Page 11 of Blizzard Babies (Alaska Blizzard #6.5)
Laurel
Three months later
“I thought Gage forbade us from ever going to breakfast again?” Whitney asks, giggling as she takes a bite of her pancakes.
I snort. “You really think my husband is the boss of me?”
“Kind of?” Sara cocks her head. “Like literally, if not figuratively.”
“Potato, potahto.” I wave a hand as I nibble on a piece of bacon. “And anyway, I kind of didn’t tell him we were meeting for breakfast.”
The four of us momentarily freeze as we look from one to the other.
Then Charli snickers.
And we all burst out laughing.
“Really?” Whitney wrinkles her nose. “You lied to him?”
“I didn’t lie ,” I say patiently. “I told him I had things to do. I simply didn’t include the details.”
“Uh huh.” Charli bites her lip. “I feel that. I didn’t tell Miikka either. I told him I was going to run errands.”
“Exactly.” I nod. “See?”
“I didn’t tell Aaron,” Sara says thoughtfully. “But that’s only because he left at the ass-crack of dawn to go golfing, so he wasn’t around.”
“Um, I told Jack,” Whitney whispers, looking guilty. “Was I not supposed to? I feel like I broke some kind of girl code.”
“Nah, it’s fine.” I chuckle. “He’s had a hard time with me going anywhere by myself since the accident, you know? It’s not worth stressing him out. But I’ll tell him when I get home.”
“Or, you know… now .” Sara has a funny look on her face.
“What?” I twist around to find Gage, Miikka, and Jake coming into the restaurant.
“Okay, who ratted us out?” I turn to Whitney and narrow my eyes. “It was you.”
“Sorry.” Whitney playfully hangs her head.
“Things to do, huh?” Gage leans over and kisses me.
“As soon as I leave here, I’m going to the post office, the pharmacy, and the nail salon,” I say. “Those are all things to do.”
He laughs. “Well, now we’re going to take care of your things to do together.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be home with the kids?”
“Why do we have a nanny if I have to stay home with them all the time?” he counters, snatching a piece of bacon off my plate.
“Hey!” I playfully swat at him even as he squirms out of reach.
“We need a bigger table,” Jake says, motioning to the waitress.
“So much for girl talk,” Charli murmurs, smiling at her husband.
“It’s a good thing Aaron is golfing,” Sara says, grabbing her plate as we move to a table big enough for all of us. “Apparently, he’s not insecure like you guys.”
Jake chuckles. “Oh, he is. He’d be here too if he knew.”
“You guys can’t be this overprotective forever,” I say quietly, trying to keep the mood light but letting my husband know I’m on to him.
“Forever, no,” Gage says, sliding his arm along the back of my chair. “But definitely for a lot longer than three months.”
“Besides, it is breakfast ,” Miikka says emphatically. “My favorite meal.”
“Every meal is your favorite meal,” Charli tells him.
He rubs a hand over her stomach, which finally popped. “Yes. Especially when I get to eat with you.”
“Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day too,” Jake says, leaning over to kiss his wife’s cheek before reaching for the cup of coffee the waitress just poured him.
“Any meal with my wife is my favorite,” Gage says, meeting my gaze almost apologetically.
He’s been incredibly overprotective since baby Charlotte was born, but I understand. The accident freaked us all out.
It’s time to get past it, though.
“They’re laying it on thick,” Charli says to me.
“They are. But I guess we love them anyway.”
“Aw, now I feel left out,” Sara says, chuckling.
“Not for long, baby doll.” Aaron comes up behind her.
“I thought you were golfing!” she says, turning in surprise and hugging him.
“You ladies aren’t the only ones who can be sneaky,” he replies, laughing.
“We weren’t being sneaky . We just wanted some girl time.”
“Now I almost feel bad,” Gage murmurs.
I squeeze his hand. “Nah. We’ll just do it again next week. This was a fun surprise.”
Despite how much they’ve been hovering lately, it’s kind of fun having an impromptu couples’ breakfast. We eat and talk, filling each other in on what’s been happening since hockey season ended.
Everyone is going on vacation, so there’s a lot to catch up on, which is one of the many reasons we planned breakfast.
Having the guys here really isn’t a big deal, and as I look around the table, I can’t help but take a moment to appreciate how wonderful it is to be here. Even after our ordeal back in February, I wouldn’t trade the crazy, fun, and adventurous life I’m living for anything.
I truly have everything I ever wanted and then some.
My husband and our family, our friends, and my extraordinary career.
I never imagined living somewhere like Anchorage, but now that we’re here, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
And I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next in this Blizzard adventure of our lives.