Chapter Fifty One

Chapter Fifty-One

November arrived with crisp mornings, golden leaves, and the feeling that life was moving far too quickly.

The moves were finally complete.

Both families were officially settled.

The townhouses no longer felt like houses.

They felt like homes.

The best part?

The children treated both houses as one.

Exactly as everyone had predicted.

Theo no longer knocked.

Poppy occasionally remembered.

Lillie simply wandered wherever somebody was willing to give her snacks.

Usually Roman.

One Saturday morning Daisy walked downstairs to find Roman standing in the kitchen holding a very serious conversation.

With a toddler.

"Dadada."

Lillie pointed dramatically.

Roman nodded.

"I understand."

"Dadada."

"Interesting point."

"Dadada."

Roman looked thoughtful.

Daisy burst out laughing.

"What are you doing?"

Roman looked up.

"We're talking."

"Clearly."

Lillie pointed at the fruit bowl.

Roman nodded.

"See? She wants a banana."

Daisy stared.

"How did you get that from dadada?"

Roman looked smug.

"We have an understanding."

Pregnancy was becoming much harder now.

Daisy was twenty-four weeks.

Harper was twenty-four weeks with twins.

Neither woman could remember what comfort felt like.

"My back hurts."

Harper groaned dramatically from the couch.

"My feet hurt," Daisy replied.

"I can't sleep."

"I can't roll over."

"I dropped a spoon yesterday and cried because I had to pick it up."

Daisy nodded.

"Reasonable."

Noah and Roman exchanged a look.

Neither dared laugh.

Experience had taught them survival instincts.

One evening Noah finally revealed his surprise.

Harper was sitting at the kitchen island eating cereal.

The third bowl that evening.

When Noah sat beside her.

Looking nervous.

Immediately suspicious.

"What?"

Noah smiled.

"Nothing."

"You're doing the face."

"What face?"

"The face where you've done something."

Roman, who happened to be visiting with Daisy and Lillie, immediately stood up.

"I'm leaving."

Smart.

Very smart.

Eventually Noah explained.

The nanny.

The extra help.

The plan for after the twins arrived.

The support.

Everything.

Harper sat completely silent.

Which worried Noah more than yelling.

Then suddenly her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh no."

Noah immediately panicked.

"Oh no."

"I love you."

Relief flooded his face.

Good tears.

The best kind.

Across the room Daisy smiled.

Watching her sister.

Watching Noah.

Watching another family preparing for a huge change.

Roman slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Quietly.

Comfortably.

The way he always did.

Later that night they walked home.

Across the street.

Because that still made Daisy laugh.

Home was literally across the road.

Lillie slept against Roman's shoulder.

Completely exhausted after a day of causing chaos.

The street was quiet.

Peaceful.

The townhouses glowed warmly beneath the streetlights.

Roman unlocked their front door.

Then paused.

Looking at the sleeping toddler in his arms.

At Daisy.

At the house around them.

His family.

His home.

Everything he'd never known he wanted.

"What?"

Daisy smiled.

Roman shook his head.

"Nothing."

"You've got the face."

"What face?"

"The emotional one."

Roman laughed.

Caught.

Again.

He followed her inside.

The house warm and welcoming around them.

The nursery nearly ready for another baby.

Lillie's toys scattered everywhere.

Evidence of a happy home.

The kind of home Roman had never grown up in.

But was building now.

For his children.

For Daisy.

For their future.

Upstairs, after Lillie was tucked into bed, Daisy found Roman standing in the doorway of the new nursery.

Looking around.

Quiet.

Thoughtful.

She walked beside him.

Resting her head against his shoulder.

For a while neither spoke.

Then Roman smiled softly.

"Can you believe we'll have another little girl in a few months?"

Daisy looked around the room.

The crib.

The tiny clothes.

The future.

And smiled.

"No."

Roman laughed quietly.

"Me neither."

Outside, autumn slowly gave way to winter.

Inside, two families waited for three babies.

And with every passing day, the next chapter of their lives came a little closer. ❤️📖💕👶👶👶