“Does it hurt?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Only a little bit at first. But you get a break and a chance to sit down because only you can feed them most of the time.”
I laugh. “That must be nice.”
Wendy and Josie walk up then, each of them holding a glass of champagne and a pink hydrangea.
“We both voted girl!” Wendy says, smiling.
“What about Banks?” Silvie asks.
“He said boy, of course. Pretty sure all the guys did,” Josie says, rolling her eyes.
Mia and Luke walk in through the back door, flanked by Birdie and January. They’re all holding blue hydrangeas except January, who doesn’t have a flower. Her pink hair is up in a bun, and she’s wearing a flouncy yellow dress.
I walk over to her, pulling her into a side hug. “You didn’t want to vote on the gender of the baby?”
She winks. “I know what it is, honey. I’ve known for weeks.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. January isn’t the gender keeper, Silvie is, and she swore she kept it from everyone, even Cal.
“All right, if you say so. What if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not.” she says, tilting her champagne back over her lips.
Dayton walks over to me, stopping to shake Luke’s hand on the way before he finds me. Hehugs Lucille, Bitsy, and Gale, who are bickering about how to arrange the rice crispy treats, cream puffs, and deviled eggs they brought. The kitchen island is overflowing with snack food.
“Everyone is here. Are you ready to start? I need to know if we’re having a boy or a girl, like now.”
I tilt my head back to smile at him. “Impatient are we? So unlike you.”
He threads his fingers through my hair. “I’ve been patient my whole life, but I guess I ran out when it comes to the rest of my life with you, Cupcake.”
January winks at me as I let Dayton pull me up the stairs.
“Let’s meet upstairs for the reveal, then we’ll come down to eat afterward,” he announces to the group with his authoritative voice.
Silvie outdid herself having the lower porch area fully set up with fluttering white tablecloths and chairs with stunning floral arrangements in the center of each round table.
We decided to have the actual reveal part upstairs under an arched frame of pink and blue hydrangeas near the railing, showcasing the glittering ocean behind it. The gentle roar of the white-capped waves crashing against the shore barely reaches my ears. We make our way up there and everyone follows.
After our guests filter out onto the deck, Dayton and I move under the floral arch. He clears his throat.
“We want to thank you all for coming this evening to celebrate finding out the gender of our baby with us. Thank you to Wendy and Mia for handling the party decor, and for Silvie keeping the gender a secret, even from Cal.”
Cal shakes his head, bouncing one of the twins who starts fussing. Wendy is beside him holding the other one.
Silvie appears from the back door holding a round white cake. I squeeze Dayton’s hand in excitement, and he squeezes back. I spot Savannah and Juniper sneaking onto the deck andworming their way through the crowd. Savannah’s flight was delayed, but she was able to get a ride from the airport from Juniper. They both wave at me. Savannah lifts her camera and starts snapping photos.
I smile back at them, sighing happily when I realize everyone I love in the world is gathered here at this moment with me and Dayton.
Silvie sets the cake on the small round table in front of us. She hands us each an empty wineglass to scoop the cake out with before backing away to stand next to Cal.
Dayton peers down at me, smiling wide. His eyes are sparkling with excitement. “You ready for this?”
I nod, blowing out a steady breath. We position our cups over the cake, and the crowd hushes. Dayton counts out loud.
“One, two, three …”
