Page 94 of Gamers' Omega

I laughed. “You might not have let them plan it, but I don’t think you could have picked anything they’d have loved more.”

He chuckled. “I know what those kids are in for. They’re either going to love family game night, or hate it.”

“I hope they love it,” Beck started. “I’ve already announced that I’m going to start reviewing kid-friendly games as they grow up.”

Micah laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”

Freddie handed me a cup of punch, then leaned in to kiss my temple. “Where do you want to sit?”

I looked around, then motioned to a table near the center of the room. “Over there. If I’m too close to the food, you’ll have to use a wheelbarrow to roll me out.”

He laughed and settled a hand on the small of my back. “Ok.” He guided me to the table and helped me sit. “Are you hungry, or do you want to greet people first?”

“Starving,” I replied. “But if I have food in front of me, I won’t be able to say hi to anybody. So I’m going to wait a few minutes.”

“Ok.”

Freddie’s phone sounded. He pulled it from his pocket, read something on the screen, and nodded to himself.

“Everything ok?” I asked.

He grinned. “Yep. I just have to step out for a minute to help somebody bring in a heavy gift. Will you be ok until I get back?”

I nodded. “I hope it’s not too big. We kept our list to mostly small things so people didn’t have to worry about large items.”

Freddie laughed. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll be right back.”

“Ok.”

I greeted people as they came in, giving half-hugs and allowing people to rub my baby bump. I grinned when I saw Owen walk in.

“Hey boss man,” I teased as he leaned in for his hug.

“You look about ready to pop,” he laughed. “How close are you?”

“Another month and a half,” I replied. “My due date is technically in early March, but it’ll likely be late February. My doctor doesn’t think I’ll go full-term.”

He shook his head. “Probably not. That’s why Micah had a scheduled C-section. It was too much strain on him towards the end.”

“Well, he had three. I’ve only got two.”

Owen nodded. “True, but multiples tend to arrive early anyway.”

“That’s what I’ve heard too.” I paused. “So how are things?”

“Good,” he replied with a grin. “We miss you at the restaurant though. Take all the time you need to recover and connect, but as soon as you want to pick up any shifts let me know. I’ll find a spot in the schedule.”

I nodded. “How’s the new kid working out?”

Owen shrugged. “A few hiccups, but they’re learning fast.”

“That’s good. Has Mandy managed to accidentally stop referring to them as ‘he’ yet?”

“For the most part. She still goofs now and then, but I caught her one time muttering almost anytime she was alone. ‘Tay is a they.’ It was cute.”

“And I think Tay knew it was never malicious. Mandy just had to adjust her thinking.”

He nodded, then glanced at the door. “I should let you say hi to more people.”