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“Yeah, fair enough.” I shot Lucy a look and she smiled in return. She knew I’d love nothing more than having my sister nearby and this was the closest she’d ever come to agreeing to it.
“You know what I’m gonna do?”
“What’s that?” I turned my gaze back to Stef, my heart squeezing at the light in her eyes as she looked at her niece.
“Talk to Miriam. She’s been complaining a lot about Seattle lately. Maybe she’d be open to the idea of relocating.”
“Miriam is…?”
“Our drummer. Didn’t I ever tell you? The band is more hers and mine than the others’ because we recruited them. I’d feel a lot more confident if she was down with the idea because then it wouldn’t feel so much like starting over again.”
“Give me her number! I’m calling her right now.”
Stef giggled at Lucy. “I’ll get on it as soon as I get back and let you know.” She went quiet for a moment, an uncertain frown on her brow. “Are you sure you’d want me around all the time, though?”
“Fuck yes!” If I didn’t already love Lucy as much as I did, her emphatic response would have sealed the deal.
Blowing out a breath, Stef said, “Okay. I’ll really think about it.”
“Stef!”
“Yes, Chloe?”
“Will you come and color with me?”
“Sure, I’d love to!”
I watched Stef move to sit at the table with Chloe and Mila, pick up a colored pencil and get to work.
“I’d love to have her around all the time.”
“Same. I want all the babysitters I can get for the stack of kids we’re gonna have.”
“Stack? Like pancakes?” I was surprised that the idea didn’t even scare me.
“Well, maybe not a whole stack, but two more at least.” She bent forward to give Sophie a tender kiss. “Hmm. Maybe three.”
“Jesus,cara,I don’t think I can watch you go through that nausea three more times.”
“Pfft, I’d do it a thousand times, just to have one minute of this. And besides, it was better after the first trimester.” She smiled at me, her green eyes shining. “Plus, I know you’ll look after us.”
“Of course.” I’d do anything for this woman. Anything at all. I pictured what it would be like to have four kids with her and felt a soft glow in my heart, knowing how amazing it would be.
Sophie started moving restlessly, flailing her hands and making the funny noises she always made when she was getting sleepy. I picked her up and held her close, rubbing her back gently, and she quieted.
“I’ll grab her blanket.” Lucy got up, walked across the deck to where she’d dropped the baby bag and bent over, retrieving the pink fluffy blanket Ellen had made to celebrate Sophie’s birth. I admired the view, grinning at her when she turned back and caught me checking out her ass. “You’re insatiable,” she murmured when she came back, covering Sophie with the blanket.
“Hey, it’s not my fault you’re so hot.”
“Ha! You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Thanks. She asleep?” I turned slightly so Lucy could see Sophie’s face.
“Yep. You’ve got the magic touch.”
I shifted the tiny body in my arms so her head was resting more comfortably on my shoulder, freeing up my arm in the process. I draped it over Lucy’s shoulders, pulling her close to me and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I missed you while I was gone.”
“Ditto.” She let out a sigh, leaning into me and linking her fingers with mine. We sat like that for a while, our baby’s deep, relaxed breathing the only sound between us. Until Bruce announced that lunch was ready. “You wanna put her down in the cot?”
“Nope.”
Smiling softly, her eyes alight, she said, “Okay. I’ll get you a plate so you can stay right where you are. But before I do that…” Leaning in, she cupped my face and pressed a kiss to my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I’d never, ever get sick of saying those words to her.
