“I really, really know.”
“Hey Jo Jo.” I glance up and smile as Hallie’s husband, Ben, strolls into the sunroom and walks straight to Hallie, setting the giant water tumbler he’s carrying on the side table next to her and bending to press a kiss to her lips.
“You okay, Hallie girl?” he murmurs, running a hand over her ponytail.
“I’m perfect,” she says, leaning into him a little.
“You think you have enough drinks there, Hal?” I ask, taking stock of the two tumblers, coffee mug, and two different seltzer flavors.
Ben laughs, taking Jack from Hallie and kissing her one more time before settling down in a chair across from the couch with the baby cuddled up on his chest. Gah. Never have I ever felt anything more than brotherly affection for my sister’s husband, but show me a woman in the world who would not be affected by the sight of a big, gorgeous blond man cuddled up with a teeny, tiny sleeping baby.
I am not that woman.
I’m pretty sure that woman does not exist.
Hallie groans, reaching for the cup Ben just brought in and sucking water through the straw like she’s been walking in the desert for a hundred years. “You cannot even imagine how thirsty nursing babies makes you. Like, there is not enough water in the world. I think Ben has filled up this cup like eight times today.”
Ben grins and winks at her. “It’s been my job to keep you appropriately hydrated since the day we got together. It’s just more important now.”
Hallie grins back at him. “Come on. You were keeping me hydrated well before we actually got together. I just didn’t see it for what it was.”
“And what was that?”
Hallie shrugs. “Pining.”
Ben chuckles and the look they share is so full of love that, for a second, I feel like I’m intruding on a private moment. Ben was in love with Hallie for more than a decade before he finally admitted his feelings to her, and even years later, I am one hundred percent sure no one has ever loved someone the way Ben loves Hallie.
I shift Caitlin to my other arm and Hallie doesn’t miss the movement. “You want me to take her?”
I hold Caitlin closer to my chest and give Hallie anare you kidding melook. “Learn to share. You get them all the time, and you know how I need my baby fix every day or I get sad. Besides, you just told me they were up all night last night. Take a break, Hal. Take a nap. Take a shower. Read a book. Just enjoy having two arms free for a minute.”
Hallie takes another sip of water and stretches her arms above her head. “Well then, don’t mind if I do. Just the enjoying having two arms free thing, because I think my ass is glued to this couch right now.”
“But what a gorgeous ass it is.” Ben pats Jack’s back, settling him down when he stirs a little.
“Takes one to know one.” Hallie gives him a heated look.
“Can you guys not be gross for, like, two minutes?” I ask, amused, as always, by their obsession with each other. “You’ve been together for a hundred years. Simmer down.”
“No can do, Jo Jo,” Ben says. “We could be together for a hundred more years and it will still be like this. Besides, she’s got that whole hot mom thing going on now.”
I snort out a laugh. “You guys are my favorite people.”
They really are. You hear all these stories about how hard a newborn is on a marriage, but Hallie and Ben are amazing. They have twins and still have hearts shooting out of their eyes when they look at each other. Being here so much since they came home from the hospital has given me a front row seat to their relationship. Ben is so attentive to everything Hallie needs—he’s always checking on her, making sure she’s eating and drinking and sleeping when she can, and generally being the most supportive partner and calmest new parent in existence. It’s really amazing to watch. These babies are going to grow up in such a happy house.
“Everything is your favorite thing,” Hallie says, giving me a soft smile.
I shrug because she’s not wrong. Like I said, theJo’s Favorite Thingslist is long. “What can I say? I’m a lover, Hal. And right now, what I love is you and Ben, mostly because you gave me babies and right now, they’re at the top of the list.”
Ben smiles and starts to say something but his phone rings, interrupting him.
He lifts a hip to dig it out of his pocket, glancing at the screen. “It’s Jeremy,” he says, looking at Hallie. Her eyes go wide as Ben swipes to answer.
Jeremy Wright is one of Ben’s best friends from college. He’s a former professional hockey player and is married to Hallie’s best friend, Emma. He lives in Pittsburgh, too, and they see each other all the time, so I wonder what’s going on to warrant a phone call. No one calls each other anymore. Sad, in my opinion. I prefer hearing the voice of the person I’m talking to. Texting is such a boring and impersonal way to communicate.
“What’s going on?” Ben asks in greeting, hitting the button for the speaker phone.
“The package has been secured.” Jeremy’s voice is amused, and from the background noise, it sounds like he’s in the car.
