Page 132 of Finding Peace
She drops her bag and pulls me straight into a hug.
A real hug from a friend I almost forgot I had.
When she pulls back, her hands immediately land on my stomach, her eyes widening dramatically. “Look at you!”
My cheeks heat.
“God, Montana looks good on you,” she adds with a wink. I blush harder, glancing down at my belly. Joe laughs softly before cupping my face between her hands, tilting my head back up to look at her.Her expression softens. It looks so much like Jasper’s. “No,” she says gently, tapping her finger against my temple. “I meant what’s in here.” Then she presses her hand lightly over my chest. “And here.”
I smile widely at her. “How are you here?” I ask again.
Behind us, the men have started the slightly awkward process of introducing themselves.
Once they’ve said their hellos, Dante and Enzo both wander over toward me. Each presses a quick kiss to the top of my head.
“This one,” Joe says, jerking her thumb toward Lawson, “told us they needed to take care of some things. Figured it’d be easier to help from here.”
My brows lift, and I cross my arms. “You mean babysit me?”
Joe scrunches her nose. “Potato, potahto.”
I narrow my eyes, and Beau speaks first. “I mean, technically thereisa baby involved, so…”
Luca steps forward and presses a light kiss to my cheek. “Good to see you again, Abigail.”
Sebastian follows right behind him, doing the same. “Congratulations, by the way. This one hasn’t stopped talking about our new niece or nephew. Isn’t that right, Love?”
“Sue me, I’m a little excited.”
By the time everyone says their hellos and takes a step back, the room has rearranged itself all on its own.
Dante, Luca, Sebastian, and Enzo behind Joe.
Lincoln, Lawson, Beau, and Jasper behind me.
Joe looks between all of us for a moment, her eyes lingering on the five of us longer than they do the men behind her, and something soft flickers across her expression. She looks at her brother, whose hold on my waist tightens just a little, and back to me. Her eyes shining with unshed tears. Then, she claps her hands loudly. “Alright. As cute asthis little family moment is, we all have shit to do.” Her hands land on her hips as she looks around at all of us. Still not moving. “So let’s get to it!”
Enzo laughs. “Crazy-ass woman,” he says before kissing her on the cheek.
Dante chuckles on the other side of her and leans down to murmur something in her ear. I can’t make out most of it. Just the last word. “…Mama.”
Joe bites her bottom lip.
Jasper’s face scrunches in disgust. “Fucking gross.”
I grin over at him. “Hmmm,” I say thoughtfully. “I kinda like that.”
Jasper’s expression changes instantly. “What? TheMamathing?” I nod, and his brows raise. “Oh really?” he asks slowly.
Joe immediately points a finger at him. “Don’t even think about it. You ruin that for me, and I’ll kill you.”
Jasper looks to Dante for help, and he just shrugs. “She really will.”
The room bursts into laughter, and for a moment, everything feels warm.
Loud.
Alive.
