Athena
The week leading up to the wedding ceremony was a beautiful chaos of final preparations, last–minute adjustments, and stolen moments with Tristan.
Our new house was almost ready, and we’d been spending our afternoons choosing furniture and deciding on exterior designs.
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‘What about this couch?” I asked, showing Tristan a picture on my phone as we sat in Orion’s living room. “It’s that deep gray we talked about.”
Tristan leaned over to look, his hand automatically going to rest on my growing belly. The gesture had become second nature to him now, this protective, loving touch that reminded me every moment how cherished our baby already was.
“It’s perfect. Very us.”
“Very us meaning dark and brooding?” I teased, scrolling through more pictures.
“I was thinking more sophisticated and comfortable,” he said, kissing my temple. “But your interpretation works too.”
Across the room, Lily was playing with her dolls, making them act out what was clearly a very dramatic wedding ceremony.
She had one doll in a makeshift wedding dress (a tissue secured with a rubber band) and another in what I assumed was supposed to
be a tuxedo.
Sarah walked in carrying a laundry basket, pausing to watch her daughter’s elaborate production. “Lily, honey, why is the bride doing
karate kicks?”
“Because she’s strong, Mommy,” Lily said matter–of–factly, making the bride doll perform what looked like a roundhouse kick at the
groom. “Like Aunt Athena.”
I felt my heart melt. “Come here, you little sweetheart.”
Lily abandoned her dolls and ran over, climbing onto my lap carefully, she’d been very concerned about the babies since we told her, always asking if the babies were okay, if I was okay, if the babies could hear her when she talked to my belly.
“Are you excited for your wedding?”
“So excited,” I said, hugging her close and breathing in her little–girl scent of strawberry shampoo and sunshine. “Especially because I get to have the best flower girl in the whole world.”
‘I’m going to walk perfectly,‘ Lily said seriously, her little face so earnest it made me want to squeeze her. “Not too fast, not too slow.
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18:25 Fri, Jan 30 M…
Chapter 370
Uncle Derek showed me the right pace.”
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Tristan and I exchanged amused glances. Of course Derek had given Lily a tutorial on proper processional pacing. He’d probably even
timed it.
“Speaking of Derek,” Sarah said, setting down the laundry basket with a knowing smile that immediately made me suspicious. “Have
you heard from him today?”
“No, why?” I asked, though something in her tone made my spider–senses tingle.
“Oh, no reason,” Sarah said innocently, folding a tiny onesie that belonged to Liam. “I just thought he might have mentioned his
coffee meeting with Kiara.”
“Their toast coordination meeting?” I perked up, sitting straighter and nearly dislodging Lily. “That’s today?”
“Supposed to be,” Sarah said, her eyes twinkling. “Leah set it up for this morning at that little coffee shop on Fifth. You know, the one
with the intimate corner booths?”
My phone buzzed before I could respond. Leah’s name flashed on the screen with about fifteen exclamation marks after it.
“Oh my god,” I said, quickly answering. “Leah?”
“ATHENA!” Leah’s voice came through so loud that Tristan could hear her from where he sat. Even Lily looked startled. “You will not
BELIEVE what I just saw!”
“What? What happened?” My heart was racing. Had something gone wrong? Had they actually killed each other?
‘I was driving past the coffee shop, totally coincidentally, I swear, and I looked through the window, and OH MY GOD, Athena, I saw
Derek and Kiara KISSING!”
I nearly dropped my phone. “WHAT?”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
