow and he makes his way to the end of the table to pop open the lid of the box. I move to stand beside him.
There, written in pink and blue icing are the words: “Boy, Girl? Maybe both?”
Cole looks down at the cake, then back at me, as our family clamors to see what we’re looking at.
“Both?” Cole asks with a gulp.
I nod.
“Twins?” he croaks out as the tables erupt in a chorus of cheers. I look at my husband and smile. I didn’t even know they ran in our family until my nonna told me her mother was a twin.
“Might be time to add on to this house,” I giggle.
“Would you take it easy on the woman? Jesus, Cole,” Papa Dean calls from his seat.
“Six kids?” Cole asks.
“You wanted a big family.” I shrug and kiss him.
Cole laughs. “Well, we’re on our way to that now, aren’t we?”
The moment his initial shock wears off, he’s scooping me up in his arms and spinning me around as Mabel laughs.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?” he says as he turns to face her.
She nods and he kisses the side of her head.
“Just don’t expect me to babysit them all at the same time!” she replies with a wide smile.
The sound of our family and friends laughing and talking fades into the background as that hazy kind of bliss I only get when Cole dips his lips to mine takes over.
“So that add-on to the house … can we consider that a favor? Add it to my tab?” I whisper into him.
He kisses me gently.
“A whole house addition?” he responds, moving his lips to the spot on my neck he loves. “You’re gonna owe me big-time for that, Mrs. Ashby,” he says. “Get ready to take it all.”
“Title of your sex tape,” I reply with a soft laugh as he kisses my lips, my shoulders, anywhere he can. I hug him tight.
Is having five kids under six scary? Hell yes. But attempting anything in this life with Cole Ashby by my side is okay by me. Nothing can really be considered a risk when everything we do together makes me the happiest I’ve ever been.
And every bit of my history with Cole from the kiss in his truck to that chance game of truth or dare in Vegas that led ushere? It all just reminds me why Ialwaystake the dare. Because you can’t always wait for the perfect time to risk it all. Sometimes, you have to just close your eyes, slide over to the boy in the front seat and kiss him like your future depends on it, because maybe someday it will.
