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Her eyes get huge and she whips her head around, almost bumping her face into mine. “Really?” she squeals. I nod. “Oh my god!”
“What?” Jesse whines.
“Rae’s pregnant!” Dani says.
“Shit, really?” Jesse asks, and I nod. He looks over at Aaron. “Thunder stealer.”
“Bridezilla,” Aaron replies without a second thought, then they both laugh. Clearly, I missed something, but whatever.
“That’s so exciting. For you. I want no babies yet. But yay. I’m so happy. And you can tell whoever you like. No thunder stealing worries. We’re all celebrating.”
“I guess I should at least tell Mackenzie today,” I say.
“Tell me what?” Mackie asks, walking over with Amanda and Hyla.
I laugh and look around. “Screw it. I’m pregnant!” I yell.
“Oh my god! More babies,” Hyla yells with a smile.
“Eek!” Chelsea yells, appearing from behind them with Trevor and walking over to me. “It’s official. We’re starting a whole new squad.”
I laugh at that, then look around at my best friends all surrounding me. The incredible people I love all in one place.
“I don’t know if it can compare to the OGs, though,” I say, winking at Joel, who has joined the group with Sarah.
“Nothing could. We’re pretty awesome,” he says.
“Not gonna lie. You guys almost make me want to move to New York and brave the snow for this awesomeness,” Olivia says, wrapping her arm around Dani’s waist. “Almost.”
“You can be a long-distance member,” I say. Then I shake my head. “The next generation… I swear we’re still teenagers running around our backyards and acting like idiots.”
Everyone laughs at that. “We sure as hell did our share of that,” Jesse says.
“Here’s to us. And to the future,” Miles says. “Babies. Marriages. And all the celebrations to come.” His eyes are locked on Amelia as he says it, his love for her on full display.
“That’d be a killer toast if we had drinks,” Trevor says.
Dani claps her hands. “Agreed. Let’s go make that again with some champagne—or sparkling cider.” Dani smiles, leading the way back into the reception. I watch everyone go and Aaron wraps an arm around me.
“Love you, Beautiful.”
“Love you too, Ace.”
He leans down to kiss me, his other hand draped over my stomach.
Seventeen years of friendship, almost as long of a building love story. Now here we are. Celebrating the marriages of our friends and starting the next generation. It’s scary, a bit wistful, but more exciting than I ever could’ve imagined.
Amelia
There are few things I love as much as being wrapped in Miles’s arms as we dance. My heart is filled with love, and other parts of me are full of lust, but that will have to wait until later. Still, I feel like someone drenched me in love potion. Every movement of Miles’s fingers over my skin sets me on fire, and my heart aches as it spills over with love for him and our family.
It’s hard missing my dad and the woman my mother once was, but tonight is a reminder of the beautiful family I stumbled into. It’s more than I ever thought I’d have, but now that I do, I realize how much I was missing.
Over Miles’s shoulder, I watch as Katie stands, rocking Emmie back and forth. Katie’s face is awash with pure joy.
“I didn’t know how happy it could make me to watch our family with Emmie,” I say to Miles, who turns to look at his mother.
Then he looks back at me with a huge smile. “It’s incredible knowing we brought other people so much joy with our daughter.”
