Hope shrugged. “Someday that will be us with our men.”
Lakota snuck up from behind, draping his arms around their shoulders and poking his head between them. “If I so much as see a boy within ten feet of you before you’re twenty-one, he better have health insurance.”
They giggled and squirmed free.
Lakota stood up straight and whistled a sharp sound. “Boys, meet me in the game room.”
Hendrix and Lennon raced toward the pool tables in the back.
“You too,” he said to the girls. “Boys against girls.”
Melody strutted by. “Yeah? What team are you on?”
When he lunged at her with a menacing scowl, she snatched the oversized beanie off his head and made a run for it. We could hear her and Hope giggling all the way across the bar.
“Are you sure you want to watch them?” I asked. “They can be a handful.”
“No worries. Have a good time, and I’ll keep them busy until you’re ready to eat.”
As he strutted off, I turned in a slow circle with Travis anchored on my left hip.
Rosie was chatting with Izzy, no doubt discussing the job I’d offered her at a third location I planned on opening in the next few years. Reno was sitting on a barstool with his legs open, holding April in an intimate embrace. She nestled her face against his chest, still wearing the mirrored sunglasses he’d given her at the ceremony. Now she had a long future ahead of her with him and our pack.
George and Katharine were slow dancing in a dark corner despite the quick beat of the song. Trevor and William sat at the dessert table, deep in conversation while nibbling on chocolates. I had a feeling that the next day William would be moving into Trevor’s room permanently.
I didn’t think it would be long before Wheeler and Naya decided to give kids a shot, but it filled my heart with joy to see him standing with his arm around Ben, the both of them laughing. After all, nothing could keep the Weston pack apart. We had loved each other through the years, and that bond had only strengthened as we watched our children grow into strong Shifters.
I used to curse all the bad things that had happened to me in life, thinking they were punishments. I didn’t realize that each tragedy and stroke of bad luck was simply a stepping-stone to the life I was meant to live, toward the people I would cherish forever.
I pointed at the bar directly ahead. “There’s your daddy. I love that man so much.”
Austin reached in his pockets and pulled out his fringed gloves, slowly putting them on, a wry grin playing on his face and brightening his mischievous eyes. When he finished his exhibition, he leaned against the bar on his elbows, crossed his feet at the ankles, and crooked his finger at me.
I smiled and whispered, “Damn, that lean.”