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“It’s only her second Halloween!” Gemma reminds him.

“And she’ll have many more where she can choose to be whatever she wants.” He lets out a chuckle as he picks Scarlett up and shows her off.

“Okay, I have to say, it is adorable,” Annie says.

I introduce her just as Katie and Noah come over with the kids. Sassy tries to lick everyone that passes us and loves all the attention.

Owen’s dressed like Thanos and is wearing a huge glove with jewels on his hand. Noah’s the Hulk, but I can’t quite place who Katie is. She’s wearing a red leather coat and boots.

“Okay, tell me,” I say, pointing at her outfit. “Who’re you?”

She reaches below the stroller and puts on a mask. “What about now?”

“Are you freaking Star-Lord?”

She snorts. “Yes! I wanted to match Owen and the twins.”

I then notice they're dressed as Groot and Rocket. “Guardians of the Galaxy. Super cute.”

I look at Noah and chuckle. “What happened?”

“I was originally supposed to be Yondu, but I had an allergic reaction to the blue paint. This is all the Halloween store had left,” he explains. “Only took thirty-something years to figure out that latex paint ain’t for me. Probably not a bad thing, though. It’s kinda humid. I’d probably look like Genie from Aladdin that you all bought off Wish with as much as I sweat.”

“Wow, at least you found something last minute, geez!”

He nods. “Yeah, I looked like a creep without the paint.”

Owen holds out his hand and shakes Sadie’s. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Sadie says, staring up at him like he’s her new big brother.

“Okay, so tell me how this works,” Annie says. “It’s like a maze in here.”

Gemma laughs and points. “So we start at this end, then go all the way around to the pumpkin carving and hay maze, then end at the booths.”

“Oh my goodness, there’s so many! Hopefully, she’ll be good and tired by bedtime.” Annie glances around, and I can just tell she’s already having a good time.

“Probably not by the time they eat all the sugar in their bags.” Katie snorts. “But I’ll say a prayer for you and me both.”

We wait in line for our first stop. Little ones surround us, and they’re full of energy. When we finally show up to the boutique booth, Lexie beams with excitement.

“Oh my God. I have to get a picture of all of you. And Sassy! Pure freakin’ cuteness.” She pulls out her phone and snaps pictures like she’s the paparazzi. Heidi and Sandy, my new employee, are giving out candy to the children and boutique coupons to the parents.

“Trick or treat!” Owen and Sadie say in unison to the girls.

Lexie grabs three big handfuls each and fills their bags.

“Thank you!” they exclaim, then head to the next one.

“Let me know if you need anything,” I tell Heidi.

“Just a husband who will dress up with me like you and Archer,” she says, lowering her voice. “Married people goals.”

I lean in and whisper, “I’ve perfected blow jobs.”

She shakes her head and snorts. “You’ll have to gimme your secrets later.”

We snicker, then I follow the group who’s already at the next one. The adults stand back as the kids walk up, and I smile at how protective we look—like real-life superheroes.