Page 84 of Stronghold

He smiles and gives me an almost imperceptible nod.

We both run up the stairs and into one of the classrooms.

As soon as the door closes behind us, Sky is on me. There's no time for rushed blowjobs, but I needed a moment with him.

"I can't believe this is really happening," I say.

"Me neither. I can't even fry an egg, and now I own a restaurant."

I laugh.

"I've worked in prestigious kitchens, and I know for a fact some of my colleagues would definitely look down on us, but I've never been so proud of anything in my whole life. More than that, I get to do this with you, and I wouldn't change that. For me, this is the most prestigious job I'll ever have."

"Come on. Let's go downstairs and greet our fans. I believe we promised free food, so knowing Miles, he won't have eaten since yesterday at breakfast."

"Let's do it."

I do one last check in the kitchen before joining Sky, who's letting everyone inside.

My parents and Luke all come over to me, hugging me tight.

"Does this mean I get free food anytime?" Luke asks.

"Do you know how to wash pots?"

"Ugh, you're as bad as Mom.No cake unless I help clean the kitchen," he says, mimicking our mom.

"What can I say? I had the best teacher."

They take a seat at the table. We arranged it to be a circle with a gap in the middle to make it easy for the waiters to bring the food and for everyone to see each other. After the dinner, we'll move everything to the restaurant setup.

I sidle up to Sky, who's holding Ollie.

"Hey, little dude. Don’t steal my man, and I'll give you a lollipop, okay?"

Anita laughs. "That ship sailed about five minutes after I gave birth."

I look at Sky and see a little blush appear on his neck.

"You know how you feel soooo attractive while pushing a melon-sized thing out of your hoo-hah, and your husband is standing there looking at you adoringly as if he's ever going to forget that moment?"

"Can't say I've experienced that, but go on," I say.

"Well, it wasn't just my husband standing there.”

“Noooo.”

“Yup. And he insisted on taking his shirt off and bonding with the baby too."

I raise my brows. "Babe, I feel this is information we should have disclosed before."

He looks at Ollie and rubs his tummy. "Don't listen to the grownups. You'll always be my best friend," he coos.

There's a collective shake of heads, and when I spot Sky's mom sitting next to mine, I point at them. "No ideas, you two."

Sky hands Ollie back to Anita and grabs a highchair before following them to their seat.

The bar crew can't all be here because the bar is open, but they promised to take turns dropping by, so I have instructed the team to have plated snacks for them.