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“There’s a fan underneath the pavilion,” Rachelle says, as if reading my mind. “Sometimes I’ll do my private therapy appointments out there because it’s so nice. Santa Barbara gets a nice breeze for the most part up this high, but on hot days, we can bring out more fans to circulate the air.”

I open my mouth to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about me before shutting it so quickly that my teeth click together.

“This is so nice,” I say instead in awe. “This backyard is gorgeous.”

“It is. We had to put up the wall, but on the other side, there’s a trail that goes down to the water. Jared and the guys bought the other property adjacent to us to expand the house,” she explains. “It works for everything that we need, it’s private, and I can go for a run on the property if I want and know I’m safe.”

“Have you had an issue with safety?” I ask, concerned.

Rachelle is so nice, I hope she hasn’t had any issues with stalkers or anything.

“All women do at some point when they run or bike alone,” she says nonchalantly. “Liliana or the guys still come with me typically. It’s more fun to pace with someone.”

“Ugh, I hate running,” I sigh, taking one last look at the dream backyard.

Shit, is that a full size bed out here? That’s kind of cool.

“Rachelle!” Jared yells, amusement in his voice. “Babe, the kids know we’re home.”

“Shit,” she mutters. “Let’s go inside. They may be two, but they’re both insanely petty. They’ll make my life miserable if I don’t go in to cuddle and love on them.”

“Are they twins?” I ask, walking with her to the side door.

“No, though they were born on the same day. Liliana and I got pregnant together, which was amazing. Ariyah and Adelina are sisters. We never had a paternity test for Ariyah, though it’s obvious if you’re paying attention,” she says. “The guys adore them regardless of biology.”

Stepping inside the cool house after dropping that information on me, I hear squeals as two toddlers rush her. I can’t help but laugh as Rachelle expertly picks them both up to kiss their cheeks.

“I’m home!” she exclaims, squeezing them.

“Mama!” they yell.

The girls babble with their mom as I walk through the house behind them, finding it to be lived in and beautiful. The walls are painted with bright colors, there are flowers in vases from the garden, and I can see toys in corners where they’ve been forgotten.

This family doesn’t have a show home, despite how gorgeous it is. It’s obvious that people live here, and as someone who has lived in places with very little character, I appreciate that.

“Addie, Ari, say hello to Noor?” Rachelle asks, turning around to face me so they can see me.

“Hi, Noo!” the girls say, dropping the ‘r’ on my name so they’re making an ‘ooo’ sound. It’s kind of cute.

“Hi!” I say, smiling. One of the girls has curly black hair, while the other is blonde. Both of them have wild, beautiful hair, angelic faces, and look like they’re a handful.

“Noor is going to be living here. Shall we introduce her to your mommy and daddies?” she asks, cluing me into the dynamics as she turns around so she won’t trip as she walks.

The girls wiggle until Rachelle puts them down, and they both run over to grab my hands. They’re wearing leggings and t-shirts with no socks or shoes, and I quickly see why since everything is tile here. Socks invite slipping.

“Come wif us,” Addie says, showing off her adorable lisp. Grinning at the cuteness, I let them lead the way.

I feel more awake and energized after my nap and infusion, which makes it easy to keep up with the girls as we walk into a giant living room. A woman with almond shaped eyes and gorgeous dark curls stands from the couch, watching as I’m pulled along.

“Did you already say hi?” she asks, smiling. Three other men stand beside her watching us, and Jared joins them without my bags.

Maybe he put them in my new room? It’s hard not to feel a little nervous, but he has no reason to hide anything from me.

“Yes!” the girls chorus. God, they really are cute.

“Noor, this is everyone.” Rachelle grins. “Ignacio is next to Liliana, with the dark brown hair, Elijah is the blonde, and Theo is in the glasses.”

They’re all really fucking tall. Rachelle is the only one that is on the shorter side, and I’m slightly taller than her.