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“There he is!” he called, walking toward us.
“Hey, man,” I said, as he pulled me into a hug, the baby squished between us. “Which little miss is this?”
Marcus beamed down at the little girl with dark curls and chubby cheeks. “This is Maddie.”
I rubbed her head with my good hand. “Hi, Maddie. Where’s your sister?”
“She’s in the house in her swing. She’s chill, like Aidan. This girl is my spitfire, like Trent. Right, baby girl?” Marcus placed a big raspberry kiss on her cheek and made her giggle. He was a really good dad.
Claire walked up carrying two pies. “Look at that angel! I can’t wait to get my hands on her.”
I took the pies from her as she held her hands out to take Maddie, but she seemed to only be interested in her daddy’s attention. Maybe we’d give her grandchildren one day. Smiling at that thought, I placed it on the table with the others Cole and William had already unloaded.
“Holy shi–crap! Look at those pies Maddie. Daddy is gonna be in heaven.” He tickled her, making the baby giggle as he bounced around with her.
Aidan came out the patio door with a big tray, followed by Jesse and Dominick. Olivia held on to Dom’s hand until she saw Claire. She let go and came running, her blonde curls bouncing.
“Claire! Did you bring me a cookie?” Olivia had latched onto Claire last Thanksgiving when we all had dinner together after Fallen Angel had played during halftime at our game with Seattle.
She laughed and bent down to scoop Olivia up. “Yes ma’am, I did. The very ones you loved at Thanksgiving. Is it okay with your daddies if you have one?”
Olivia turned in her arms and plastered on a big grin, showing all her five-year-old teeth. “Papa, can I have just one cookie? She made them for me, and I don’t want to be rude.”
Everyone laughed as Dominick rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky. “One. Only one.”
She squealed and wiggled out of Claire’s arms to get a cookie.
Dominick walked toward us. “It’s obvious she’s spent too much time around them.” He gestured toward the EHM offices in the back. “Her feet barely touch the ground when they’re around. They just pass her around like a bag of sugar.”
We all laughed as Cole walked up and put his arm around me. We’d always been safe here with our friends and didn’t have to worry about being outed. Hopefully, that wouldn’t matter for much longer.
A black Escalade pulled up behind mine. I could see Jackson behind the wheel. The back doors opened and a much taller Parker got out, his hair the same color as Jackson’s. He reached in and grabbed his sister, Ava.
Simon walked around the back of the SUV carrying a metal tray before Jackson reached over and took it. Simon smiled up at him as Jackson headed toward the table with the food.
Looking over, Simon’s eyes found me where Cole was wrapped around my waist and my right arm hung over his shoulder. The smile on his face wasn’t from my doctor, but from my friend.
Ava found Olivia, and Claire handed her a cookie, too. When Parker ventured that way, he ended up with one as well.
The back door opened again, and out walked Alex, carrying another baby, followed by Christian, along with Callum and Declan Miller. Their daughter, Meredith, made a beeline for the other kids.
“Beers are in the red cooler. Water, juice boxes, and soda are in the blue one,” Marcus announced.
“Want a beer, babe?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”
Cole slipped out of my arms as Adam and Phantom joined everyone, followed by Daredevil and Dreamboat.
I looked around at this crowd of people who had become family to me. Had Cole and I stayed in Seattle, I’m almost positive I would have never felt comfortable to be myself.
Cole returned with a Portland IPA for me as we talked to our friends. Greg and Cooper had already taken off for Key West, and Sam and Owen, their bandmates, were out of town.
Tis group was never quiet for long, so of course the boisterous chatter resumed among my teammates and friends as we ate. I didn’t shy away from digging in either, even though I couldn’t eat as much as I once could.
Later everyone filled up a dessert plate as glasses of wine were passed around. We indulged in the decadent treats courtesy of Claire and Magda, Marcus’ former housekeeper, turned nanny and surrogate grandma. I couldn’t help but smile at the lively atmosphere and the happy faces gathered around me.
When everyone had finished eating, Aidan stood up and all chatter ceased as he cleared his throat and raised his glass, looking around at everyone. “I wanted to thank you all for being here this afternoon. We have a lot to celebrate, and Jesse and I thought this might be a good way to do it.”
