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“That’ll never work,” Aaron says, setting the boys down so they can run over to Benita. She wraps her arms around them and smiles.
“Don’t underestimate me,” Benita warns without taking her eyes off the twins. I love how they cling to her as if she’s their whole world. When they finally turn around, I see the resemblance of Benita and Aaron in both of their features. “Daddy has a fishin’ net I’m sure I can borrow. Tack it up and attach it to a string so once it’s pulled, the balloons all come down.”
Aaron keeps his stance, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. “There’s no way that’s going to stay, babe. Trust me.”
She narrows her eyes and scowls. “Nope. I’m callin’ Daddy.” She reaches for her phone before looking up at me. “Oh, River, this is my stubborn ass husband, Aaron. Stubborn Ass, this is River, Alex’s…lady friend.”
I snort, shaking my head at her description. Though she’s not really wrong either. We aren’t putting labels on our relationship at this point since we’re taking things slow, but I’m definitely more than just his friend.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, wondering if he’s the shaking hands or hugging kind. He steps toward me and takes my hand.
“You too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I blush. “It’s all probably only half true,” I joke, and Aaron laughs.
A few moments later, Benita is off the phone and smiling wide. “Daddy’s comin’ to help. You and the boys can go play out back since you don’t believe in me.”
Aaron groans as if he’s been through conversations like this before. “C’mon, boys. Let’s leave Mommy to drive other people crazy for once.”
“Okay, you two are kinda made for each other,” I tell her once they’re out of earshot.
“I know.” She beams. “Though he drives me up a wall, I love him so much.”
“All good men do, honey,” one of the ladies I met earlier says from behind us.
We continue decorating, and twenty minutes later, Benita’s dad arrives with all the supplies we’ll need to make a balloon dropper. After she introduces us, he puts us both to work. I take the opportunity to sit and start blowing up the red and blue balloons. We also picked up a few that had “50” scattered over them. I’m nearly out of breath when Benita announces the net is ready.
“Oh my God!” She claps her hands. “It’s going to be epic.”
“Should we try it out first? Put a few in there and test the string?” I ask.
Benita’s dad releases a loud humph. “This ain’t my first rodeo, darlin’.”
“Oh.” I feel bad for doubting him now.
“That’s not what she meant, Daddy.” Benita comes to my rescue. “Better be sure than find out tomorrow.” She grabs a few of the balloons and climbs back up the ladder to stick them inside. “Want to pull the string, River?”
“Sure.” I walk toward her, and just for fun, start counting down from three.
“Three…two…”
“One!” Benita yells, and I pull the string. “Yes!” she instantly cheers when the net releases and all three balloons fall.
“Told ya.” Her dad snickers, and I chuckle.
“You did great, Daddy. Thank you!” Benita sets it back up, so I can start tossing the balloons up to her. Takes us a good five minutes to get all the balloons packed, but once it’s done, it looks awesome.
“That was a great idea,” I tell her, looking around the dining hall and seeing how amazing everything turned out. The buffet table is set up minus the food. All the round tables are decorated. The streamers are twisted and hung up, and so is the balloon drop. “Well, you weren’t lying,” I say after giving the room another once-over. “You’re definitely extra.”
Shortly after, Alex surprises me when he walks in with a bag from the Main Street Diner.
“I thought Benita might be working you to death and you’d be hungry.” He smiles before kissing the top of my head and sitting down next to me at one of the tables.
“Oh, you’re a smart man.” I smile, reaching for the bag, and moan when I see a juicy cheeseburger inside.
“Hey, where’s mine?” Benita teases, peeking inside the bag.
“You’re not eating for two,” he retorts.
“Oh, so only when I’m pregnant you’ll get me food?” I look at him, sucking in my lower lip to hide the smile.
“Dug yourself that one,” Aaron blurts.
I chuckle, taking the burger out and taking a bite.
“Everything looks great in here.” Alex looks around. “A bit much for a spaghetti dinner though.” He laughs.
Benita reaches over the table and whacks him one. “We worked hard, thank you very much. Aunt Rose is gonna love it.”
“She is,” Alex confirms, narrowing his eyes on the balloon dropper.
“Benita risked her life for that,” I joke.
“Well, Daddy helped.” She grins.
I continue stuffing my face when everyone stops and stares at me. “What?” I ask around a mouthful of food. Once I swallow, I look at Alex. “Do I have something on my face or something?”
