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Maren grins, wiping a tear off her cheek. “I think she’s scrumptious. I had a feeling she’d be big. I was huge at the end!”
“You were beautiful,” I say. “Youarebeautiful.”
Mark nods. “You’re glowing, Maren.”
“I’m just so happy.” She looks at me. “Happy and obsessed. I can’t stop kissing her. I’d eat her face if I could.”
My sister is holding Reese now. “How are you feeling, Maren?”
“Was the surgery painful at all?” Leigh asks.
Maren waves her head side to side. “I feel pretty good, actually, but the pain meds are still at work, so we’ll see what happens when those wear off. Surgery was surprisingly all right. But I was shaking like a leaf when they admitted me to the OR. I just had no idea what to expect, you know?”
I scoff. “That’s some scary shit, going into surgery.”
“I’ve never had surgery before, so yeah, it was scary. But once they got the meds going, I was fine. I was so excited to meet that little one.” She tips her head at Reese. “I’ll never forget Dr. Yelich saying, ‘wow, that isnota small kid!’ as she pulled her out of my stomach.”
I smirk. “To be fair, her daddy is not a small guy.”
“Are youreallybeing a pervert on your daughter’s birthday?” Jen asks with a teasing roll of her eyes. “I see the fifteen-year-old in you is alive and well.”
Dad laughs as he takes the baby from Jen. “Some things never change.”
“But others do.” I meet Maren’s eyes.
She grins. “They really do.”
Riley and Lu bring Katie in to meet the baby the following day. She’s all smiles when she walks into the room, a gift bag in one hand and a magic wand in the other. Unsurprisingly, she’s dressed up, this time as a princess. Glittery pink dress, tiara, jewels. Whole nine yards.
“Well, hey there, Princess Kate,” Maren says. “Come meet your new baby sister!”
“Mare!” Katie cries, making a beeline for the bed. “Mare, I miss you!”
I intercept Katie before she can leap into the bed, settling her on my hip. “You have to be very careful with Maren, Squish. She just had surgery.”
Katie nods. “I be very careful. Mare, are you not feeling well?”
Maren laughs. “I’m just a little sore. I’ll be better in a few days.” She sniffs and holds out her arms. “I’ve missed you, honey. Come give me a hug.”
“Agentlehug,” I say as I set Katie down on the bed beside Maren. She immediately burrows into Maren’s side. Maren kisses the top of her head.
My heart, already tender, fucking melts.
Riley claps me on the shoulder. “Your family is beautiful, man.”
“Thanks,” I manage thickly. “Don’t know how I got so lucky.”
Lu gives me a side hug. “We’re so happy for y’all.”
Riley nods at Katie. “She’s been talking nonstop about meeting baby Reese’s peanut butter cup.”
Maren looks at me. “That’s kind of a cute nickname, actually.”
“You could go thePrincess Brideroute and call her Buttercup,” Lu says as she peers into the bassinet beside Maren’s bed. “Oh, y’all, she isperfect!”
“Let me see!” Katie cries out.
I pick Katie up and put her on the floor. Placing her hands on the edge of the bassinet, Katie goes up on her tiptoes to look inside. “It’s my sister! She is very small. Does she always fall asleep?”
