Ava knew by the pink of Ella’s cheeks when she walked over to greet them that she had heard Suzy. “I can’t believe I called you guys those names,” she moaned, dropping her head in her hands. “I even told Declan that I was going to cut off his penis and stick it in a paper shredder. I swear he held his hand over his pecker the whole time I was in labor! Even worse, when my parents came back to see me, my mom was lecturing me about using bad language, and I told her not to let the door hit that stick in her ass on the way out!”
That was it. Everyone collapsed back against the wall laughing over what Suzy dubbed the “labor and delivery: bitch edition.” As they were all trying to compose themselves, Declan walked over carrying the new Stone family addition. Little Sofia Grace seemed to be staring out at them from her daddy’s arms in fascination. In truth, Ella said that she couldn’t actually see much other than shapes yet. Considering their earlier conversation, Ava hoped she couldn’t hear or decipher words either.
Ava was busy grinning like a besotted aunt when Declan plopped the baby in her arms and within ten seconds, both he and Ella had disappeared. “Oh crap.” She looked around in alarm.
Suzy held her hands up, walking backward. “Yeah, you’re on your own. Hermie has already wiped his nose on my shoulder, and Chrissy stuck her dirty little hands on my butt. I’ve had my quota for tonight.” With those words, she took off toward Gray, walking into his arms and never looking back.
Looking helplessly at Mac, she asked, “Where did everyone go? We had a plan to cover this, but I thought we were safe with all these people here.”
Rubbing her arm lightly, Mac said, “You’re doing fine, Avie.” Pointing to where she held a hand under the baby’s bottom, he added, “If you feel any action down there, though, we need to hand off and run.”
Suddenly, she could see herself in this same setting with Mac, holding a baby that they had made together. What would it be like to carry Mac’s child—to have something that was a part of them both? She had never thought it would happen for her, but now she felt a small flutter of hope that she could have all that with him. From the sexy, sappy look that he was giving her, she knew she wasn’t the only one thinking of their future.
When Jason and Claire walked up, Jason gave her that signature grin of his that never failed to turn her into a fumbling idiot. It wasn’t that she wanted Jason; it was just that he had so much charisma and didn’t seem to know it. “That looks good on you,” he said, pointing at Sofia. Luckily, Mac struck up a conversation with Jason, leaving her and Claire to chat.
“Looks like things are going well between you and Mac,” Claire whispered. “So, G-lo . . . crap, I mean Gwen is officially out of the picture, I hear?”
Ava couldn’t suppress her giggle at Claire’s slip. They would probably always know Gwen as G-lo. Maybe the other woman would even be okay with it if she knew how they all envied her booty. “Yeah, it’s going well.” She’d never had many personal conversations with Claire, but she found herself admitting, “We’ve even exchanged ‘I love you.’”
Both Jason and Mac looked over at them when Claire let out a squeal before clamping a hand over her mouth. “Oops, but wow! Oh, Ava, that’s wonderful. I remember the first time Jason and I said that to each other. I’m so happy for you. So, no more stunts to get his attention now?”
Ava grinned. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’ve found that I like experiencing new things after all this time. Mac will just have to learn to handle someone who likes to do crazy stuff sometimes.”
“Good for you,” Claire murmured. “I drive Jason nuts half the time. You know what a geek the man is. He likes for things to fit in neat little compartments, and he is constantly ruffled because I don’t.” Nudging her with her elbow, she added, “He likes to take all his frustrations out in the bedroom, though, so it works really well for both of us.”
Ogling Mac’s ass for a second longer than was acceptable in mixed company, Ava said, “I know exactly what you mean.” Both she and Claire had huge smirks on their faces when the men walked back to their sides. Mac and Jason shook their heads but didn’t bother to ask questions. Ava was sure that they didn’t want to know.
Unbelievably, she hogged baby Sofia for the rest of the evening, even braving a diaper change, which thankfully was strictly pee. When it was time to leave, she found herself volunteering them to babysit one evening soon so Declan and Ella could have a meal out. Mac looked at her as if she were crazy, but the baby bug had officially bitten her.
* * *
They had been back at Mac’s house for a few minutes when he got a call from Gage. There had been a break-in at one of the buildings where they handled security, and even though the police had the situation under control, Mac needed to go double-check that the building was secure for the night. “I shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours,” he said as he grabbed his keys.