Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“I’m not angry. These are happy tears, which I know sounds insane, but this—” She points to the stack of pizza boxes.
“I know we’re a lot, and I assumed you never thought that the guys and I would show up with Emerson and Monroe. I wanted to make sure we weren’t an imposition.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
“Nope. This is my gift to the girls for their birthday.”
“Forrest.”
My name, softly whispered from her lips, is something I could get used to hearing. “I wanted to do this, Briar.”
“It’s just been us for so long.” She’s staring at my chest when she voices her confession.
Placing my index finger below her chin, I lift so her eyes meet mine. “Not anymore.” Setting these crazy feelings she’s stirring inside me aside, I know my sister and her best friend are invested in their friendships with both Briar and Brogan. They’re family now, and we take care of our own.
“Now, we have a party to get to.” I don’t know why I do it, and I wouldn’t take it back even if I could. I press my lips to her forehead. Her quick intake of breath tells me I’ve surprised her, just as much as I’ve surprised myself.
I have to force myself to drop my hold on her and step back. “Come on, Momma.” I grin. “We have two very special little ladies who need to be celebrated.” I nod toward the living room. Briar stands tall, wipes her cheeks again, and leads us back into the room.
“Everything okay?” Brogan asks.
“Yeah, this one”—Briar points to me over her shoulder—“ordered pizza.”
“Pizza!” River and Rayne cheer. They climb to their feet where they were playing on the floor with Lilly and rush toward me. Their little arms wrap around my legs, and just like with their momma, something inside my chest tightens.
I smile down at them before meeting Briar’s gaze. “You ready to eat?”
“We might as well before it gets cold.”
I nod, offer each of the twins a hand, and lead them into the kitchen. “You have two choices. Plain cheese or pepperoni.”
“Cheese!” they say at the same time.
Fuck, these two are cute as hell.
“Here are some plates.” Briar sets a stack of paper plates on the counter. “We’re going to just have to spread out.” She laughs nervously.
“That’s the great thing about pizza. It’s basically a finger food, and you don’t need a table to sit down and eat,” I tell her. “Let’s get the girls set up, and the rest of us can fend for ourselves.”
“Girls, go get in your seats.” I watch as River and Rayne scurry off to the dining area that’s part of the kitchen and climb into what I assume are their seats.
“I’m starving,” Lachlan says, entering the kitchen.
I look up at Briar and mouth, “I told you so.” She gives me a beaming smile in return, and I wish the girls had already opened their gifts so I could have them sneak a picture of their momma for me.
“Pepperoni and cheese,” I tell Lachlan, shaking out of my thoughts.
“You’re a rock star, Forrest. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently.” Lachlan places a few slices of pepperoni on his plate, grabs a napkin and a bottle of water, and heads back toward the living room.
There is a flurry of activity while everyone makes their plates and finds a seat. The dining room table seats six, so we let the ladies and the kiddos take those seats while me and the guys spread out around the living room.
“What made you think of ordering pizza?” Roman asks as he takes a seat next to me.
“There are a lot of us. I assumed Briar would never have dreamed that five grown men would take the invite to her four-year-old daughters’ birthday party seriously.”
“Way to think ahead,” Maddox says.
“The contractor wants to meet with us again next week. He’s got the revised plans ready for us to take a look at,” Legend tells us.
“If we keep making changes, the new building is never going to get built,” Lachlan replies.
“Yeah, but it’s a lot of money, and this is our dream. We want it to be right,” Legend counters. “Besides, he’s getting paid for his time. This is his job. We need to make sure we think of every possible scenario or event moving forward to make this the exact space we envision it to be.”
“We already have extra rooms in case we ever decide to hire more artists or have guests come in. We have a piercing room, a break room, a waiting room, and a meeting room. What else do we need?” Maddox asks.
“I was thinking about a room for the kids. Maybe a playroom where we can have some toys and a crib or Pack ‘N’ Play in case we need to have them with us at any time,” Roman suggests.