Page 56

Three months later

L ana walks inside, a tiny, barely one month old baby girl strapped to her chest. The baby carrier hides the miniature body with only the top of her head peeking over the material. “Wine. I need wine now. I have a two-hour window, and I refuse to miss it.”

I try, but it is impossible to prevent myself from laughing. “Give me that.” I snag her suitcase, then take her diaper bag off her shoulder.

“Thank God. That thing literally weighs a ton. No one told me how much this baby would need on a daily.”

Swinging the bag over my shoulder, I can see what she means. “Holy hell. You weren’t kidding. Guess I forgot.”

“I don’t lie. This girly is seriously so needy.”

I smile. “Where’s your man at?”

“He’s running late, but he’ll be here.”

In walks Logan from the kitchen. “Hey, you.” He plants a kiss on Lana’s cheek and hands her a glass.

“Hey, big L. Thank you.”

I’m glad the nickname has stuck over the years.

“Already had it prepared.”

“I knew I always liked him,” Lana tells me with a twitch of her brow.

Milly comes barreling around the corner following our two-year-old carrying his milk cup. With thick, messy, brown hair and bright blue eyes, there’s no denying he’s Logan’s son. He inherited my ears. So, I guess that’s something.

Our son throws his petite arms around Lana’s legging covered knees.

“Hey, my guy.” Lana ruffles our toddler’s hair right before giving him a huge bear hug.

Admiring her baby girl, I think how much I miss the newborn head feel and smell. There was always something about it that calmed my postpartum hormones.

Our little boy stands on his tiptoes, trying to get a look at Lana’s baby.

“I’m so happy you’re here. I missed you. Like a lot.” I wrap an arm around her shoulders, giving her a slight squeeze.

“I missed you too, Sora. Like a lot, a lot. Being a new mom, I can really use my best friend.”

My shoulders drop. “I know. Once a week visits just aren’t cutting it.”

As of right now, I have Olivia running the café. With her graduating in business, she was the perfect choice. Just until our son was a little older. We expanded the café by converting the upstairs into a bookstore. And it turned out to be a major hit.

But I cherished these moments when Lana came to visit. Did I miss us living in the same duplex? Yes. Or us living right next door to each other when I moved in with Logan? Of course.

“Give me the precious cargo and you sit down.”

“Don’t have to ask me twice. My lower back is screaming right now.”

I lift Lana’s baby girl from her carrier and into my arms, cradling her against my chest. “I miss the baby stage.”

After Logan takes our son upstairs for his nap, it’s only me and Lana in our family room, with a sleeping baby laying her head on my shoulder. We catch up on the time we missed this past week when the doorbell rings.

“Better late than never,” Lana says, and I smile…

We’ll continue this epilogue in book 2! Wink, wink.

Hey, wait! Are you wondering what happened with Crew and Lana in the motel room? Keep reading to find out…