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Harper’s chin lands on my shoulder. “You fucked up,” she whispers.
“I did?” Oh, no. What did I do? I tug on my sundress, cheeks blazing as I drop my gaze.
Harper’s laugh is light and soft. “I mean, bringing that little cutie here was a terrible idea. Mom’s been on our asses to give her grandbabies for a year now. We thought this might cool her jets. I think it’s going to be the opposite.” She angles me toward her mom. “That woman wants to keep her forever.”
I sputter out a nervous laugh. Babies. We’ve been dating for all of ten days.
Vivi turns her dimply beam on Jess as she attaches herself to her legs. She really knows no boundaries. Stranger danger? Not a real thing. “You a Gamma? My Gamma in heaben.” She points one little finger to the sky.
Jess’ gaze lifts to mine as tears pool in her eyes. Avery groans beside me. Harper cackles. Austin runs an exhausted palm down his face, breathing out the quietest, Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“I’m not a Grandma,” Jess tells her, sinking to her knees. Her fingers flutter over Vivi’s braids.
Vivi looks to me with the most ginormous eyes, expression slightly terrified. “She cwyin’!” She spins back to Jess and throws her arms around her neck. “No cwy. It’s otay.” She takes Jess’ face in her little hands. I hope they’re not sticky. Avery gave her a freezie earlier. “You be my Gamma. I hab two. One here and one dere.” She points to the sky again. “Otay? No cwy.”
The sage wisdom of my toddler niece. She’s so far beyond her age sometimes, likely because she spends all her time with adults who have a hard time controlling the words that fly out of their mouths. Vivi has a huge heart and so much love to give. She hands it out freely if she thinks you’re deserving.
Jess makes a noise I’ve never heard before, stuck somewhere between a gasp and a choking sob. This woman is an emotional mess, and Vivi’s making it a hundred times worse.
The hold she embraces Vivi in looks crushing, but Vivi's all about suffocating hugs. “Well, aren’t you just the sweetest thing.”
After an afternoon in the sunshine, in and out of the pool, Vivi eventually falls asleep in Avery’s arms under the shade of the deck. When she wakes, she follows Austin into the kitchen and helps him make the pizzas he’s going to be throwing in the fancy stone oven. They’re quite a pair, those two, just as she and Avery are. There’s something about those Beck men; the both of us know it.
“Everyone’s coming for the weekend,” Avery says as Vivi covers her face in ice cream and chocolate sauce after dinner. “Charlee, Dex, and Wyatt, too.”
Harper rolls her eyes, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Will Wyatt be bringing his plaything?”
Avery ignores her, which is probably for the best. “Me and Claire are staying the rest of the week.”
My brows jump. “Oh, we are?”
“Uh huh. Already texted Dex. He said you have tons of vacation days you never use.”
What can I say? When you love your job, taking a break feels unnecessary. I’m lucky to spend most of my days with two of my best friends, and at one of my favorite places.
“We’re definitely in,” Jess says, clapping a hand to Austin’s knee, his head bobbing away in agreement. “We don’t get up there nearly enough and we have no excuse for that.”
“Should we rent another cottage?” I ask quietly, hand on Avery’s thigh as I gaze up at him. “So everyone fits?”
“We aren’t renting anything,” Avery tells me on a laugh that feels entirely too humoring. “Dad and I bought it a couple years back.”
And I’m surprised, why? I don’t even know why I have expectations anymore. All Avery does is consistently blow them out of the water.
“The cottage sleeps sixteen,” Avery continues simply, cleaning Vivi’s massacred ice cream sundae off her face. “Tons of room for everyone and every pup.”
“Speaking of pups,” Harper chimes in, clearing her throat. She drums her fingers on the table, dragging her tongue across her lower lip like she's gearing up for something big. “Are you only a dog person, or are you also into other animals, like, oh, I donno…cats?”
“Cats?”
She nods. “Specifically, kittens. Really, really cute kittens.”
“I luh kitties! Meow!” Out comes Vivi’s cat claws for the second time today. She gives the back of her hand a lick for good measure.
Avery shakes his head back and forth. “No. No way, Harps.”
“Aw, come on, Ave.” She slinks back in her chair with a huff, pinning her arms over her chest.
“Absolutely not. End of discussion.”
