the game, she met Landon’s cousins Vanessa, Jackson, Henry, Sarah and Ally Coleman, all of whom lived in Boston.
Also in attendance was Mia’s father’s family, including his sister, two brothers and their children, some of whom Mia was meeting for the first time.
Before the Red Sox took the field against the Yankees, the eighteen Abbott and Coleman cousins surrounded their beaming grandfather and posed for a photo that Cameron took using Izzy’s camera. Seeing them all together gave Amanda an up-close look at what Landon’s childhood had been like surrounded by siblings and cousins.
“They’re a good-looking group, if I do say so myself,” Molly said as she slipped an arm around Amanda to watch the photo shenanigans unfold.
“They certainly are.”
“My father loves having them all together like this.”
“Is it okay to admit that not only have I fallen for your son, but I’ve also fallen madly in love with your father, too?”
Molly smiled. “Totally okay and completely understandable. I hit the daddy jackpot with that man, and I know it.”
“He’s the best.”
“Yes, he is.” After a pause, Molly said, “So you’ve fallen for my son, have you?”
“Completely.” Amanda found him in the crowd, the handsomest one in a group of stunningly good-looking men.
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“We all do, honey. Everyone is talking about how happy he is with you. We’ve never seen him like this.”
Molly’s approval meant so much to her. “You heard about my daughter?”
“I did, and I’m so happy for you to have her in your life, although the circumstances are heartbreaking.”
“They are, and it’s hard to temper my excitement about being with her while keeping in mind what she and her mother are going through.”
“Of course it is, but it’s okay to be excited about your part of it.”
“Is it really?”
“It is. Anyone would be. Think of what Cabot withstood for more than twenty years of searching for his daughter.”
Amanda shifted her gaze to Mia’s dad, who beamed with unbridled happiness as he interacted with his daughter and her guests.
“He could be so bitter, but he’s just pure love and gratitude. I admire that so much.”
“I do, too. I can’t imagine the ordeal he went through.”
“I can’t either. I give him so much credit for focusing on the joy and not the bitterness.”
“Agreed. What’s her relationship like with her mother?”
“From what I’ve heard from Wade, it’s been strained since she found out what her mother did, but she does talk to her. Occasionally.”
“That’s a very difficult thing to forgive.”
“Yes, it is, but back to your situation. I give you permission to be excited about Stella, because I know you’ll do everything you can to help her through the loss of her mother.”
“I will. For sure.”
“And we’ll help you while you help her.”
Amanda leaned her head on Molly’s shoulder. “Thank you for making me part of this extraordinary family.”
“We couldn’t be happier to have you.”
All his life, Max had heard the story of when his parents met, how his dad had taken one look at his mom and somehow known she was going to change everything. How could that happen, he’d wondered, always a little skeptical of such things even as his parents presented a master class on love and marriage for their children to admire and even envy.
And then he went to Boston for his brother’s wedding and was introduced to Mia’s cousin Caroline, a tall dark-haired woman with gorgeous brown eyes, an infectious smile and cutting wit. She went crazy over Caden, asking to hold him and entertaining him for half an hour before she reluctantly—or so it seemed to Max—returned the baby to his father.
“That is one super cute little man,” she declared.
“Thank you,” Max said, tongue-tied around a woman for the first time. “I quite like him.”
“I can see why. Which one is his mom?”
The innocent question knocked him sideways. Even seven months after Chloe had departed their lives, he sometimes still couldn’t believe it had actually happened and had trouble explaining her absence. “Ah, she’s not here.”
“Oh.”
“She’s actually not in the picture.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Cue mad awkwardness. “It’s okay. We’re doing great.”
“That must’ve been rough, though,” Caroline said, her pretty eyes brimming with compassion.
“It was, but I’m lucky to have a lot of help and support. My family is great. My parents have been incredible. I have no complaints.”
“It’s okay if you do,” she said in a low, conspiratorial whisper. “You’d have a right to a few complaints.”
She’d known him all of an hour, and she got