bother to wait for someone to answer. The dim roar of voices made me smile as I walked into the living room. My gaze shifted quickly around the room until I spotted my parents. Mom was talking with Uncle Linc and Aunt Dallas, while Daddy was off to himself, rocking my nephew in his arms.
The biggest grin was on Daddy’s face as he stared down at his grandson, talking softly to him. My heart melted at how happy he looked, and I could have sworn I heard Conrad cooing back at him in response.
“Arella.” I turned at the sound of my name and smiled when I saw Lyric and his wife, Mila. The beautiful brunette looked like she was about to pop at any minute, her stomach stretched to the point of agony by the twin boys she was pregnant with. But she didn’t look the least bit miserable to me.
If anything, she looked like she could have gladly fit another beast-sized baby in there and been all too happy with the discomfort. It was kind of unfair that she was so gorgeous, as huge as her belly was right then. I felt a small pang of envy but didn’t know why.
Maybe it had something to do with the way my cousin was looking at her like she was his entire world. That was what I’d wanted on my eighteenth birthday…
Pushing those thoughts aside, I hugged Lyric, then kissed Mila’s cheek. “Okay, sexy. I’m seriously pissed that you look this good while waddling,” I teased and laughed when she snorted.
“Shaw told me it’s the new strut for the catwalk,” she snickered. “Everyone will be waddling in bikinis this time next year.”
“Speaking of Shaw, I just saw her and Piper putting Cannon in the back of Jags’s car. What’s up with that?”
Lyric pressed his lips together in a tight line before blowing out a harsh sigh. “So, you didn’t see Luca?”
I gasped and quickly glanced around for Violet, hoping she didn’t overhear us as I shook my head. “No. He’s here?” I finally spotted my blond cousin standing with her husband, talking to Mia. She looked radiant as she smiled up at Remington with her heart in her eyes while he rubbed his hand over her growing baby bump.
“Relax, Arella. Vi set it up for him to be here.” I felt my jaw drop, sure he was joking. “She had Aunt Emmie set it up,” he amended.
“Oh, okay. That makes so much more sense.” Kind of. “But why?”
“To get my parents and hers to make up,” he said with a shrug. “It worked. But I had some serious doubts when Vi and Remington first showed up.”
“And then Baby Cage made an appearance. For about two seconds,” Mila said in a quiet voice. “And Luca chased him out the door. I’m guessing he caused some real damage?”
Remembering how badly Cannon was moaning and groaning, I grinned wickedly. “From the sound of it, I’d say possible internal damage. It’s nothing he doesn’t deserve, though.”
I spoke to the couple for a few more minutes before my dad finally spotted me. I saw his blue-gray eyes light up, and something inside me warmed like it always did. There were daddy’s girls, and there were Drake Stevenson’s girls. My sisters and I knew just how lucky we were to have him as our father, and we never forgot that for even a second. Excusing myself when he called my name, I made my way through the crowd and hugged my favorite man in the universe.
When Daddy wrapped an arm around me, all the stress of the past few days started to melt away. I pressed my face into his shoulder and inhaled slowly, needing the safety of my father’s arms to calm my racing heart and mind.
But then Conrad gave a gurgle and tugged on my hair. He was so tiny, barely able to hold his head up on his own yet, but he was the most beautiful little baby boy I’d ever set eyes on. I couldn’t tell yet if he looked more like Nevaeh or Braxton, but one thing for sure was that he’d inherited those alluring Stevenson eyes.
Laughing, I blew a raspberry at my adorable nephew and kissed his chubby cheek, earning me a drooly, toothless grin. “Hey there, little man.” I rubbed my nose against his, making him giggle. According to my older sister, he hadn’t stopped laughing since he’d first started only the week before, and I had to admit, it