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“I’m going first.”
Mara removed the tissue paper, then pulled out an eight-by-eight box. Inside were several brightly colored round balls. Allison stared at them, wondering what they were. They didn’t look edible or—
“Bath bombs,” Mara said happily. “Thank you, Killion. You know I love a long soak.”
“Alone or with friends,” he teased.
Mara laughed. “There is that.”
Summer danced from foot to foot. “May I go next?”
Erica nodded.
The teen practically tore open her bag, then started to laugh. “I love it. Where did you find it?” She held up the package inside. “It’s a gummy bear nightlight. I can’t stand how cute it is.”
She rushed Killion, throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek. “You’re the best. Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Erica looked at Allison. “You have two to open.”
Allison nodded, feeling everyone looking at her. “I’ll go next, then. Thank you.” The first gift bag contained a beautiful receiving blanket and a matching onesie with the phrase Mommy’s Best Girl embroidered on the front.
“It’s beautiful,” she told Killion. “You’re very kind.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said with a grin.
She pulled out a brightly colored drum with two sticks. Around the bottom of the drum were buttons.
“Those are different songs,” Killion told her. “He can try to play along or do his own thing.” He flashed her a smile. “You probably want to limit how much time he has on the drum. It can get loud.”
Jackson squirmed to get down and walked over to the drum. Summer knelt next to him and took the toy from Allison before setting it on the floor. She showed him how to hold the sticks and touched one to the drum. Jackson’s eyes widened at the sound. He grinned brightly, plopped to his butt and began banging away.
“Evil, evil man,” Mara said, her tone filled with affection. “What were you thinking?”
“I was getting on his good side.”
“What about the rest of us?” Erica asked, seeming more amused than annoyed.
“I have other plans for that.”
Their gazes locked in a moment of intimacy—the kind well-established couples had. Allison had to look away to get control of her feelings. Of course she was happy Erica had someone in her life, but seeing them together made her miss Peter even more.
“Look,” Summer said, settling next to Jackson. “These play songs.”
She pushed one of the buttons and a catchy marching tune began. Jackson babbled his excitement and began banging along. His beats were enthusiastic and totally out of rhythm.
“Let’s have cocktails in the living room,” Erica said, over the din. “We can put Jackson in his playpen at one end. The noise won’t be so bad and we can still keep an eye on him.”
“Good idea. And when he’s in bed, we’ll take the drums to the basement.” Mara looked pointedly at Killion. “Where they’ll stay.”
“Why are you giving me stink eye?” he asked with a grin. “None of this is my fault.”
“It’s all your fault,” Erica told him.
Allison wasn’t sure if they were kidding or not. “I can hide the drum. Either now or after he goes to bed. He’ll forget about it in a few days.”
Mara touched her arm. “No, no. We’re giving Killion a hard time. He likes it. I agree downstairs is the right place for it, but for tonight, we’ll think of it as dinner music.”
