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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

LET IT GO

PENN

Halloween is finally here. The day of reckoning. The day that will go down in history as the most humiliating but also possibly the most adorable of my life.

It was a rookie mistake, letting Winnie pick our costumes. We thought we were being good parents, letting her be creative and giving her the power to make a big decision. But then she said the words. The dreaded words.

“We’ll be Elsa!”

“You mean you’ll be Elsa?” Sam said hopefully.

“No, all of us. Four Elsas,” she said emphatically.

Sam and I tried everything to change her mind.

How about you’re Elsa, Addy’s Anna, I’m the Snowman, and Sam’s the prince? Or Sam could be the Snowman…

What about pirates or superheroes? Wouldn’t you love to be a superhero, Winnie?

Nope, she was set. Addy backed her up, reminding us that we did tell her she could pick.

And when I saw how excited she was, how her eyes lit up at the thought of all of us dressed as her favorite character, I knew I was sunk.

Sam, to his credit, decided to be the Snowman.

He admitted to me that he’d feel dumber dressed like the prince, and the Snowman would feel a little dumb, but at least it’d make Winnie laugh.

That kid, man, he’s the best. And he’s like the rest of us, he just can’t resist Winnie.

So here we are.

I smooth down the sparkling blue dress that barely fits over my shoulders and resist the urge to adjust the platinum blonde wig that’s slipping dangerously down my forehead. Sam looks hilarious with his snowman belly bobbing when he walks, and he was right—it does make Winnie laugh.

Winnie and Addy look perfect . Like legit, they’ve walked straight out of the movie. Winnie’s version makes her look angelic, and Addy’s version is demure and yet she’s so fucking hot, I may have to leave her in this get-up as I go down on her tonight.

We take the kids trick-or-treating for a little while, stopping by my parents’ cottage first, then going to Rex and Danielle’s.

We hit a few more houses along the way before going to Henley and Tru’s house for the Halloween party.

When we arrive, I take one last deep breath before Henley opens the door.

He sees Winnie first and tells her how pretty she is, and then he sees Addy and adds how lovely she is too.

The moment the guys see me and Sam, it’s over. Scratch that—when they see me , it’s over. Sam is a charming Snowman. I am a hideous Elsa.

Henley chokes out a laugh so hard he actually stumbles backward. Rhodes doubles over and braces himself against the wall, gasping for breath. Bowie takes one look at me and mutters, “That’s your color.” Weston’s mouth twitches and then he explodes into an outrageous guffaw .

I don’t think I’ve ever used that word before, but there’s a time and place.

“Hey, assholes,” I say in a prissy Elsa voice, which of course, sends them into another fit.

“Hold on,” Rhodes manages, lifting his phone. “I’ve gotta get a picture of this.”

“Absolutely not,” I say, but Sam is already posing next to me.

If he can do it, so can I.

We pose and then Elle walks up, her eyes lit with amusement. “You’re my heroes,” she tells me and Sam. “And you, beautiful ladies,” she tells Winnie and Addy, “are the prettiest Elsas I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re a saint,” Poppy adds, winking at me.

Sadie laughs. “You know this is going to be on the group chat forever.”

“And all of our Christmas cards,” Tru adds, grinning.

“Have you seen yourselves?” I ask, laughing now myself. “You’re all actually looking pretty top-tier.”

Henley and Tru have gone all in on the Toy Story theme.

Henley looks hilarious in his Woody costume, and baby Avery is the cutest potato head I’ve ever seen.

Cassidy is rocking the Buzz Lightyear suit, which Sam finds very impressive.

Audrey is a gorgeous Bo Peep, and Gracie tries to figure out how to walk while dressed as the slinky dog.

Rhodes is an Oompa Loompa and it’s too good. And Levi is slaying as Willy Wonka. Elle goes into full method acting as Violet Beauregarde when she sees us admiring her costume and smacks her gum.

“So good.” I try to pull the dress up my shoulder, but it’s no use.

I turn to look at Bowie and Poppy and all of them, Becca and Jonas included, are the cutest Dalmatians ever. Jonas howls like a puppy, making everyone laugh.

“And what are you guys?” I ask Weston and Sadie.

They’ve gone for full drama. Sadie looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie with her ghostly white face and white Victorian dress. Weston leans next to her in an old-fashioned suit, his face also white. Caleb is running around looking like them, except with suspenders.

“We’re Victorian ghosts,” Sadie says primly before breaking out in a laugh.

We move to the kitchen, filling our plates with food and grabbing drinks while the kids run around. It’s loud and fun and chaotic…my kind of party. Then, as it always does when I’m with my guys, the inevitable happens.

“You know what time it is,” Henley announces, moving toward the speaker system.

“Oh no,” Weston says.

“Oh yes.” I smirk.

The opening notes of “Stronger” by Britney Spears start to play. And that’s all it takes.

“Penn, I vote you take the lead since you’ve gone blonde tonight,” Elle calls out.

I pretend to be annoyed, but I give my hips an extra sway as I point at her. “This is your fault. You brainwashed us.”

Elle is one of the best dancers I know, Tru too, actually. But Elle made Rhodes go over her dance routines in college, so he’s passed on his Britney moves to us over the years. I have to say, we’re fucking good .

Henley rolls his shoulders and we all move into place. Bowie looks around at us.

“If we’re going down, we’re going down together.”

“One hundred percent,” Weston says.

I look at Sam and he gives me a thumbs up. Addy winks at me.

We’re flawless. We’ve done this too many times and it’s burned into our muscle memory.

When we hit the chorus and I lip sync with exaggeration, sliding my hand down my blue dress, the girls die.

Poppy’s clutching her stomach, crying from laughter.

Tru’s filming everything. Elle looks like the proud dance mom.

Sadie doubles over when Weston twerks near her.

And Addy…she’s laughing along with the rest of them, but she’s also taking me in. Her eyes and that smile on her face tell me I’ve already won the night.

I still can’t believe she’s in my life. God, pinch me.

The song ends and we all collapse onto the couch. Sam leans against me, laughing. Winnie bounces over with excitement.

“You were so good !” she cries. “Will you teach me that, Daddy?”

The room quiets to a pin drop and I stare at her, my throat working.

“Yes, I sure can, sweet girl,” I tell her, my voice sounding raw.

She hugs me and runs off with Gracie. Rhodes pounds me on the back and Sam wraps his arms around me in a big hug. We exchange a meaningful look.

“Love you, Penn,” he says softly.

“I love you, buddy.”

“I think of you as my dad too,” he whispers.

I tug his head back against my chest and hug him again.

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be. All I know is you’re mine,” I tell him.

His eyes are bright when he gets up to go find everyone else.

I look at Addy and she’s wiping tears from her cheeks.

“She called me Daddy.” I reach over and hug Addy, unable to fight back all the emotion.

“She sure did,” Addy whispers. “That’s what you are, you know.”

“And did you hear Sam?”

“Yes. Melted my heart.”

“How did we get here?” I ask. “You know they love you like that too.”

She nods, her eyes spilling over again. “I feel like we’re the luckiest people in the world.”

There are sniffles around the room and we look around to see our friends wiping their faces too.

“You guys are the cutest,” Sadie says, her face scrunching up as she cries harder. “And those kids. I can’t take it.”

She comes over and hugs us and the rest of them follow, telling us how happy they are for us.

“I will be so glad when it’s official,” I say, letting out a long exhale as I dry my own damn face. “We’re still just holding our breath.” I thread my fingers through Addy’s.

Her chin wobbles and she nods.

“That has gotta be the most stressful thing,” Poppy says, clutching her heart. “Any update on the timeline?”

I shake my head. “No. Nothing for sure. Your dad has been such a huge help though,” I tell Weston. “And Sutton…I know he’s trying to move it along as much as he can, which is incredible.”

“They’ve both been great,” Addy adds.

“Anytime you need to get your mind off of all of it…or to vent about it…we’re here, okay?” Henley says.

Everyone else chimes in with their agreement.

“Thanks. You and our families…you’re keeping us afloat,” I say, looking around the room. Then I put my hand on Addy’s chin and kiss her lightly. “And this woman right here. I’d be lost without her.”

She waves a hand over her face, shaking her head. “Don’t get me crying again,” she says.

I kiss her and we all wander back into the kitchen, refreshing our drinks.

Addy stands in the doorway between our bedroom and bathroom, that soft smile still in place.

“You were really good tonight,” she says.

“I know,” I tease.

She steps closer, fingers trailing up my chest. “You’re hot no matter what you do,” she whispers. “Singing to Britney. Delivering kittens. Putting the kids to bed. Rocking my world in every single way.”

“I want to rock your world right now.” I lean down, capturing her mouth in a slow, lazy kiss.

But she pulls back, biting her lip, suddenly shy.

“I have a crazy thought,” she says.

I lean in, kissing my way down her neck. “I’m having a crazy thought too.”

“I’m scared to even say.”

That gets my attention. “Well, now I have to know. You can tell me all your crazy thoughts.” I smile at her and she takes a deep breath.

“What if we go off birth control?” Her words rush out.

I hold onto her arms and pull back to see her face better. “What?”

“I know, I know,” she hurries to say. “Forget it. I know it’s—” She shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

“But it’s not. It’s…I love this idea,” I say.

I think I’ve shocked her more than she’s shocked me. “You do?”

“Did you see how good both Sam and Winnie were with the little ones tonight?”

She nods. “Yes! And they’ve both asked me if we’ll have babies soon.

I’d thought they might not want us to…and I’d never want them to feel like they aren’t enough.

I don’t want to rush it.” She sighs. “But they’ve said multiple times that they really want babies around here. Other than the kittens.”

We both laugh softly.

“And I’m finding I do really love being a mom,” she says softly.

Everything inside me turns to liquid heat when she says that.

“I never thought I’d be this guy.” I tug her closer. “But I’m having the time of my life with you, Addy. A baby…” I say in awe.

“We’ve lost our minds,” she finally says.

“At least we’ve lost them together.”