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 I know, I m a big girl. The doorbell suddenly chimed throughout the house, and it sent Mia
into an ecstasy of squeals.  I ll get it!
 Let s let Gabriel or your daddy or Uncle Payne get it, okay? That s their job today.
 Okay. But Mia scampered off anyway, no doubt just as anxious to see Gabriel, Andreas s
son, as much as her party guests. From her first word kisses Mia had flirted with every male she
came across, and they all fell for her like a ton of bricks. For Becks, in a household brimming over
with men, it was hilarious to see every single one of them jump to do Princess Mia s adorable
bidding.
As she followed in the little girl s wake just to make sure someone bigger than a
kindergartener was minding the door, she spotted her oldest sitting near the as-yet undecorated
Christmas tree temporarily taking up space in the formal living room. As soon as Mia s party was
over, it would be moved into the family room s bay window overlooking the now-fenced backyard
play area and the cold gray lake beyond.
Just like she d imagined it.
 Angus, she said, and the mom-tone made the four-year-old almost drop the cupcake he was
busily licking the icing off of.  That s not one of Mia s party cupcakes, is it, bud?
 No, Momma. It s blue, see? He held it up for evidence, though his blue-tinted lips, teeth and
tongue would have done just as good a job.  Andreas made us boy cupcakes so we wouldn t have to
eat the girl cupcakes. Daddy had one too.
 That was seriously awesome of Andreas. And it also meant there was every chance her
husband now had a blue-tinted mouth without knowing it. She smirked and wondered if she could get
a picture of it before it faded.  Where s your brother?
 Under the tree.
Her eyes widened and she looked quickly to the tree, which was doing an odd shimmy.  What
in the world is he doing under the tree?
 I told him that s where the presents go. Isn t that right, Momma?
 Hi, Momma! With blue smeared all over his face, a dark head with hazel eyes popped up.
Axl s second birthday had been last month, and since it had been near Halloween they had used the
holiday as a theme for his party. She only hoped today s partygoers didn t wander into the guest
bedroom where she still had a mummy, a cemetery s worth of gravestones and a battalion of bats that
hadn t yet made it up into the attic s storage.
 Sweetheart. Not sure whether to laugh or groan, she went to a knee to pluck Axl up. He
instantly gave her a messy kiss, smelling of sugary icing and pine needles. She had no doubt that her
youngest s kiss had turned at least some of her cheek blue, so she went ahead and gave both her boys
kisses. There were worse things in the world than having a blue-smeared face.  Guys, once we get
the tree decorated, that s when the presents start to show up. And since I know for a fact you two have
been super-good this year, Santa Claus is sure to bring you lots and lots of wonderful things. But that
happens next month, okay?
 Toys! Axl screamed.
 Next month is forever away. Agonized by this news as only a four-year-old can be, Angus
regarded his cupcake like it had done him dirty.  How many days until next month, Momma?
 Once we get past this party and Thanksgiving on Thursday, we ll start counting down the
days, okay?
 Okay! Axl, happy to agree with anything, shouted in her ear.
Axl had yet to discover his indoor voice, but Becks lived in hope.
Hefting him onto a hip that seemed to have disappeared overnight, she guided Angus to the
foyer, already crowded with a mish-mash of people. Both Thomas and Claire were greeting the
friends and family they d invited to Mia s party, while Gabriel took the brightly wrapped presents to
stack them on a side table in the prepared family room. With all the parties they wound up hosting
throughout the year Claire s family celebrations had merged with Becks s and Payne s somewhere
along the way they now had this routine down pat. Kids weaved in and out of the adults as they
hugged, kissed and shook hands in greeting, and amid the laughter and general chaos, she spotted her
husband coming from the kitchen area, toward the foyer. He was still chewing on something, and she
was pretty sure she knew what it was when he caught her looking at him and smiled with vaguely
blue-tinged teeth.
Ha!
 Becks. Baby. Payne hurried over to her to pluck Axl out of her arms, turning quickly to
intercept his youngest son s enthusiastic greeting kiss.  I thought we agreed you wouldn t lift anything
too heavy since El Bumpo s decided to do an early takeover.
 As I recall, you said that was how it was going to go and didn t leave it open for a whole lot
of discussion. But when the man was right, he was right, so she hugged him and reminded herself she
had it good.  And I love to snuggle with my boys, you know that.
 You can snuggle your brains out while lying down and not hefting them around. Payne
curled his free arm around her shoulders and bent to the side to give her a kiss a sweet, icing-tinted
kiss that made her smile against his lips.  What? Thinking about snuggling with me later tonight?
Because that s what I m thinking about.
 Your timing leaves a lot to be desired, since we re locked into playing hosts for at least two
hours, if not more. Her grin grew wider as he groaned, and she reached into her back pocket for her
phone.  What I d really like to do now is get a quick picture of my gorgeous husband to commemorate
the occasion. Gimme a big smile, sexy.
 Big smile, sexy! Axl happily cheered on, and as the adults within earshot burst out laughing,
Becks took the shot.
Perfect.
 Awww. Isn t my man pretty? Still grinning, she showed it to him.
His face fell.  Oh, fu  At the last second he stopped himself before his youngest could
parrot him, then took in the grinning, blue-faced toddler he held.  Guess what, Ax Man? You and I
need to clean our faces in a big way.
 Angus too, she added, guiding her oldest to his father s side before joining the greeting
party at the door.
The general chaos of a six-year-old s birthday party went fairly well since Payne was kind
enough to take the few men who d come along to the party upstairs to his man cave. Andreas had
outdone himself, as usual, with the creation of a cupcake castle in every shade of purple imaginable.
Games of pin the tail on the pretty pony Mia had vehemently vetoed the poor donkey for not having
enough glitter a scavenger hunt, an indoor obstacle course and a balloon-popping spree had to be
done so that every child won something to take home along with their bag of party favors. Claire was
the mistress of ceremonies and kept the kids hopping from one thing to the next while Becks made
sure nothing got toppled or scattered in her enthusiastic wake.
Once candles were blown out, cupcakes consumed and presents torn into, the sun was getting
low on the horizon and more than a few whiny tones were heard. Claire and Mia did their hostessy
duty and waved off their guests while Becks and Gabriel quietly began to clean up the wreckage, with
Payne and Thomas coming down to help. Eventually Payne insisted Becks take it easy while the men
loaded Mia s impressive birthday haul into the car, then assured Andreas and Gabriel that as he had it
the rest of the way, they could have an early evening.
As Claire s family also headed out, Becks listened to her husband as he herded the boys into [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]