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I smirk in response and begin unclipping June from her car seat when she pulls my sunglasses from my eyes with her tiny hand. “That’s right, baby girl. Glasses,” I giggle. “Daddy insisted on high-end ones because he’s a great big snob.”

“Heard that.”

“I meant for you to,” I call from the back seat.

Will brings his chew ring to his mouth and starts chomping down. June immediately follows but on my glasses. “Oh, no, baby. Not the glasses,” I say, replacing it with her purple ring. “There we go.”

It’s a gorgeous day at Alki Beach. We load up the strollers and make our way down onto the soft sand, finding a place to set up for the day.

“I’m going to set up the canopy.” Jensen starts unloading it from the bag and setting out the pieces.

The salty air whizzes past my face as I roll out June and Will’s blankets and set them down for some tummy time. Both can already push up onto their elbows and are becoming increasingly inquisitive. Even though they aren’t identical twins, they are so similar with their mass of black hair and deep brown eyes, just like their daddy. At this point, I’m the odd one out in this family.

“Do you think they will stay dark forever, or do you think their hair color will get any lighter?” I say to Jensen as he starts putting up the canopy to provide us with some shade.

He looks down at me through his sunglasses, clearly checking me out in my black plunging one-piece swimsuit. “I don’t know. They’ll probably get lighter, I guess. They got lucky and got their daddy’s genes.” He pulls off his glasses and winks.

Brat.

“It looks like you could use a hand there.” Jon and Felicity approach from behind, and Jon immediately starts helping Jensen with the canopy.

In her huge “out of the office” straw sunhat, Felicity comes to sit next to me and kisses me briefly on the cheek. “Hi, babe.”

“That’s it?” I say as she glides past me and straight to June and Will, picking them both up in her arms.

“Yep.” She pops her p. “You and Luna will always be my girls, but now I have aunt responsibilities. Don’t I?” Felicity says as she looks between them.

“Is that so?” I reply in a mock tone.

“Look, don’t get offended.” Felicity sets June and Will down and then passes June a bucket and shovel to explore. “Even my own husband has taken a backseat to Aster, June, and Will.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Jon says from behind me.

I turn around to face him and throw my hands in the air. “Join the club, Morgan.”

“Well, if you can’t beat them, join them.” Jon fixes one of the poles into place and then walks across to his wife, picking Will up and throwing him in the air.

“Shall your favorite aunty and uncle take you for a walk along the beach?”

I watch as Felicity observes how he is with Will, her eyes full of hearts.

Quietly, I nudge her in the side. “Never too late, you know?”

She scoffs. “You havegotto be kidding me. Anyway, he’s one to talk; I barely see him. He’s dropped me for Jack.”

“Still as intense?”

She nods. “I’m so damn proud of them both. Jon sees he has what it takes, and Jack is working so hard to follow his dreams.”

“You think he’ll make it? To the NHL, I mean.”

She takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I do. He has Jon and all the guys in his corner. He has all the ingredients to make it happen if that’s what he truly wants.”

“He’ll make it.” A deep voice joins us, followed by a cheeky three-month-old giggle.

I jump to my feet. “Aster!”

I take him from Zach and plant a huge kiss on his mass of red hair. “Why is it that you got all your mommy’s genes, but mine got their daddy’s, huh?”