“Good.” He smiles as he pulls away and looks out the side window as four town cars pull up in the circular driveway.
“How come your phone didn’t notify you when Julian came this morning?” I frown, just realizing that little bit of information.
Shane chuckles as he pulls the door open. “That’s Julian for you. He knows his way around his own system.”Well, that makes sense.He reaches a hand out toward me. “Ready?”
I place mine in his, loving the warmth that vibrates through my body. “Ready.”
We step out onto the front porch just as they all begin to descend from the cars. A woman with dark curls for days screeches as she comes running toward us, her hair bouncing away with every step.
“Oh, you beautiful creature!” She opens her arms wide and swallows my body against hers. “You have no idea how long we’ve been dying to meet you.” She pulls back, holding onto my arm with one hand while her other goes to my stomach. My eyes widen at the touch and my face heats quickly. “And now you’re carrying my niece or nephew!”
“Eden,” Shane warns. “Give her a moment to wrap her head around everyone, please.”
“Right, right. I’m sorry, Shane said you were shy.” She smiles sweetly as she takes a step back and that makes me blush even harder.
“It’s okay.” I smile and giggle nervously despite my heated state.
She heads inside as a man with short copper hair carrying two suitcases comes strutting up the stairs, followed by a little boy with curly orange hair around the age of five a few steps behind him. He greets Shane then kisses both my cheeks as he introduces himself as Marcus and his son Joshua.
Next comes a woman who seems older than Eden, but not old enough to be Shane’s mother. Her chocolate hair is pulled back in a tight ballerina bun, and she wears a businesslike knee-length black dress under her open white coat. She smiles warmly as she comes up the steps with a twinkle in her eyes. She has this grace and maturity to her that instantly makes me feel at ease.
When she reaches us, she hugs her brother first. “Hi, little brother.” Then she turns to me with extended arms. “It’s lovely to meet you, Aubrey. I’m Phoebe,” she says with a soft voice.
“It’s lovely to meet you, too,” I tell her genuinely.
When she takes a small step back, she turns to Shane once more. “Why don’t you go help Mom and Dad with their bags? We’ll do introductions once everyone is inside and settled. We don’t want to overwhelm her with all that out here.” She comes to my side and loops her arm through mine, pulling me into the house.
I’m instantly grateful to her for how quickly she picked up on my discomfort, without me having to voice it, and took me out of the situation. I think she and I will get along fine, and from what Shane has told me, she’s the sister he’s closest to.
“How are you feeling, Aubrey? The pregnancy isn’t too hard on you? I know first trimesters can be tough; I went through it four times.” She laughs melodically as she removes her coat and Josephine, one of Marianne’s helpers, takes it.
“Actually, it’s going pretty well. I don’t really have any of the normal symptoms yet.”
Her eyebrows rise. “Wow, you really are lucky. Pray they never come.”
We head into one of the sitting rooms where Eden and Marcus, her husband, are sitting with drinks in hand. Marianne comes over the moment we sit down, asking for our drinks of choice. Phoebe asks for a glass of wine while I take an iced tea.
“We set up Joshua in the theater room with his tablet, I hope that’s all right?” Eden asks me once I take my seat beside Phoebe, leaving room for Shane.
“Of course. I don’t think Shane would mind in the least,” I say and smile to Marianne when she hands me my glass.
“Oh, I don’t care what my brother thinks.” She laughs with the flap of a hand. “But this is your home as well, you have a say in these things too.”
“Oh…” I flush a bright pink. “Well, then, yes, it’s okay.”
“You should probably think about setting up a game room or something for the number of kids that will start coming around here.” Shane’s other sister comes into the room with a light brown-haired man. “Shane said your friends all have kids as well?”
“Yes, that’s right. Well, most of them.” I giggle as I stand to hug her. “I’m Aubrey, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, honey, we all know who you are.” She laughs. “I’m Leah, and this is my husband, Damian.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He shakes my hand.
“Likewise.” We all take a seat and wait for the rest to arrive. “So, how many kids do you all have? I’m sorry, Shane has told me but I’m a little confused who belongs to who,” I ask, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Phoebe places her hand on my thigh in a reassuring way. “Don’t feel embarrassed if you confuse them. We know it will take some time to get them all right. We’ll take the time to introduce them all individually later. My husband, Edward, and I have two boys named Michael and Alexander. And two girls named Eloise and Serena.”
“We have Joshua, the curly redhead, who you’ve already met,” Eden says with a wide grin.
