Page 80 of Never Dance with the Devils
I understand the distinction because to Cameron, they are already a family and no ceremony or piece of paper will make him any more assured of that. But it matters to Riley. She has no family of her own, so being part of the Harringtons is a big deal to her, which makes it important to all of us.
Cameron presses a kiss to his bride-to-be’s cheek, but her eyes are on Grace. “You’re still okay with this?”
Knowing Riley, they’ve had multiple conversations about this already. The three of them, Riley and Grace alone, and Cameron and Grace alone, at Riley’s insistence.
“Absolutely,” Grace answers. “As long as I can go dress shopping with you.”
Riley nods emphatically, her smile bright. “Of course you can.”
Riley is truly the best stepmother Grace could ever have. She understands that motherhood isn’t in titles but in actions, and while she does everything she can to make sure Grace is cared for and loved, Riley has no desire to replace Michelle, Grace’s mom. If anything, with Riley becoming part of their family, Cameron hasdone some much needed and long overdue healing from the loss of his wife, and memories of Michelle are even more present.
“Maybe we can find a vintage dress?” Grace asks.
Riley’s eyes light up. “I know just the place, a consignment shop about half an hour out of town. We can hit it up tomorrow.”
“Starbucks first?” Grace negotiates. Frappuccinos are her near-constant companion and she aims to add a Starbucks stop to basically every outing.
Mom is sniffling happy tears as she watches their exchange but suddenly blurts, “That’s only a few weeks away! We need to start planning immediately.”
Cameron shakes his head, stopping Mom before she goes full steam ahead, because if there’s one thing Mom’s good at, it’s planning a party. “We want to keep it small. Just us.” He looks around the table, though with all seventeen of us, we’re not exactly a small group. I especially appreciate that he doesn’t skip Riggs or Maddox, but rather, includes them in his informal invitation. “And casual. At our house in the back yard where we fell in love.”
Riley turns to Janey, who’s holding up a spoonful of mushy carrots in an attempt to get Emmett to eat them. “Will you be my matron of honor?”
Janey drops the spoon onto Emmett’s high chair with a clatter and spatter of orange. Clutching her hands in front of her heart, she gushes, “Yes! I would be honored to! Does that mean I get to plan the bachelorette party? Oh! How about a Girls Gone Mild vibe, with face masks and wine and movies in our pajamas? We can make it a sleepover!”
Janey’s excitement is palpable as she plans thebachelorette party in real time with her rambles. But Riley’s nodding along, equally excited at Janey’s ideas.
Luna holds her hand up like she’s in school. “Could we make it sparkling juice, maybe?”
It takes a solid two seconds for the implication to sink in. In fact, I’m not sure we realize it because of Luna’s question or because of the cat-who-ate-the-canary look on Carter’s face.
“You’re pregnant!” Mom exclaims, catching on first. “Oh my gosh!” She’s up and rushing at Luna, gathering her in her arms to rock her back and forth in a hug. “Oh my gosh!” she repeats like she can’t find any other words.
Tears flow freely down both of their faces while the rest of us clap and shout our congratulations.
“It’s early, but Carter couldn’t wait to tell everyone,” Luna explains as she glances at her husband, who’s grinning ear to ear, looking relieved that the news is finally out. To be fair, Luna looks pretty pleased too.
“Well, if we’re sharing news…” Chance says, glancing at Samantha. “We’re expanding the club.”
“Did you buy more property?” Carter asks, instantly switching to business-minded matters. “I haven’t seen any listings near you. Private sale?”
Chance takes Samantha’s hand, giving her the floor. “Not that kind of expansion.”
Her eyes dancing with amusement, she says, “I couldn’t let my bestie go through pregnancy alone.”
“WHAT?! You’re pregnant too?” Luna screeches. She’s bawling even harder now, to the point that I’m not entirely sure she’s happy about the news until she’s hugging Samantha and they’re both boo-hooing loudly together. “We get to do this together?”
Mom is near hysterical. “Oh, my goodness! Two babies? TWO babies!”
Somehow, in her excitement, her eyes inadvertently land on Cole, who has taken over feeding Emmett but pauses long enough to firmly say, “Don’t look at us.” He gestures to their son, who is only recently walking. “Busy.”
Mom laughs through her tears, hugging Samantha, then Luna again, then Riley. “This is the best dinner ever.”
“Yeah, if you ignore the appetizer course of a near-death match between Chance and Kayla,” Kyle interjects. “Other than that, best dinner ever.” He spreads his hands through the air like that claim is on a marquee in lights before grinning, the devil in his eyes. “Oh, I have an announcement too.” Mom gasps, hands clasped at her throat and eyes filled with hope. “We picked the tile for the dog wash station. Taupe and white penny hex in a flower pattern for my bestest boy.”
Mom sags, her smile morphing into a frown directed at her youngest and most annoying of children. She wouldn’t say so, but we all know it.
“And also, I’d wife this woman up tonight if she’d let me. Knock her up too so we could get in on that baby action. Whatcha say,Daniela?” The way he purrs her name feels purposefully intimate.