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The penthouse was full today. The entire family was here, and in the past few years, quite a number of kids had made our group even larger. Allison, the twins, and I moved back to the penthouse three years ago when she got pregnant... with twins. I had the whole place redecorated to make it fit for kids, and I was amazed at how many things weren’t childproof.
David and Dina were following Annie and Jack everywhere. Those two took their roles as older siblings very seriously, although sometimes they tried to lead the younger ones astray. I still wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not.
My woman was in the living room with the clan. She was sitting right next to Mom and talking loudly. Dina ran into her arms, cuddling against her. Our little girl loved cuddles more than any of our other kids.
I liked that Allison and Mom were so close. Mom had kept her promise. Leo and Tori got pregnant a year before me and Allison, and Mom moved to Boston after Tori gave birth. Maddox and Cammie had a baby girl at the same time our twins came, so Mom had her hands full. In the beginning, neither of us knew how it would work with the rest of our brothers, but thankfully they accepted Mom into their ranks too. Not only that, but they made her feel welcome. I hadn’t expected anythingless from Gran, Granddad, and Gabe, but even Jake and Colton were treating her with kindness.
“Here’s your drink, Helen,” Colton said. “Your favorite.”
“Thanks. You make the very, very best margarita,” she told him.
“I learned some tricks from Gabe.”
Zoey had a little boy in her arms who was six months old. Colton immediately took him from her, burping him as he walked through the living room. It was a kids’ wonderland out here.
Spencer and Penny welcomed a baby girl, too, two years ago. Ben doted on her as much as the adults did.
Jake and Natalie now had four kids in total. I’d once asked Natalie if they planned on having any more, and she said, “We’re thinking six is a nice number.” I didn’t think she was kidding.
And Cade and Meredith were expecting their first child soon. Gran was over the moon.
I watched Allison head to the kitchen and followed her there. In my experience, whenever one of us went to the kitchen, they definitely needed support.
“Hey, gorgeous woman. What are you doing in here?”
She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “You have a sixth sense. I was just wondering when the food is going to be here. Some of the little ones are already starving.”
“Then let’s raid the fridge!”
She laughed. “You always have a solution, huh?”
“You know it.”
She opened the door to the fridge, and I hovered behind her, kissing the back of her head. “I love you so damn much,” I told her.
She melted against me. I used every opportunity to tell her this, and her reaction was always the same.
“I love you, too, baby,” she whispered back, shimmying against me.
I never knew which side of her I would get: the sassy one or the romantic one. Both were great, in my opinion.
As we started to get things out of the fridge, Spencer, Cade, and Maddox joined us.
“You’re taking out food! Great survival instincts,” Maddox said.
“Yep. I think Ben is getting ready to raise hell if he doesn’t get something to eat. And the rest aren’t going to just stay calm while he does it,” Spencer added.
“And to think, when you bought this penthouse, you thought you were going to have it all to yourself forever,” Cade teased, taking out plates. Everyone dropped by regularly, so they knew where everything was.
“I definitely don’t mind being wrong,” I assured him.
We routinely hosted sleepovers, taking turns in the family. That way everyone got some free couple time. And besides, the kids loved sleeping somewhere else. It was one big adventure for them.
Dina started crying, and Allison sighed. “I’m going to check on her.”
“Sure. We’ve got this covered,” Spencer said lazily, waving her off as she headed to the living room. Since he’d been the first one among us to become a father, he was a pro at every stage. “It’s a good thing you like to host here. Although, I do think Gran is getting jealous that she doesn’t get to host as many things as before.”
Gran and Grandpa really had gotten way too frail to host anything lately. They were very glad to come wherever we asked them to, mostly here at the penthouse or at Spencer’s house. I had a feeling that Gran was secretly relieved that she didn’t have to deal with us all at her house anymore.