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“I just want to make it to cake. There’s going to be cake, right?” I ask.

“Yep. Elijah is going to be at his limit of stimulation after this. We have cake at the rental. You should spend the night with us, Noor,” Rachelle suggests.

I nod, because I don’t really want to do this alone.

“I can sleep on the couch.”

“Fuck that,” Jared says. “We’ve been keeping an extra room for you.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“You haven’t needed it until now,” Elijah chimes in. I know it’s a big fucking house; but didn’t realize how big. “I can handle our kids, but any more than that and I want to dig out my ear drums.”

As a child screams, I have to admit he’s not wrong. Ouch. Little Johnny is having a damn meltdown.

“Adelina will probably only last another twenty minutes before she needs food,” Rachelle murmurs. “I can tell she doesn’t want to go, but she keeps rubbing her stomach. I’ll get Ignacio to help me convince her.”

My own belly gurgles in hunger and I giggle. While I ate breakfast, it’s about time to eat something.

“Feel free to throw me under the bus and tell her I need to eat,” I tell her.

“Psh. I’ll do it with a little more finesse,” she promises, stepping away. Elijah moves into the space she was in, while Theo stands behind me. His hands squeeze my hips together and I sigh as the pressure alleviates itself.

“What… a cool trick,” I mumble.

“Those partner classes are supposed to teach you this,” he says.

“Ew, partners. I went to a single mom class,” I explain. “I didn’t want to be surrounded by happy couples. It’s depressing.”

“Life doesn’t have to end because you’re a teen mom,” Liliana says, watching as Emil’s gaze finds me. He frowns at me while I shrug back at him. I can communicate pretty well without talking when it comes to him.

My biological grandparents didn’t live long enough for me to have a real relationship with them. It’s nice to have Emil and Julia. They both are intense and nurturing people. When Julia found out I was pregnant, she asked if she needed to send people out with shotguns to handle the boy who did this to me.

Rachelle had to explain everything to her, which made her even more mad. While Julia is sweet as pie, she is also fierce in a way that tells me she’s been through some shit.

“Mr. Emil finally figured it out,” Lili murmurs, watching as Rachelle takes Adelina from him to discuss leaving. His long legs have Elijah moving to the side to allow him into our bubble, while Lili continues to rub my back as we stand near the monkeys. There’s five different kinds, and I’d much rather listen to them talk to each other than the kid crying nearby.

Ugh, I could be an awful mother.

“How far apart?” Emil grumbles.

“Fifteen minutes,” Theo replies. “We’ve got a while, sir.”

He releases my hips and I sigh as the pain rushes back. Maybe I’ll take a shower when we get back. Baths aren’t something I enjoy due to the trauma I associate with them. Too much heat still makes me twitchy.

“Hmm.”

“I didn’t keep it a secret,” I remind him, giving him an innocent smile.

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Emil chuckles. “We have food at the house. We’ll make lunch there. Do you want your usual?”

“Yes, please.”

“What kind of protein with your tacos do you want?” Liliana asks, relaxing slightly as the girls agree to leave and we begin to head toward the exit. Julia is walking between Rachelle and Nacio, and my adopted dad is now carrying Ariyah.

“Chicken,” I decide. “Can I have hot salsa too?”

“Spicy food sent my late wife into labor,” Emil shares. “All of this walking is good too.”