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I stuff my feet under his warm thigh. Even though he’s mid-sentence, he pulls me in, and I snuggle up to him as close as possible.
The snow falls all around the home we’ve rented for the weekend. Floor-to-ceiling glass surrounds the living room space, giving us the perfect view of the snowy Vermont night.
“Well, I know a great designer,” I hear Parker say, causing me to zone in on the conversation. “But you can’t borrow her right now. She’s busy creating the oasis of everyone’s dreams with me in Hudson Valley.” His attention shifts to me, and I smile up at him.
The Hudson Valley project is just getting started, and it’s already breathing life into Parker that I think he’s been missing for a long time. He isn’t the same man I met two years ago. Now he’s one who smiles more than he scowls. A man who laughs and jokes. A man who is a cat lover. A man who shows me with his actions every day just how much I mean to him.
I’m so thankful he treats me like a complete partner on this project, asking my opinion and input on every little detail. The property has become extremely important to me…to us.
I was even able to pull off a little surprise of my own for once. Tears glossed his eyes when we drove up to the property and the landscapers were planting the rose garden in honor of his mom. It was simply a priceless moment and the perfect start to the special project.
Just thinking about his reaction has emotions threatening to choke me up until I’m pulled from my thoughts. Blossom and Sloan are getting out some games from the chest in the living room.
“I think we should play, boys against girls,” Sloan says in Wes’s direction.
“You don’t want any of this,” Wes teases her, and she playfully sticks out her tongue.
“What are we celebrating?” Wes asks Eli, who is carrying a bottle of champagne as he and Quinn walk back into the kitchen from putting the girls down. They are staying next door to us with Quinn and Eli’s parents in the house they are sharing with Wes’s mom and dad. Even though they all typically party harder than us, they offered to keep them at night so we didn’t have to worry about being too quiet. I think it was just their excuse to get some extra grandparent time.
“Me whooping you and Eli’s ass on the slopes today,” Quinn quips in her true competitive fashion. Even though I have no doubt she put them to shame. Sloan wasn’t feeling her best, so she offered to stay back at the chalet with the twins so that Quinn and Eli could both enjoy the slopes, since the grandparents were on nighttime duty.
“Ignore her. We are celebrating Q and I setting a date for the wedding,” Eli says proudly as he passes around glasses of champagne.
“Oh my gosh, when?” I ask at the same time Sloan and Blossom blurt the same.
Quinn looks at us with that don’t kill me wince on her face. “Before baseball season starts.”
Why doesn’t this surprise me? I knew these two wouldn’t wait long. And honestly, why should they? They’ve been through enough; they deserve this.
“Well, we better get busy planning,” I say, my mind already running with lists and ideas based off things she has told me she wanted in the past.
“That is so exciting… It feels like we were picking out Sloan’s dress just yesterday,” Blossom chimes in, and I notice the way Sloan is looking at Wes before she speaks up. “I’ll make some calls tomorrow. We need to get you a dress fitting ASAP.”
Quinn looks to Sloan and me, most likely shocked at how calm we are.
“Why aren’t you two freaking out?”
“Because we will make it work… I have a whole-ass Pinterest board with everything I know you like already,” I say proudly. Not admitting that I recently started one for myself as well. For the first time ever, a wedding is on my own radar. One day.
She whips her head to Sloan. “And you?”
“When it comes to you two, I learned to expect the unexpected. I figured it was coming,” Sloan says calmly, and Eli interrupts, holding his flute in the air.
“To my good luck charm and the woman of my dreams… I can’t wait to see you coming down that aisle toward me, Queenie girl.” He leans in, kissing her, and we all cheer, so happy for them and their love story.
I stand up, clinking my glasses with the girls. Sloan brings the champagne to her lips, but doesn’t take a sip. Hmmm…that’s strange.
“Drink up, babes… Also, can we please do the bachelorette in Mexico for old times’ sake?” Quinn asks, taking another swig of her champagne, and I follow suit.
Sloan stands there, smiling, and it’s so obvious she’s hiding something from us. I see Quinn’s eyes narrow in on her, and then Sloan’s hand goes protectively to her belly.
I gasp, right as Quinn shouts, “Bitch, are you pregnant?”
“Wait, what? Who’s pregnant?” Eli asks, and Wes must catch on to what’s going on because he moves quickly to Lo’s side. “We are… Surprise!”
Pandemonium ensues with everyone hugging and congratulating them.
I look over to Parker, happy I have my person here to experience all these highs with. I trail my finger over the new collar around my neck. It’s delicate, all gold, and looks beautiful above the sea glass pendant I still wear often.
