Page 57 of All’s Well that Friends Well (Lucky in Love #2)

LUCA || three years later

Observing the Marigold sisters in their natural habitat—their parents’ house, and my old rental—is an experience.

Like the cowards we are, Felix and I are hiding in the kitchen. It’s not that we don’t love our wives, but when the girls get together and ABBA starts playing, things get a little intense.

Felix has grown on me, mostly because he’s easy to like.

As long as his arm isn’t around Juliet, I’m happy enough; he’s laid back with an easy laugh, and Jules clearly trusts him enough that I do too.

I even get along with Cyrus, more or less, although there’s still some grumbling between him and the girls after what happened last year.

I’ve kept my mouth shut there. I’m not touching that situation with a ten-foot pole.

“Menfolk!” India calls from the living room, and faster than I can blink, Felix has rushed out of the kitchen, leaving a trail of nerves behind him. I don’t think he’s normally so clingy with India, but as her due date has gotten closer and closer, he’s taken to following her wherever he can.

I make my way into the living room as well, drifting toward Jules without even thinking about it.

She’s the first person my gaze seeks in any room; she’s my anchor in every sea I find myself floating.

And she’s radiant this evening, beaming at India from where she sits cross-legged on the floor.

I settle myself behind her, touching her hair for no reason other than that I want to.

The early evening light streaming through the window turns the blonde into something almost luminescent, and her flouncy white dress is vibrant against her skin.

It’s the same dress she wore all those years ago on my birthday, waltzing around my kitchen in heels and an apron as she baked, and it’s my favorite of hers—matched only, perhaps, by the dress she wore when we got married last year.

The smile she turns on me, meanwhile, is the one I see every day—the one I dream about at night.

“Menfolk,” India says again. “It is your great honor this evening to join us for one last dance party before Baby Caine comes.” She pats her belly fondly and then looks up, smiling at me and Felix.

I’m not a dancer, and I’m not a partier, but I’m also not about to argue with a pregnant woman. So I muster up the best smile I have, even though it’s weak.

“Don’t worry,” Jules says, swiveling around to speak over her shoulder. She lowers her voice and whispers, “You can stand close to me and hold me in your arms.” She pauses and adds, “Or I could try to come up with a sexy belly dance or something.”

A smile unfurls over my lips, and I wrap my arms around her from behind. “I’ll just hold you in my arms,” I say. “Save the belly dance for when we get home.”

She laughs, the sound a little breathless. “Should I choreograph something?”

My heart misses a beat, and when I speak, my voice is hoarse. “Don’t joke about that unless you’re going to follow through—” But I’m startled into silence as music begins blaring, a song I’m only vaguely familiar with—and even then only because being with Juliet means accepting ABBA into your life.

Juliet cheers and jumps to her feet, leaving me sitting stupidly on the floor, while Aurora begins manning the playlist—she’s here alone tonight, because her fiancé had to work, and I sort of envy him.

Meanwhile Felix helps India to her feet, and although it’s not a slow song, the two of them merely sway back and forth like they’re at prom.

It’s kind of…sweet.

Jules, on the other hand, jumps on me the second I’ve stood up; she wraps her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, despite the fact that she’s in a dress, clinging to me like a koala.

I’d be lying if I said I don’t love it. So I wind my arms around her, holding her tightly as she sings along loudly, waving her hands in the air with the beat.

She’s perfect. She makes baking messes in our kitchen just like I suspected she would; she works her butt off to save for the studio she wants to open. She sobs at sad movies and even harder at happy ones.

I just look up at her in the chaos of the room—the music, the arrival of pizza, Felix helping India waddle to the couch so she can rest. I hold onto Juliet as long as she’ll let me, and I only set her down when there’s a sudden silence, the music shutting off unexpectedly.

I blink around and realize that I’m the only one not staring at the couch, so I whip my head in that direction.

India and Felix are both looking at her lap, where sure enough, something wet is appearing slowly on her pants and the couch.

And twenty-four hours later, baby Owen Robert Caine is born—“So his initials could be ORC! ” Felix tells us after the fact.

As Juliet holds her new nephew for the first time, I make peace with the fact that I have just become my wife’s second-favorite male in the world. But when she returns Owen to India, Jules turns her attention solely on me. Her eyes are bright, her smile joyful.

“I love you,” she says happily, sighing as she wraps her arms around me.

I blink down at her, surprised. “I love you too.” I rub her back without thought—pausing time for a moment, just to breathe as we stand on the precipice of change. The Marigold family is growing, shifting, expanding, and while it’s wonderful, it also makes me want to hold Juliet a little tighter.

So I do. I tug her closer and press my face into her hair, breathing her in.

“Let’s go home,” she says, and I nod, because I know what she means.

But I also know the truth: that four walls and a roof were empty before she came along. That before her, I was a drifter.

That as long as she’s here in my arms…I am home.

Thank you so much for reading All’s Well that Friends Well!