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“That’s not necessary. Everyone is making too big a deal of this,” Ellery says.
I say, “Hell yeah, let’s celebrate. I finally have my girl.”
“Bryce and I have news to share, too,” Miles says.
“So do Adeline and I,” Damon says.
All six of us look at one another, trying to decipher each other’s news. Shit, is one of them thinking of retiring after this year? Hell, Damon doesn’t have to work, and I know he hates not being with Clover as much as he’d like during the season.
“Let me pour the champagne, and then we’ll all go around.” Miles grabs a bottle from the fridge, and Bryce goes over to help grab the glasses.
Damon feeds Clover some of the snacks in small pieces, and she smiles up at him. Damn, it’s endearing as hell watching the two of them. Makes me want one of my own now that I have Ellery.
“I can’t wait,” I whisper in Ellery’s ear.
Her forehead creases. “For?”
I nod in Clover’s direction. “One of those. Half you and me.”
Her head whips in my direction, and she’s staring at me with a “What the fuck?” expression.
“I’m not ready,” she says with a finality that scares me for a moment. But we’re only in our early thirties, we have a year or two before we should really look into it. It sours me a little bit that she was against it so fast. I hope that’s not a trend.
“Here you go.” Miles and Bryce pass out the champagne glasses.
We all hold them up.
“First off, I want to say congratulations, you two.” Bryce smiles over at us. “I speak for all of us when I say I hope you are as happy as we are. You might have taken the longer road to get where you are, but it’s the present and the future that matter the most, not the past.” She raises her glass, and we all clink and take a sip.
“Me,” Clover says, and we all know what she means. She raises her sippy cup, and we all clink it, making her show off those four bottom teeth in her smile.
Damon clears his throat. “It’s been a hard decision to make, and we hate to tell you this, but we’re moving out of The Den.” He looks distraught. “With Clover, we just can’t do it anymore. She needs a yard, and we need a bigger space.”
“Her toys are swallowing us whole,” Adeline jokes, and we all laugh.
“Did you already find a place?” I ask.
“We think so, but we’re waiting to see if the offer goes through. I’ll pay my year here too.”
We’ll figure something out, I’m not worried about it.
“Congratulations! I want to see pictures,” Ellery says to Adeline.
We all clink again, including Clover. She laughs at us.
“That leaves us, babe,” Miles says to Bryce.
I hope they’re not leaving, too.
“You do it,” Bryce says.
“We’re pregnant,” Miles announces with a wide grin.
“Shit, there’s a baby in your stomach?” Damon looks at Miles.
“You know what I meant,” Miles says with a roll of his eyes and tips his glass toward Bryce. “Bryce is pregnant.”
The girls screech and wrap each other up in a hug. Bryce starts telling them the whole story, while I hold my hand out to shake Miles’ and congratulate him on starting a family.
