Page 104 of Shattered Dreams

“I think we should order food too,” Mack says. “It’s just about lunch time.”

“Good idea,” I add.

“We’ll put the food order in when you come back,” Paul tells her.

She nods and takes off.

I walk to the edge of the pool and call everyone over so they can pick out what they want to eat off the menu. Staying in an all-inclusive resort was one of the best decisions vacation-wise I’ve ever made. It’s our first year doing something like this, but we plan to do it every year. All of us. Everyone we consider family. Even my parents are here, but they’re off getting massages.

Spending time with family is important, and since we all live so far away from one another and don’t see each other regularly, this is important. We’re friends. Family. And so much more because somehow, we all ended up together.

Maddox runs over to his father, shaking his hair out on him. He yells playfully at him to stop.

“Hey, you’re going to mess up my tan!” Alex complains, so Maddox jumps right on top of him. We all laugh.

“Better get used to it now,” Mack says, his voice deadpan. Alex rustles Maddox’s hair and I don’t miss the faint smirk on his face.

“Please, we’ve got at least ten years before we have to worry about that,” he jokes, and Paul shakes his head.

“Yeah, that’s what you think, but it starts early. Earlier than you think.”

Alex waves us off as we take a few minutes to look over the menu until everyone knows what they want. It’s crazy to think about Alex being a dad, but he and Mack have been talking about adopting, though they haven’t started looking yet. Honestly, I can’t wait to see how that plays out. I’m sure it’ll be entertaining to say the least. Mack’s really going to have his hands full.

The waitress comes back with a big tray full of drinks. She takes our food orders and says it’ll all be out shortly.

Paul did put in drink orders for the kids, and got Amelia and Sean refills on theirs. Austen ordered another for Cam, too. Even if they don’t drink it, someone will. Alex, probably.

Since we’ve been here, the weather has been amazing. We’ve been at the pool every day, drinking, eating, and just having fun.

“Hey, how about a cheers?” Austen suggests.

“Yes,” Trey adds.

“To friends,” Hudson says, lifting his glass.

We all have margaritas by the way, except for the kids who are drinking lemonade. What else do you drink in Mexico?

“To family,” Paul says.

“To forever,” I add, winking at him.

Because he is my forever.

All of this is.

Paul

The salty, warm air kisses my sun-burnt skin, and I can’t help but feel a little sad that tomorrow we’ll have to break this bubble and head back home. Which means Dre and I have barely a few weeks before practice starts up for the season, and the chaos will begin and be nonstop until Christmas. But honestly, I love it. And I’m pretty sure Dre does, too, given that we’ve established a pretty good routine with work, the kids, and time for each other. But I will definitely miss hanging out with the guys, which is why we plan to invite everyone over to Dre’s this year for Thanksgiving. Alex claimed Christmas and wouldn’t let anyone else hear about it. Trey called dibs on the Fourth of July.

I sip my beer as I lean over the wooden railing, watching Maddox and Rylee as they roast their s’mores over the campfire, as Christian—Brit’s husband—and Sean collect everyone’s sticks to toss them into the firepit.

“Amelia said she and Brit are going to take the kids to the arcade for a bit,” Dre says, settling beside me.

“I’m sure Maddox will love that,” I say as Rylee gets up and runs up to the deck, holding out half of her s’more.

“Thanks, princess,” I say as she gives me and her dad a grin.

“She’s just buttering you up, you know,” Dre says with humor. “So you’ll say yes to the dog.”