“Ugh, that’s tough,” she says, leaning in for a hug. “I hope you get some rest soon. Let me know if you need us to keep Mia for a night,” she offers.
“Thank you, but the little stinker is sleeping just fine, thankfully.” I laugh.
Corie chuckles. “Good to know.” She walks to where Sloane is holding her son and kisses his forehead. “Ladies, I gotta head down. I’ll see you after,” Corie calls out to everyone.
“Tell Rowan we said hi,” Eden tells her with a wave.
“It sucks they can’t be here to watch the games with us,” Bellamy says.
“It does, but those two are living their dreams,” Sloane says, rocking a sleeping Alexander in her arms.
“They are. I’m happy for them,” Eden says, bouncing Ella on her knee.
That’s the thing about this group of ladies, who my best friend brought into my life. We are all there for each other, no matter what. We all agreed to watch Alexander and Ella so they could be here for the game, and their parents could celebrate with them afterward. We’re a family, and I hope that after tomorrow, I still get to be a part of it.
While I’ll have Will, these ladies, they’re my friends, and I love them all just as much as I love Bellamy. I have so much to lose, but that still didn’t stop me from falling in love with him.
“Knock, knock,” a voice calls, and we all turn to see Knox’s mom and his sisters enter the suite.
“Hey, hey,” Sloane greets them. “Are you backup?”
“More like you’re our backup.” Kendall, Knox’s mom, laughs.
“But he’s so snuggly,” Sloane complains.
“Hand him over, Sinclair,” Kendall says, holding her arms out for her grandson.
“Yeah, you should have another one if you want the snuggles. You need to share,” Everly tells her.
“Funny, I was telling my husband the same thing just last night.”
“What?” Eden asks. “Really? Are you pregnant?”
Sloane smiles. “No, but we’re going to start trying.”
“That’s amazing.” Bellamy hugs her first, then the rest of us do the same.
In the past, talks of pregnancy would cause pain to fill my chest, but now that I have Mia, that old pang of want is no longer there. While I don’t know what it feels like to be pregnant, I am a mom, and it’s the greatest gift.
“Where’s everyone else?” I ask Kendall.
“Oh, they wanted to be closer to the action. They’ll be up later to see everyone, I’m sure.”
“All right, who’s handing over a kid? I know Mom’s not giving Alexander up yet,” Emma, Knox’s older sister, says.
“I’ll share,” Eden tells her. “My bladder isn’t giving me much of a choice.” She laughs, patting her baby bump, while Emma makes her way over and swoops Ella out of her arms and onto her hip. The baby squeals with laughter when Emma tickles her belly.
My stomach rolls at the thought of losing this.
Bellamy places Mia on her feet, and she toddles after Coral to the corner where the toy area is. Camden is already there, playing with a toy fire truck, and he offers each of the girls a truck as they plop down on the floor next to him.
“It’s time for kickoff,” Everly says, and everyone moves in to watch. I stand back a little to keep an eye on the kids, as does Bellamy. The Rampage is playing against the Richmond Royals today, and our offense takes the field first.
We talk, laugh, and keep up with the kids, all while the Rampage wrap up the first quarter, seven to nothing. That’s a good start to the game for sure. It takes a lot of effort not to watch Will on the sidelines and keep my attention on the game, but somehow, I manage.
“I’m going to use the restroom,” I tell Bellamy. “Can you keep an eye on Mia?”
“We all will.” Bellamy chuckles. “You know that you don’t have to ask.”