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The warm ocean breeze on my face feels nice. My eyes are closed as I rest my head against Eden’s shoulder, letting the gentle motion of the boat lull me to sleep.
Her hand reaches down to caress my bare stomach, pulling me from my dreams.
“You’re not feeling sick, are you?” she whispers against my ear.
I shake my head. “Nah. That was a first-trimester problem.”
“Not even with these waves?” Clay asks.
“I’ve been coming out on the boat since I was her age,” I say, nodding to Elizabeth, who is currently snoozing on Clay’s chest. Her little lips are smooshed together, and her cheeks are red from the heat, but other than that, she looks perfectly content in her daddy’s arms.
Eden’s hand stays on my stomach. I swear she touches it more than I do.
“Grandpa, can I drive?” Jack asks from his seat.
“Sure, kiddo,” my dad answers as he stands from his captain’s chair and motions for Jack to stand at the wheel. Eden grabs her phone and snaps pictures of Jack as my dad stands behind him, showing him where to turn and what to avoid.
“He’s a natural,” Dad beams with pride as he rests a hand on Jack’s shoulder.
Then Eden turns her phone toward Clay and snaps a few pictures of him holding Lizzie. He looks good enough to eat with that baby nuzzled against his chest like that.
“God, he looks good,” I whisper to Eden as she glances up at her phone.
“It’s the baby. There’s something about a man holding a baby.”
“I’m sure it’s these hormones, too. They make me feral,” I say in a hushed tone.
She giggles quietly to me. “We can take care of that later,” she replies, kissing me on my head.
“Too bad I feel like a cow,” I reply, trying to stretch, but it feels like my body is already out of room, and we still have fifteen weeks to go.
“You’re the sexiest cow I’ve ever seen,” she replies before tweaking one of my nipples through my bikini top. It’s a good thing my dad is preoccupied with helping Jack steer the boat through the open water.
When we reach a good spot to drop the anchor, Elizabeth starts to stir. She lifts her sleepy head from Clay’s chest and gives him a cheesy smile.
“Dada,” she coos, and he presses kisses against her cheek to make her squeal with laughter. Her tiny life jacket makes it hard for her to move, and she gets fussy pretty quickly about it, so he quickly passes her to Eden, who bounces her on her knee.
“Wanna go swimming, Lizzie?” Eden asks.
Lizzie smiles as she flaps her arms and starts screaming, “Swimming, swimming, swimming!”
Eden kisses her cheek. “Jack, will you hold her while I put some sunblock on her cheeks?”
Clay helps my dad drop the anchor and let down the ladder. And I watch contentedly as Jack entertains his little sister so Eden can slather her with sunblock.
It’s moments like this when I wish I could stop time and keep things like this forever. But honestly, I’ve had the same thought through every phase. When we first started dating, it felt like Jack was the center of our lives. Then we decided to get married and try for a baby. After that, Elizabeth came along, and we got to watch Jack become a big brother. Next, we’ll have a new baby to love and grow with.
Through every phase, our family has changed, but at the core, we’ve stayed the same. Clay, Eden, and I have built a life together, and it’s never once felt like settling down. It’s been exhausting and exhilarating and still incredibly sexy and fun.
I took a break from work to focus on the kids, and I’ve loved every minute of it. Just like I’ve loved watching Eden grow and prosper at work to the point now where she’s basically running that club on her own.
My dad promoted Clay to co-owner at the firm. And it didn’t take my dad as long as I expected for him to accept our relationship as it was. Once again, he claimed to have his suspicions when Eden showed up at our family functions for nearly a year before we finally came out to him.
Clay’s family was less tolerant. His mother still calls from time to time, and she’s seen Elizabeth and Jack a few times. But they didn’t come to our wedding, and Clay has made peace with that.
If they can’t see our family for what it is, then we don’t need them.
Because what I see is love in all of its messy, misshapen, and perfectly eclectic form.
