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“Yes.”
There was fire in her eyes now. An emotional warmth behind those pretty brown irises.
“Well the baby thing I agree with,” she said. “And it’s adorable. You don’t know how many baby gifts he’s already sent back to New York.”
At that, I laughed long and loud.
“What?”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I told her, placing my hand over hers. “Come with me.”
I led Juliana back into the warmth of the house, where the smell of marinara sauce wafted up from below. The garlic and onion and simmering spices smelled delicious; a far cry from the cooking Devyn or Gage were normally capable of. Absently, I realized they were pulling out all the stops.
“Where are we—”
“Just come.”
Down the upstairs hall we went, straight past the two pairs of bedrooms. Juliana was very familiar with all four of them, of course. Yet another fun fact that excited me in ways I still wasn’t used to yet.
“Here,” I said, pointing to the last room at the end of the hall. “Open it.”
She did, although a little apprehensively at first. By the time she’d stepped inside however, both hands moved to cover her mouth.
“Oh myGod!”
The nursery was fully-decorated from top to bottom, with pastel blues and soft, beautiful whites. There was a wooden crib, decked out with baby blue bedding. A shaggy blue area rug, centered between a rocking chair and rocking horse. The walls were painted with murals of trees blossoming, and birds singing on the branches. Animals smiled from the grass, which had been painted just above the base moldings all around the entirety of the room.
“Gagedidthis?”
I folded my arms in satisfaction. “Well it was his brainchild, yes,” I admitted, “but once he got started Devyn and I took over. He wasn’t happy about it at first, but in the end I think the group effort made it better.”
Juliana walked the room, running her hand over the smooth rails of the crib. Her eyes flitted from one baby blue thing to the next.
“And how do you all know it’s even a boy?” she challenged, rubbing her stomach.
“We don’t,” Gage chuckled abruptly from the doorway. “But redecorating would be just as fun, and we figured we had a 50/50 shot.”
Devyn materialized behind him, and together they entered the room. Juliana responded by walking over, smiling, and throwing her arms around each of us one by one. Starting with Gage, of course.
“This is incredible,” she said, physically choked up. “I mean…
“We know you won’t always be here,” Gage said quickly. “Or maybe you won’t even bring the little guy here at all.”
“Or littlegirl,”Devyn cut in.
“Yeah. But—”
Juliana cut him off by kissing him, straight on the mouth. She kissed me next, excitedly smashing her soft lips against mine, and I was still reeling as she spun away and kissed Gage too.
“No one’s ever doneanythingthis sweet for me before,” she said, in a strangled but happy voice. “Or this thoughtful. Or this… this…”
“Obsessive?” I joked, giving Gage the side-eye.
Juliana’s eyes were wet. She choked back tears as she turned to face me.
“This isn’t obsessive,” she corrected me. “This is amazing. This wholeplaceis amazing,” she sniffed, looking around. “I— I’m really grateful for it.”
For a moment we sat there, just letting her take it in. Eventually Devyn laid a hand on her shoulder.
