“Let’s cut this cake,” she says, turning back to the kitchen counter.
“Aunt Katie, Aunt Katie, where’s your new car?” My nine-year-old nephew Tristin comes up, tugging on my shirt, giving me a hug.
“I ended up not getting it,” I say, ruffling his hair.
“Oh, man,” Tristin says, walking back towards the counter for a piece of cake.
Cole puts his arm around me. “And you were worried,” he chides in my ear. I slump into his side, giving him a weary look. “Tell me all your nephews’ names.”
“The one that just hugged me is Tristin, he just turned nine. Then there’s Tucker, who’s sitting at the counter devouring his piece of cake. He’s six and then Taylor, who came over to the house with Kurt. He’s three, almost four.”
“Tristin, Tucker, and Taylor,” Cole repeats with a laugh.
“Thomas, if it’s another boy and Trinity if it’s a girl,” Annie says, coming up and handing a piece of cake to each of us.
“Personally, I like Geor—,” but she cuts me off.
“Don’t even say it, Katie!”
“Sorry,” I laugh.
Oh man, I love cake, but I don’t think that I can even take a bite the way I am feeling at this moment. I’m somewhere between freaking out and on cloud nine. My stomach is still in knots. I’m not sure whether to jump for joy or cry like a baby. Kurt manages to sequester Cole and they wander off to play his Xbox. I sit down at the table with Taylor and watch him lick the frosting off his cake.
“Hey,” Laura says, sitting down across from me.
“Hey, back.”
“You guys took a pretty late flight. What time did it get in?”
I mash my uneaten cake with my fork. “We drove.”
“What, really? Why?”
“Cole had to send a couple of employees to New York on business in the jet. He thought it would be fun.”
“What car did you drive, the Escalade?” Laura asks.
“No, we drove the 458.”
She gives me a quizzical look. “The 458? What kind of car is that?”
I glance up and both Mark and my dad have sat down at the table with curious interest. “It’s a Ferrari 458 Spider convertible.”
And then both are gone. I hear Mark call Cole’s name. Jeez, men and their toys.
“So, you and Ben?” I turn back to Laura.
“Yes, we’re going to give it another try. We had a long talk on the way home.”
“What about, Race? Just a good time?”
“Uh—yeah. It wasn’t serious, just some no strings attached fun.”
“Seems to be the Everett motto.” Those two need some serious mental help. I glance down and I’ve obliterated my piece of cake into inedible goo. Although it is cake and if I was in a better mood, I’d eat the goo.
“So, how was last night?” Laura has a sly smile on her face.
“What happened last night?” Annie sits down at the table with us.