“I got all of that on video,” Bronagh, who was in tears, announced from the doorway. “Good man yourself, Damien. I was about to accept your proposal if Alannah didn’t.”
Both Damien and I laughed as we hugged, kissed, and looked brightly to the future.
Five days later…
“Oh, my God!”
I dropped my phone with fright, then spun around and barrelled into the kitchen.
“What?” I shouted. “What’s wrong?”
I scanned the room, looking for any signs of danger, and when I found nothing, I focused on Keela, who was staring at her phone with wide eyes. I looked to the left when I heard commotion, and I stepped forward when I saw Nico, Damien, and Ryder running down the hallway and all but falling into the kitchen.
“What is it?” Ryder demanded as he rushed over to Keela.
“There is an indie book signing in town next week, and I never bloody knew about it!”
A huge breath of relief left me.
“Bloody hell, Kay,” I said and placed my hands on my hips. “You frightened the hell out of me.”
“Us too,” Damien grunted from behind me.
I loved how his voice surrounded me and made me feel all tingly and warm.
“I’m sorry, but this is serious,” Keela stressed. “Oh. My. God. Indie royalty will be there, some of me favourite authors. I’m buying a ticket right now.”
Her happiness was infectious.
“Get me one too, and I’ll go with you. If you’re this excited right now, I want to see how you’ll be at the event.”
The lads snorted from behind me.
Nico frowned at her. “Hasn’t Alec talked to you about when you are screaming about books? You scream when one you want gets a release date, a summary thing, a cover, an excerpt thing, and when it releases. I told you it makes me think you’re dying or something.”
“I know, I’m sorry, but it’s a book signin’, Nico,” Keela said in awe. “Me people will be there.”
I laughed. “Your people?”
Keela looked at me and nodded. “Book people. The best kind of people. They get me.”
“I get you too,” Nico stated, “but damn, screaming like you’re being killed scares the crap out of me.”
“Sorry.” Keela smiled up at him.
“When is Alec gettin’ ‘ere?” I asked. “I’m starvin’.”
“Branna said we’re startin’ without ‘im.”
I whistled. “That’s not gonna go down well.”
Keela, the lads, and I filed out onto the decking of Branna and Ryder’s back garden. The smell of barbecue had my mouth watering as I took a seat next to Damien at the newly purchased garden table. Bronagh, who was snuggling her sleeping newborn son, sat across from me. The day after Damien proposed to me and I found out I was pregnant; my best friend went into labour and gave birth to her and Nico’s second baby. Nico cried in delight when he was told it was a boy. Bronagh cried with happiness because she was no longer pregnant. My new nephew was called Beau Damien Slater. Beau as in beautiful, not Beau as in bow tie.
Bronagh was clear about the pronunciation, and we were all on board with it rather quickly.
“He’s so chunky,” I said to Bronagh. “I want to gobble ‘im up.”
“I know.” Bronagh smiled and kissed Beau’s head. “I keep smellin’ his head. I love that newborn smell.”
“Oh, me too,” Keela said as she adjusted Enzo’s buggy next to her. “I smell his head all the time as well.”
“That smell is one of me favourite things.” Branna smiled as she fixed the plates that were piled with food on the table. “When I was holdin’ Beau yesterday, I could smell it, and I instantly wanted another baby.”
Ryder snorted. “It’s not like you have long to wait to get another one.”
I froze, and so did everyone else. Branna and Ryder laughed.
“You’re pregnant?” Bronagh asked, wide-eyed.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I’m five weeks.”
I gasped. “Like me! When are you due?”
“The fourth of March.”
My jaw dropped because that was my due date, and Branna knew it since she was in the room with me and Damien yesterday when we found out at the hospital.
“What the fuck?” Aideen said from our right. “You’re both due on the same day?”
“Fucking hell.” Kane chuckled. “You both apparently had some fun on the same day.”
Ryder and Damien grinned as congratulations were passed around.
“You’re crazy,” Bronagh said to her sister. “The twins will be thirteen months when you have this baby … It’s just the one baby, right?”
“Yes,” Ryder answered on Branna’s behalf. “We triple checked this time.”
“Weren’t you gonna wait until the twins were at least one to try for another baby?”
“Yeah,” Branna answered me with a nod. “But I forgot to get me latest birth control shot and bam. Pregnant.”
“Thank God I’m not the only one who got pregnant because I messed up with birth control.”
Everyone laughed.
“Since Alec isn’t ‘ere, you get the first burger of the summer, Lana.”