Our trek to the kitchen took us through what appeared to be the living room, where brightly colored toys were scattered across the floor, the ball pit Evie had mentioned was set off to the side, and a child-sized bouncy house was inflated in the corner. In the middle of it all were three redheaded babies chasing Cannoli.
Jenner smiled at us from his perch on the couch. To his wife, he said, “I think we need to get them a puppy.”
“Not on your life,” she replied. “We’ve got our hands full enough.”
“But it would be so much fun.” He pursed his lips together in a playful pout.
“We can revisit this conversation when you’re retired,” Evie shot back.
“Deal!” Jenner exclaimed. Over the noise, he shouted, “You hear that, guys? Mama said we could get a puppy!”
“Jesus, take the wheel.” Evie’s head dropped back on a heavy exhale. “That man.”
Trying to be friendly, I joked, “Good thing they’re small enough they probably won’t remember in a few years.”
“Maybe,” she muttered. The kitchen was open to the living room, and Evie tilted her head toward it. “I need a mimosa. How about you?”
“Sure.”
We stepped into the kitchen, and my eyes widened at the amount of food laid out on the island. When she mentioned aspread, I’d expected maybe a few pastries and fruit. What sat before me could easily rival any breakfast buffet in Vegas.
“Are we expecting more people?” I gestured to the overflowing countertop.
“No.” She shook her head, handing me a plate before moving to the fridge and pulling out orange juice and a bottle of champagne. When she caught me staring, she explained, “I never know what people like, so I tend to go overboard when hosting.”
Overboard was an understatement. This looked like enough to feed the entire hockey team and their families.
Evie popped the cork on the champagne, pouring some into two glasses before adding the orange juice. “I wanted it to be just us since you spoke to all the other ladies at the party before Maddox ran you off.”
The mention of his name had my spine straightening.
“But good on you for ratting him out to Bristol. She waspissed.”
Not wanting to discuss the events of that day, I changed the topic while I loaded my plate. “So, triplets, huh? That’s gotta be a lot.”
Evie handed me a mimosa, and I took a seat on a stool at the island.
“They’re not triplets, though most people assume they are. I don’t bother correcting strangers when we are out in public.”
“They’re not?” My eyes scanned the three redheads. They sure looked like it.
Taking the seat beside me, a soft smile curved on Evie’s lips as she watched her children play. “Hope is the oldest by three months.”
“How does that work?” Curiosity won out over fear of being rude.
“For a long time, Jenner and I struggled with infertility. It almost broke us.” Sadness flickered over her features, and she shook her head. “No. Not almost. It did break us. We spent a few years divorced before getting remarried.”
Whoa. I would have never guessed. Granted, my interactions with them had been brief, but they seemed happy and in love.
Evie continued, “When we reconnected, we settled on adoption. Go figure, about a month before Hope was born, I found out I was pregnant. With twins.”
My jaw had to be on the floor at hearing this story. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to be pregnant with one baby, let alone two at the same time. Then throw in another on top of that? These people must have been saints in another life to take all that on.
“I was about as shocked and terrified as you look right now.” She chuckled. “Hope was born in March, and the boys came prematurely in June. I won’t sugarcoat it. There are days when I wonder what the hell I’ve gotten myself into. Especially when Jenner’s traveling with the team. Even with a nanny, it’s tough. But God gave to us with both hands, and we have the family we always dreamt of, just with a twist.”
“They look so much alike,” I mused, seeing the toddling babies with new eyes.
“They do. But there are subtle differences if you look closely enough. Hope’s birth mom was a redhead—more of a strawberry blonde—and she inherited that coloring, along with her blue eyes. Hunter and Hendrix take after Jenner. Their red is darker, and they’ve got his brown eyes.”
