Page 104 of A Little Twist
“I’ll show you after dinner!” Penelope’s so happy, surrounded by the kind of love I want in her life—unconditional, constant.
Cass stands beside me watching them, and my hand rests comfortably on her waist. When I picked her up at her apartment this afternoon, something had changed in her eyes. It was subtle, but I’ve watched her so long, it was unmistakable. It’s a sense of calm, like a problem has been solved or a decision made.
I’d like to think it’s because we defined our relationship and set it in stone.Finally. But we’ll talk more tonight. In the meantime, my mother’s eyes catch mine.
“I see something else happened while I was gone.”
Adam takes a seat across from her, shaking his head. “I swear, I’m getting whiplash. Eureka’s supposed to be a quiet little town where nothing ever happens.”
Mom shakes her head. “It’s never been that.”
After everything that happened last year with Britt and Aiden, I have to agree with her. This year hasn’t been as tumultuous, but a lot has happened—some more monumental than others.
“Piper told me you got your acceptance letter!” Britt walks out to where Cass stands, pulling her into a hug. “I’m so happy!” Her green eyes slide between the two of us. “And I’m glad to see this is all sorted. Are we allowed to talk about it now?”
Cass glances up at me, and I give her a wink. “Give us a few more days. We haven’t discussed it with the little princess yet.”
“I think she’s a few steps ahead of you, with all that Mama Cass business.” Aiden passes us on his way to fire up the grill.
“She always is.”
“Has Edna told you about Redford Park?” Piper takes a seat at the table beside Adam, and I notice my brother making room for her.Interesting.
“She did.” They launch into that annoying discussion, and Owen jumps up to go play with Ryan.
Pinky chases right behind them as usual, and Mom gestures for the girls to join her at the table. Britt grabs Cass’s hand, and the two of them walk over to where she sits.
Taking my beer, I walk over to where my brother is loading everyone’s personal pizzas onto the large grill. Before we walked out, we each topped small, round flatbreads with different fixings for him to grill.
“So it’s official?” Aiden arches an eyebrow at me, and I laugh.
“It always was. She just didn’t know it.” My eyes drift to where Mom holds Cass’s hand, inspecting the ring. “Pinky loves her, and that was pretty much the last thing I needed to know.”
“It’s like you’ve been planning it for years. Like one of your special bourbons.” He’s teasing, but he has no idea.
Soft squeals from the table draw our attention, and I see Mom and Cass hugging Britt. Mom’s eyes shine with what looks like tears, and Cass is beaming, touching her friend’s stomach.
“Does that mean what I think it does?”
“Yeah, Britt’s expecting.”
“Didn’t waste any time did you?” I pull my brother in for a bro-hug. “Congrats.”
“We weren’t really trying, but we weren’t reallynottrying.” His blue eyes shine like they always do when he talks about his wife.
“That’s fucking awesome, Aiden.” Adam walks up to where we’re talking.
“Yeah, Britt wanted a baby, and we didn’t want Owen to be too much older than his siblings, provided we were lucky enough to get pregnant.”
“I’m really happy for you.” My eyes travel from him to Britt to Cass, who is watching me with a dreamy look.
Images of her pregnant with my baby fill my mind, and the pull of desire is in my chest. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but I want the same thing.
Adam grips my shoulder. “What’s the latest with your baby mama drama?”
I put aside my visions of impregnating Cass for later. “Jessica’s leaving again, as expected.”
“Seriously?” Adam’s brow lowers.