“Will you guys own it with me?”
Daniel shook his head. “No. This will all be yours and yours alone.”
I couldn’t help but feel a smile coming on. After everything that we’d been through together, this was truly unexpected. I wrapped my arm around Daniel’s and leaned in close to him. “I feel like I’m dreaming.” My eyes swelled with happiness as I sniffled a little bit, completely catching Dax’s attention.
“Aww, look at you,” he simpered as he handed me a napkin. “Don’t cry.”
“I don’t mean to,” I said as I wiped the tears and cleaned up my nose. I let out a soft laugh just as I noticed the waitress coming over to our table. I waved my hands in my face to dry my eyes, and then I nestled back in close against Daniel's body. He was everything I could ever want, and so were Dax and Damien.
27
PARVATI
“Daniel, can you pass me the parmesan?”
He slid the shaker over to me from the center of the table. On his other side sat Danforth.
“Son, I have to say, this place was a steal.”
Daniel chuckled. “It was sort of a hidden treasure in the community. Just needed a little bit of plumbing, but the previous owners ran a tight business.”
“I love the interior. Truly.” Danforth twirled a forkful of linguini and then shoved it into his mouth.
“Slow down,” my mom said as she tapped his arm. “You know pasta is hard on your stomach.”
“But it’s oh…so…good!” he answered, leaning back in his chair to give me a wink.
After I drank down a sip of wine, I whispered to Daniel, “Do you think they’ve got it figured out?”
“Those two?” He chuckled. “You’d think ordering a cake would be simple.”
“Why again aren’t Dax and Damien having lunch with us?” My mom looked around the bistro as though they were hiding somewhere. Truth was, they kind of were. At least, they were supposed to be. “Our anniversary is a big deal. I mean, you closed today to host this gathering.”
“They’ll be here, Ally,” Danforth said to my mom with a kind smile. He had soft eyes when speaking to her, a bit like how Dax would look. “Damien texted me a little while ago.”
“He did?” I asked.
“Mmhm.”
Daniel looked at me sideways, setting down his fork to check his phone. I knew that expression all too well. He sent a quick text, which was almost immediately responded to. I raised a brow. “He said they’re down the street.” I smiled big, and it caught my mom’s attention.
“What’s going on? Another win for one of the teams?”
“No, Mom. It’s only preseason anyway.”
“Preseason counts.”
“Yes, Daniel, I know. Everything counts.”
We shared a brief laugh, but our conversation was interrupted by the baby. Until then, she’d been sleeping in her car seat on a chair next to my mom and across from me. She fussed a little, then opened her eyes and let out a soft cry.
“Aww,” my mom whispered happily as she quickly grabbed her napkin and cleaned her hands. She really did take to being a grandmother, and I was so glad all our arguing was behind us. She and Danforth had truly embraced me and the guys as a whole family unit, and it was amazing to watch it all come together over the past few months. “Come here, darling.” My mom scooped up my daughter, whom we had the hardest time naming, and rocked and shushed her back to sleep.
“I still think Daniella would have worked perfectly.” Daniel leaned into me with a smile.
“Ah, so would have Daisy,” I told him, remembering how much the twins fought for that name. I made a face at the memory.
“Yeah,” he lifted his glass, “and give into all that drama they created?” He drew in a drink, then set down the glass abruptly. “Never a chance.”
I sighed. “I know.”
Honestly, I loved the name Daisy, but Daniel was hellbent on choosing something more reflective of all of us—even though he fought for Daniella just the same.
“Her name is perfect as it is. Little Makana,” she whispered.
“What was the meaning again?” Danforth leaned back to talk to me. “Something Hawaiian?”
“Yes, dad. It means gift in Hawaiian.”
My mom smiled from ear to ear. “Perfectly fitting.”
After she set the baby back into the car seat, in came Dax and Damien with a big box and a bunch of balloons. I had already decorated the place pretty well with help from Daniel, but Damien always wanted to go over the top.
“Happy anniversary,” Dax said as he came and set the balloons on the edge of the table and gave my mom a hug.
She patted him on the back, saying, “Aww, thanks, Dax.”
Damien gave his dad a handshake after putting the cake box onto an adjacent table. “Happy anniversary. Can’t believe it’s been a whole year.”