“You’re that worried about falling behind in the baby race that you had to have twins so you could catch up?” Charlie says, shaking her head. “You two are something else, I tell you! You can’t just let me have this one thing, can you?”
Damn! I was really worried about this. Chase and I have stolen the spotlight our entire lives. She’s having a miracle baby no one ever thought she could have, but her big news has been overshadowed by Super Bowl three-peats, a wedding, and now twins. I feel awful. I want her to feel the warmth of all the love being showered on her for a change.
“Charlie, you know I didn’t plan this,” I start.
She laughs. “Oh my God, I’m just kidding! Lighten up! I’m thrilled I have someone else to go through this with, and I love that our kids will be so close in age. I want them to be as close as we were growing up, and it’ll be so much easier if they’re months apart, not years.”
“That will be really nice,” Pat says. “They’ll all be into the same stuff at the same age. Buying gifts will be so much easier.”
Katie takes a sip of her champagne. “Since the three of you were born a week apart, your mama and I tag-teamed. I never would have survived without her. Savannah being Savannah, she got a system down, and as long as we followed it to a T, everything moved like clockwork.”
Pat snickers. “Until Aid or I came home and mucked it up, then everything went to hell.”
Chase kisses my temple. “I have no doubt Ari will have a master plan the moment they’re born. She’ll have it all down to a science.”
Spencer waggles his eyebrows at Charlie. “Babysitters, babe!”
She slaps her hands on her knees. “O-M-G, yes! Having you two on our babysitting team will be awesome! You have no idea how cutthroat the babysitter market is. Parents will do anything to lock in a good sitter. Not just high hourly fees either. We’re talking college letters of rec, internship opportunities. One guy we know even pays his babysitter’s rent—granted, he’s sleeping with her, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, tons of sitters will be lining up to sit for your kids because of your status, and I’ll have no problem poaching from your list. This is going to be great!”
“Cutthroat babysitting searches?” Chase says. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“It gets brutal out there,” Spence replies as he refills his glass. “You don’t even want to hear about preschools. It’s going to be rough on you. One spot is tough enough to secure. You’re going to need two!”
Katie puts her arm around me. “Don’t listen to them. Yes, there’s a lot of competition, but you don’t have to get sucked into it.”
Pat snorts. “Honey bunch, take a look at who you’re talking to. I pity the parents who try to go up against these two to poach a babysitter or preschool spot. It could get ugly.”
“Damn right it’ll get ugly,” Chase says with a smirk.
“Oh dear. And it begins.” Charlie crosses the room then puts her arm around my shoulder. “Seriously, this is the best news I’ve heard in a long time, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Pat and Katie light up the grill and start making dinner while Charlie fills us in on all things baby in the Bay Area. Hearing that she and Spencer know a few couples who see Dr. Schultz and sing her praises makes me feel better. When you spend upward of a hundred thousand dollars to get pregnant, that baby is precious cargo, and you want the best of the best overseeing the pregnancy.
Charlie wants me to switch to her doctor, namely because of a hot nurse named Enrique who’s as straight as a rainbow and has the body of a swimsuit model. He flirts with her mercilessly, and she basks in the attention. I’m quite flattered that she’d share her too-tight-shirt-wearing nurse with me—I would have thought she’d like to keep him all to herself—but Chase, who has heard way more about Enrique’s abs and biceps than he’d care to, puts his foot down about a doctor change. That’s fine by me, because after today’s craziness, I feel a bond with Dr. Schultz, and I feel as though we’re in good hands with her.
While we wait for the steaks to finish, Katie shares story after story about the joys of infant twins. As soon as dinner is ready, we all carry platters into the dining room and sit to eat.
“So are you going to give up the vegan thing now?” Spencer asks as he drops a huge rib-eye onto Charlie’s plate. “Our doctor is always telling Charlie she needs more iron. I can’t imagine what it’s like with twins. How are you going to do that without meat?”
“I have to meet with a nutritionist, but I have the gist of a plan down. I need to bump up my iron, B12, and calcium. I’ll be inhaling as much flax seed and palm oil as I can to get fatty acids. I’m really good about getting enough protein as it is, so I just have to worry about weight gain. I’ll do more protein shakes and stuff to try to bump up my calories.”
Katie gently bounces Calder as she feeds him a bottle. “But is it healthy for the babies?”
“If the nutritionist tells me otherwise, I’ll adjust,” I reply. “But plenty of studies say that a vegan diet during pregnancy is actually the healthiest way to go.”
Charlie cuts into her steak. “Don’t try to convert me. In-utero Calder was only happy when I gave him a daily supply of bacon cheeseburgers.” She pops a hunk of meat into her mouth. “Sometimes two.”
Spencer coughs. “Four.”
Charlie elbows him. “When you can build the baby, you get to comment. Until then, keep your yap shut and keep the bacon train coming.”
Spencer spread butter onto his roll. “Yeah, there’s no chance she’s converting to veganism.”
I slice into my grilled artichoke. “I’ve never tried to convert anyone to anything. I’m just doing what makes sense to me. I’ve never even tried to talk Chase into eating less meat. It’s a personal choice.”
“What about the babies?” Pat asks. “What will you do with them? Will you make them veg-heads too?”
“Kids need milk,” Charlie says. “I don’t think there’s any way around it. They can’t be vegan.”
Calder lets out a huge belch. Katie turns him around and wipes his chin with a burp cloth. “I’d have to agree.” She gets up from the table, carries him to the swing Charlie has set up near the table, and buckles him in.
I rub the tension knot forming in my neck. Now I get what Charlie was complaining about last year. Clearly everyone’s going to feel they need to voice their opinion about every single issue through this pregnancy. “I just found out I’m pregnant. You’re going to have to give me longer than three hours to figure it all out. Chase and I will meet with a nutritionist, and we’ll make a decision that is healthiest for the babies.”
I smile as Chase scoops some asparagus onto his plate. Before we started living together, he’d never have eaten asparagus. I’m not trying to convert him, but I’m happy my healthy eating habits are rubbing off on him.
“Ari has always known more about health and nutrition than any of us,” Chase says. “Our kids will be the healthiest kids on the block.”
“That’s because they’re the only kids on the block,” Spencer jokes.
Chase slathers butter onto his vegetables, making me rethink how much of an effect I’m actually having. “I’m sure we’ll find our new place before they’re born.”
Katie’s fork slips from her fingertips then clangs as it bounces off her plate and onto the floor. “You’re moving?” She looks as though we’ve just ripped out her soul and tap-danced on it.
“Mom, we never planned on staying here forever. The plan was always to start looking after the wedding.”
“I thought you’d change your mind! Especially with the babies coming!”
Charlie heaps cheddar and bacon onto her baked potato. “I wouldn’t move. Giving up twenty-four-hour access to babysitting? You’re nuts. Don’t you recall the cutthroat babysitter conversation?”
“If you’re going to move out, can we move in?” Spencer asks as he takes a bite of his steak. I chuckle at his preposterous idea, and he shrugs. “I’m
totally serious. You two are insane for even thinking of moving. If you’re not going to live there, I’m making an offer to buy it off you.” He picks up his phone and types away.
Two seconds later, my phone dings. I look at the incoming message then glare at Spencer, who has obviously lost his mind. “Did you seriously just text me an offer to my father’s house?”
He nods as he cuts another piece of his steak. “I told you I was serious. It’s more than fair.”
Chase snatches the phone from my hands and looks at the text. “Holy shit! Aiden’s house is worth that much?”
I grab the phone back and throw it in my purse. “Enough! I know a million decisions need to be made, but none of them are being made tonight. Not about diets, or houses, or where the babies are going to college. Now return to eating your cow carcass and back off!”
Spencer’s eyes go wide as he wipes his mouth with his napkin. “Wow, touch-y. How long do we have to deal with cranky Ari?”
I grab Chase’s steak knife as though I’m going to stab Spencer.
He holds up his hands in surrender. “Just kidding.”
“Hold on, before we leave Cranky Ari alone, when are you due?” Charlie asks.
“Our due date is technically August 26, however, the doctor said the average twin pregnancy has a duration of thirty-five weeks, which is July 27. So depending on how things go, I’ll deliver sometime between then.”
Katie grabs a new fork from the hutch. “Charlie and Chase came at thirty-three weeks. With twins, you just never know.”
“Then we’ll be delivering right about the same time! I’m due July 16,” Charlie says. “It’s going to be a baby-palooza this summer.” She holds up her glass of ice water for a toast. “We’ll be fat and hot and miserable together. I can’t wait.”
I clink her glass.
Pat tosses his napkin on his plate. “Knowing I’m risking being stabbed, can I ask how this impacts the wedding?”
“You want to see how well I can throw knives, old man?” I jest.
“Yeah, what is the deal with that?” Charlie asks. “I’m expecting to be big as a mobile home by the end of May. If you’re carrying twins, by May you’re going to be a walking double-wide. I can’t imagine you want to waddle down the aisle.”
“That’s real charming, Charlie,” I retort. “Don’t worry, we’re moving everything up. The wedding should be waddle-free.”
“You’re changing wedding plans again?” Spencer asks, clearly exasperated. “It shouldn’t surprise me that your wedding plans reflect your relationship. On again, off again. On again, off again. ‘Oh, let’s keep it a secret from the world, oh, wait, now it’s off again. Let’s go public, wait, now it’s off again.’”
I throw a roll at him, and Heisman books it from the other room as though he can sense food about to hit the floor.
Spencer watches the roll bounce on the floor before Heisman captures it. “That roll wasn’t vegan, you know.”
I grab a few more rolls from the basket and pelt him with them.
“Children,” Katie scolds.
“Yeah, Ari, real great example you’re setting for your nephew,” Spencer says as he covers his head against my bread assault.
We all look over at Calder passed out in the swing. I turn back to Spencer and throw more rolls, much harder this time.
“No more crusty French rolls, Katie,” he shouts. “They hurt!”
“Damn, Ari, you’ve got a great arm,” Pat says. Of course he’s more interested in the way I’m throwing food than the fact that I’m throwing food around his dining room. “There’s a good chance one of those babies will be a pitcher! I’m not giving up hope for another Brennan on the mound!’
“So back to the wedding,” Charlie says, completely ignoring us.
“We’re meeting with Bryan tomorrow,” Chase says. He turns toward Katie. “You ready, Mom? Considering you’re the only one who knows Dillon, a lot of this is going to fall on you.”
“Oh, I’m ready. I’m not sure Bryan knows what he’s in for, but I’m ready.”
Chapter Forty-One
Arianna
The next morning, I’m in the backyard with Heisman, trying to burn off his energy before Bryan arrives. Looking around, I’m overcome by a million happy memories. Not just of my parents, but of Chase, Charlie, and me growing up. This is where it all began. I don’t think I could ever sell this house. I couldn’t imagine coming to see Pat and Katie and seeing strangers here.
I really do love this house, but what do I do with it when we move? Keep it for posterity? That doesn’t make any sense. I could turn it into a museum to my parents, but that’s kind of pretentious. I could turn it into offices for the foundation or maybe another clothing line. At least there’d be places for the babies to play when I needed to work.
I look around the yard and remember Chase, Charlie, and I playing hide-and-seek, and whiffle ball, and drawing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. It really is a fantastic space for kids. Complete privacy, miles away from any traffic. Acre after acre of rolling hills to explore and a track that leads to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Will Chase and I ever find another place this perfect?
The doorbell rings before I can give it any more thought. Time to plan our wedding—again. Third time’s the charm, right?
When I get back inside, Katie, Charlie—with Calder in the Baby Bjorn—and Bryan are walking down the hall to the living room.
“Hiya, honey.” Katie holds up a platter. “I brought zucchini muffins! I made them with flax, mustard oil, and hemp milk. Tons of Omega 3s.”
I give her a huge hug and kiss on the cheek. “I love you. They’re amazing.”
“You haven’t even tried them yet.”
“It doesn’t matter what they taste like. You’re amazing for trying so hard.”
Bryan holds up a second platter of muffins. “Chocolate chocolate chip for the rest of us.” He looks at Katie’s platter and wrinkles his nose. “Weed does not taste good. If you’re putting it in my baked goods, I’d better at least get something out of it. Fatty acids don’t count.” He looks around the room. “Where’s Chase? He’s going to be here for this right?”
“He’s upstairs, I think he got a call from Scott.”
Charlie pokes her head in the living room. “Thing One and Thing Two aren’t coming?”
“Shelly and Scott? Nope,” I reply.
She unhooks the Baby Bjorn and pulls out Calder. “Thank God. They make me crazy.”
Katie and I carry plates, glasses, and pitchers of orange juice and water into the living room. Bryan is on the floor, trying to teach Calder and Heisman to roll over. Both of them have their heads cocked, looking at him as if he’s insane. It’s pretty adorable.
Chase skips down the back staircase, shoving his phone into his pocket. “Sorry I’m late. Scott thought he was going to start contract negotiations this week, but it sounds like things are a mess at the Niner front offices. It’s taking longer than expected to transition to Jeb’s successor—some hiccup with the estate or something. We’re signing a sixty-day extension to my current contract to basically give everyone a little more time.” He grabs a zucchini muffin, tears off the top, then drops it in his mouth. Two seconds later, he spits it back out. “That is revolting.”
“Your mom put weed in there and left out all the good stuff.” Bryan holds out the tray of chocolate muffins. “Try these. They’re way better.”
“I’ll pass,” he says then claps. “Let’s get down to it. We have three weeks to pull this off, and we can’t waste another minute. Bryan, you’ve had a few days with my plans. What do you think?”
Bryan gets off the floor then brushes dog fur off of his pants. “At first I thought you were crazy, but after doing some digging, I think we can actually pull this off. It certainly won’t be as grand as the other two weddings we’ve planned, but”—he smiles at me—“grand isn’t really my girl’s thing anyway. If I start placing orders today, I think I can make it happen.”
He holds up a finger. “But to pull it off, we have a few wrinkles that must be ironed out. First, what kind of numbers are we thinking?”
Chase grabs my hand. “Ari and I went through the list, and we’ve narrowed it down to people we actually care about being there. Family, friends, teammates. No one is getting an invite for business reasons or because they expect to get one or because it’s good for publicity. So we cut the list down to 275.”
“That’s a number I can work with!” Bryan says. “Especially when you consider the short notice. We’ll be lucky if one fifty actually show up.”
“We’re cool with that,” I reply. “Since it’s last minute, we’re anticipating it’ll be hard for people to make it, but it’s more important for us to do it now than to wait for a better turnout.”
Bryan narrows his eyes. “You’ve never explained to me why we have the sudden push to accelerate the plan?”
I adore Bryan, and I’m sure I’ll tell him about the babies at some point soon. Just not today. I want them to be just ours for a little longer before we have to share them with the world.
“Is anyone going to tell me the plan?” I ask, hoping to change the subject before someone can spill the beans.
Chase opens his mouth, but Katie cuts him off. “Hear him out before you judge.” Chase moves to start again, but Katie interrupts again. “And if he explains it poorly, which he probably will, give me a chance to explain it better before you say no.”
Chase glares at his mother. “Can it be my turn now?”
She gestures for him to go ahead then motions as though she’s zipping her lip.
“I think we should get married in Dillon.” He holds his hand up to stop me before I can respond. “I know you’ve shot down this idea every time it’s brought up, but it really allows us to do everything we said we wanted and on our time frame. Bryan, why don’t you tell her what you’ve come up with?”
Love To Love You (Love/Hate #3) Page 36