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She added a wink emoji, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that, technically, we weren’t sisters yet.

I found my guys in the kitchen, putting the final touches on a lunch that smelled absolutely delicious. The aroma of cheesy bread filled the air and I hummed.

“Hungry?” Paloma asked as she sat at the table. Instead of being in the kitchen and helping to prepare the food, she was relaxing with a word search laid out in front of her. A tall glass of iced tea sweated next to her, wetting a coaster.

“I am,” I admitted. I was fortunate to be one of those lucky women who didn’t suffer from morning sickness. Some slight issues with my appetite popped up when I was pregnant with Brady, but those were more toward the end when my belly was simply too big and making everything uncomfortable. Heartburn hit me near the end, and that wasn’t great for any desire for food.

“Me too.” She smiled as I sat next to her. “They insisted that I await their gourmet feast—without helping.”

“This should be interesting,” I teased.

“Is that an insult?” Nikolai asked playfully as he brought dishes to the table and heard what we’d said.

“Never.” I admired him with this look. From unhinged, bloody killer to sweet, romantic lover, to… capable man in the kitchen.

“I got the other—” A loud crash cut off what Brady was about to announce. He ran too fast and dropped the dish of paninis he was carrying.

Paloma and I got up to help clean the mess, and while Brady bawled at dropping something he’d spent so much time and effort on, Nikolai picked him up and held him to comfort him.

Once we cleared that mess and Brady was calmed down, we sat with more than enough food despite the dropped plate. We ate and talked, and I savored the peaceful meal.

“This has been a treat.” Paloma wiped her mouth with a napkin after we were done. “What’s the special occasion?”

“It seemed like a good time to have a family meal,” I said.

She beamed at me, picking up on how I called it a family.

“Yes, a good chance to sit down as a family,” Nikolai said. “Because that’s what we are.” He looked at Brady specifically, but my son wasn’t grasping how this talk was getting more serious.

“You and me,” I told him. “And Nikolai and Paloma.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I love being a family.”

Okay, this is off to a good start.

“Well, what if we were to tell you that our family is going to get bigger?” he asked him.

Paloma gasped. She sucked in such a violent breath, so loudly. Slapping her hand to her mouth didn’t hide it.

Brady reared back in alarm, his eyes bugging out as he watched her. “Are you choking?”

“Oh, my— Oh, my goodness.” Paloma teared up, smiling as she waved at her eyes. “Oh, my goodness. Really?”

Brady furrowed his brow at me as I nodded at Paloma. She took my hand and squeezed it.

“Are you okay?” Brady asked her.

“I’m happy. I’m so, so, so happy!” She laughed and cried, overcome by the news.

“Brady,” Nikolai said. “What if our family had someone else in it?”

“Like who?” Brady tilted his head to the side.

“A baby,” I said.

“Luka?” He furrowed his brow again.

I shook my head. “Not Isabel, either. But a baby of our own.”