“That’s okay,” Josie grins and winks at him as she sits down. “That nap wasn’t why we’re late.”
“For fuck’s sake, and you still slapped me,” Cairo grumbles good-naturedly.
“Don’t worry, Cairo, it can be for Ron. You’re bound to run your mouth again,” Rochelle teases from across the table.
Cairo looks confused. “Whose Ron?”
“Later’on,” Rochelle sniggers, leaning up against Bond, whose shoulders are shaking as he silently laughs. The look on Cairo’s face is priceless.
“I think I preferred it when you were shy and quiet,” he grumbles, but we all know he doesn’t mean it. We love that Rochelle is comfortable enough around us to tease.
We’re a loud table, and I often wonder why Noni’s guests never get annoyed, but they seem to like that a family runs the hotel and town. Over the past two years, many guests have returned because they said they felt like family, not just visitors, especially when dining with Noni, Bull, Rogue, and Julia in the dining room, who took it in turns to mingle with them.
We were finishing up our pudding, and I knew the kids would need to go to bed, so if we wanted to let everyone know, we had to do it now.
Taking Josie’s hand, I tug her up next to me and hand my phone over to Bond. I’d made a call earlier to Reaper. While he may no longer be my President, I have great respect for him, and he is still family. Even with the distance and what we have to share, I want to share it all with them.
“Josie and I have something to tell you,” I let the table know. Bull and Noni sit up straighter, and I can already see the worry in Bull’s eyes.
“Is it the baby? Are you okay?” His eyes dart anxiously towards Josie.
“I’m fine, Bull. Jett checked me over and gave me a clean bill of health, but yes, this is about the babies,” Josie reassures him.
“Babies,” Noni squeals, clapping her hands excitedly. “You said babies!”
“Yep,” I grin proudly. “Josie and I are having twins. We don’t know what they are yet. We’ll hopefully find out at the next scan.”
Bull and Noni are the first to reach us. We’re hugged to within an inch of our lives.
“Congratulations, little brother,” Bull says, embracing me. “Who’d have thought that the three boys that used to hide in the cupboard in my bedroom, eating stale breakfast bars, would end up here with women like we have? Proud of you, Skinny.”
“None of this would have been possible without you,” I remind him, feeling a little choked up. We’d come a long way from our miserable childhood.
“Okay, move over. My turn,” Noni pushes on Bull’s shoulder, making me laugh, and I let him go before wrapping my arms around my sister-in-law and swaying her gently from side to side.
“I’m so happy for you,” she sniffs, burying her face against my shoulder.
“Thanks, No, we’re pretty stoked. Also, Jett says to tell you it seems to be in your water too, so be careful,” I tease her.
“Nope,” she pushes back from me, but she’s smiling, “no more babies for me. I’ve got my four, and that’s plenty. Now I get to love on your babies instead.”
I’m laughing, but my attention is on Josie and Bull, who seem to be having a serious conversation, but when they both smile, I know everything is fine. Noni lets me go, and the rest of the MC descend on us. Bond is the last one. He hands me my phone backbefore giving me a back-slapping hug. “Fuck, Skinny, who’d have thought we’d be here?”
Laughing, I reply, “Bull and I just had that same conversation.”
“Congratulations, Skinny,” lifting my phone up, I see Reaper is still on the screen. “Shit, Reap, sorry man, I didn’t realise that Bond kept you on.”
“No worries, man,” Reaper says, waving his hand. “There’s a bunch of people here that want to say something. Get your Old Lady.”
Going over to Josie, I sling my arm around her shoulder and pull her towards me. “Baby, Reaper has something to say.”
“Reaper, hey,” Josie beams at him. “Oh, everyone is there,” Josie waves because behind Reaper is the entire UK Crow MC and their significant others, all shouting their congratulations to us.
Josie and I spend the next few minutes chatting to various members and catching up.
It’s times like this that it’s hard being away from everyone, but technology has made it easier, and I know we’ll see some of them in just a few short months when they descend on us for Christmas. Until then, we’ll have to make do with video calls.
It’s a night of celebration, and to make up for the noise in the dining room, I ordered a bottle of champagne for each of the dinner tables, and Josie and I circled the room, apologising—though no one seemed to mind, and they were more than happy with the complimentary champagne.
