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Finn’s mouth falls open as he drinks in the crowd, the shock on his face dissipating and evolving into a smile. All the people who love him are in this room. His sober sponsor, his dad, Xavier. I notice my dads, my sister and my younger brother, Charlie, hanging in the background. Jesse and Izzy must be running late.
Aveena and Lacey come barging into the room the next second, chasing after Ty, who’s covered in silly string and running with the can. I can’t help but smile at the sight of a pregnant Aveena chasing after my godson. Xavier manages to scoop him up in passing and throws his son over his shoulder, making little Ty burst into laughter.
Finn turns to me, flashing a radiant smile. “You did this?”
“Guilty,” I confirm, and Finn wastes no time in capturing me into his arms, lifting me off the ground and twirling my pregnant ass around.
“Fuck, I love you.” Finn smacks a loud kiss to my cheek, and I laugh.
“Everything but you,” I croak like I’m speaking a language only he understands.
“Everything but you,” he says right back.
His father makes his way over as soon as we separate, and Finn pulls him into a tight hug. These two have come so far. In the past, his relationship with his father was so unbelievably broken I feared it was beyond repair, but the fire at Lacey’s seems to have made Finn realize how short life can be. It started with a few family dinners, and after some shocking information about Brody’s past came to light, their bond grew stronger.
A year later, he and his father got into business together, working side by side to open a handful of gyms all over the country. As opposed to regular gyms, their memberships offer countless tools to manage anger issues and anxiety. I personally love their anger-releasing boxing classes. The purpose? To blow off some steam when life gets to be too much.
“The hell are you doing here, All Star? I thought you weren’t coming back into town until after the season,” Finn asks his childhood best friend once he’s made the rounds.
“And miss your birthday? Nah, man.” Xavier gives Finn a quick bro hug and a pat on the back.
“Where’s Theo?” Finn glances around the room.
“He couldn’t make it. Stayed with the missus. But he did get you a gift and a birthday card with dicks on it,” Xavier explains.
Finn scoffs. “Of course he did.”
Aveena joins the conversation shortly after, telling us that she left Tyler with Lacey—Lacey, whose nightmare recently came true when she found out she’d never be able to have a family of her own. She’s been hiding her pain like a pro, but I know her too well to buy her “indifferent” act. Her man would never leave her for it—not even if you put a gun to his head—but she’s been beating herself up for not being able to give him kids.
“Look at you.” Aveena gasps at the sight of my belly. She’s been out of town with Xavier for the last three months, and I was much smaller the last time she saw me.
“Look at you!” I say, drawing her into my arms. Out of all the dreams a girl can have, being pregnant at the same time as your best friend ranks pretty damn high on the list.
We like to joke about her son and my daughter getting married someday. Especially since they’ll be close in age and will most likely spend every summer together once Xavier’s NBA years come to an end, but I also know that Finn will put that kid through the wringer if he ever hurts his little girl. And I’m not sure I want to be responsible for my overprotective husband giving Aveena’s son a wedgie.
Aveena and I have just withdrawn from each other when Finn’s head snaps toward the backyard. “What was that?”
A dopey grin spreads on my face. “What are you talking about?”
A familiar sound cuts through the air, and I share knowing glances with Aveena and Xavier.
“That,” Finn urges.
“I don’t know. Let’s go check it out.” I head for the double glass doors leading to the patio with Finn, Xavier, and Aveena on my tail.
Speaking of tails…
It might just be because of the hormones, but when I lay eyes on the two-month-old Labrador chasing a butterfly in the backyard, I immediately feel myself tear up. Finn never got the guts to adopt another dog after Lexie, but I could tell whenever we saw a dog in the streets or when we visited friends who owned pets that a part of him missed showering her with love. He grew up with Lexie, treated her like family, and when she died, it devastated him.
I just couldn’t bear to see him mourn her for the rest of his life.
“Whose dog is this?” Finn asks as the adorable puppy makes a beeline for us with a wagging tail and her tongue sticking out.
“It’s yours,” I choke out, blinded by the tears.
I thought I’d seen Finn surprised in my life, but nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to the look on his face when I drop the news on him.
“What?” His eyes grow three sizes.
