Page 73 of A Little Crush (The Little Things #6)

RORY

A few years later

I t’s funny. How Jaxon constantly accommodating Iris’s unreasonable schedule slowly transitioned the fifty-fifty split to be closer to ninety-ten.

And after a few years of unsteady schedules and a little girl who looks more and more like her daddy every day, Jaxon finally took Iris to court for full custody.

We won.

We. Freaking. Won.

The memory alone is enough to bring tears to my eyes. Or maybe it’s the hormones.

Resting one hand on my swollen belly, I shield my eyes from the sun and call out, “Hey, you two! Lunch is ready!”

“Just a sec!” Jaxon’s head pops out from behind a thick branch, and he grins. “I think the black’s gonna look awesome.”

“Look, Mom! Black!” Poppy chimes in. Black paint is smeared across her shirt and part of her cheek as she stands on the large platform ten feet off the ground.

Thankfully, there are railings, and she isn’t allowed in the treehouse unaccompanied, but the girl’s obsessed.

And I mean obsessed . She raises a paint brush into the air, wielding it like a sword. “Argh! I’m a pirate!”

“You are definitely a pirate,” I agree with a breath of amusement. But seriously. How is she so cute? “And pirates eat grilled cheese sandwiches. Tell your daddy it’s time to eat, will ya?”

Her eyes light up, and she turns to Jax. “Grilled cheese, Daddy! Grilled cheese!”

“All right, all right. We’re coming. Let me go first, okay?” Once he’s down a few rungs, she joins him on the ladder and slowly, they climb down together before Jax moves out of the way so she can land on the grass with a quiet thump.

As she rushes inside, he approaches me with his usual sexy swagger. “Hey, Beautiful.”

“Hi.”

Invading my space, he brushes his lips against mine in a toe-curling kiss. “Thanks for making lunch.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” I reply. “I left your sandwich on the burner while I was changing Declan’s bum, and it got a little burned. Speaking of…” I grimace. “I left Declan inside with some apple sauce. How much do you want to bet it’s smeared all over the wall?”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Hades will lick it up.” Wrapping his arm around my waist, he kisses my cheek and guides me inside.

Sure enough, Hades is on his hind legs, leveraging himself against the wall and licking what’s left of the smeared apple sauce from the window next to the high chair.

“Hades, off,” I scold, and I swear, if it was possible to roll his eyes, he would.

Tail swishing, he pushes away from the wall, collapsing onto all four legs before sitting next to Poppy at the kitchen table.

With a smile, she drops him the crust of her sandwich, and he gobbles it up like he hasn’t been fed in days.

“Why do we even buy dog food?” I ask Jax.

He shrugs. “It’s the thought that counts.”

“Of course, it is.” Slipping his sandwich from the warm pan and onto a plate, I offer it to him. “Eat up.”

He bounces his eyebrows up and down. “Don’t tempt me.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I shake my head and try not to blush. But, seriously?

“I forgot to ask, how was therapy?” Jax adds.

“It was good. The usual.”

“Anything I can do?”

It’s the same question every time. And every time, it leaves me swooning.

I love all the research he’s put into being a father and a coach and a husband.

How he manages to make me feel seen and appreciated, offering help while also not overstepping his bounds.

It’s a fine line, and he masters it more and more every day.

“Nope,” I answer. “Just keep being awesome.”

“Fine, but only if you take a bite of this sandwich to see how burned it is.” He offers me a bite, and I take a quarter of the sandwich just to prove how big of a baby he is. I make it two chews before spitting it into a napkin.

“Okay, that’s awful.”

With a laugh, he wraps his arm around my neck and kisses me, refusing to let me get away unscathed.

“Is everyone still coming over tonight?” I ask.

“Yeah. Everett’s bringing burgers and asked to use the smoker.”

My stomach rumbles at the thought. “That sounds incredible!”

“Fin’s bringing Mama Taylor’s cookies, too.”

I pretend to swoon. “My hero.”

“You’re lucky you and Ophelia both have the same pregnancy cravings,” Jaxon teases. “Apparently, she begged Fin to bring them.”

“Ah, then she’s the one who’s my hero,” I quip. “I don’t know what they put in those cookies, but…” I fan myself as Poppy chimes in.

“I want a cookie! I want a cookie! Please can I have a cookie?”

“You can have a cookie,” I reply. “But only if you promise to be nice to your cousins, okay? Make sure you share the treehouse and follow all the rules. Deal?”

She rolls her eyes, sassy as ever before offering her cute little hand for me to shake. “Deal.”

As I take it, sealing our negotiations with a handshake, the front door opens, and in walks the chaos.

A slew of children tumble in, racing through the house and to the backyard without so much as a hello. Then again, compared to all their cousins, Aunt Rory is chopped liver.

“You guys are early!” I call as the front door swings open again, revealing the rest of the crew.

“Sorry, not sorry,” Finley says. “We left the house early to see if Ashie would nap in the car, but nope.”

“Can’t blame the girl. She just wants to keep up with her older siblings,” Griffin adds. “Speaking of which, hey, baby sister.”

Adjusting her glasses, Dylan gives him a quick squeeze. “Hey, big brother. How’s?—”

I block out their little reunion, popping my head through the sliding glass door, so I can warn the kids about Poppy’s and Jaxon’s afternoon project. “Paint’s still wet on the treehouse, so no going up there! Okay, guys?”

“Good luck,” Reeves quips from behind me. “Poppy’s been bragging about the pirate treehouse to the boys for the past two weeks.”

I rest my hand on my hip like a woman who means business and face him fully. “Yeah, well, I’m not replacing anyone’s clothes, so…”

“Shit.” Reeves darts out the back. “Boys?—”

“Hey, Squeaks.” Maverick steals a quick hug from me. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m great. Baby’s wiggly as ever.” I palm my massive belly. “How’s Lia?”

“Ready for her due date,” he says dryly. “I’m sure you are, too.”

“You have no idea.” I groan. “I’m jealous Ophelia’s due before me.”

“We’ll see. You look ready pop, so?—”

I smack his shoulder. “Hey!”

“Mav, will you check on AJ?” Ophelia interrupts. “He thinks he’s a big boy and wants to keep up with everyone, but?—”

“I got it, Goose.” Leaning in, my brother gives Ophelia a quick kiss, then traipses into the backyard. “Hear that, AJ?” he says, addressing his little boy, Archer Junior. “No climbing on the treehouse without daddy’s help, all right, buddy?”

Pax and Tatum walk in next, each of them balancing a toddler in one arm and a side dish in the other.

“Tater Tot!” I call.

My best friend swoops in for a side hug, careful not to bump our pregnant bellies together like a pair of cymbals. “Get over here, Lia!” she yells to her sister. “Pregnant ladies unite!”

Squeezing through the crowded kitchen, Ophelia wraps her arms around us, already munching on a cookie while creating a small, bumbling circle of pregnant ladies, as everyone else catches up around us.

And it’s so…surreal. I’m still not sure how I got so lucky.

How I wound up with this life. With these babies.

And this husband. And this family. And these friends.

And this house. It even has a white picket fence and a treehouse in the back, just like I dreamed about.

Don’t get me wrong. It's far from perfect, and I still have OCD. I also know Hades won’t be around forever, and Jaxon didn’t get that billion-dollar raise he joked about, despite earning his upgraded status of son-in-law after marrying the owner’s daughter.

But life doesn’t have to be perfect to be worth living.

It’s allowed to have its ups and downs, as long as you surround yourself with people who are willing to take the ride with you.

We’re happy. I’m happy. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.