Aubrey #2
Josephine has been a Godsend today. She’s been playing with Dante and Gracie to give us a hand, and I can’t thank her enough. Taking care of four babies on top of two toddlers is really hard work, but I think I’ve got this mother thing down now.
My nephews begin to fuss as I finish giving Trinity her bottle while her brother sleeps. “Would you mind greeting them at the door? I’ll take care of these two,” I ask her as I place Trinity in her bouncer and go over to Maddox and Parker.
“Sure.” She exits the room, returning five minutes later with my parents and hers.
I now see where Ronnie gets her looks and complexion from.
Her mother has all the same features and tanned skin as Ronnie.
She must be the one with the Italian gene.
The only differences between them are their hair color, eye color, and height since Ronnie is five-foot-ten and her mother must only be five-foot-four.
Her father, on the other hand, is fair-skinned and tall, with salt and pepper hair.
He also has the same deep sapphire-colored eyes as his daughter.
Ronnie comes over with an excited smile as I hold both my nephews in my arms. “Aubrey, I’d like you to meet my parents, Lucia and Stephen.” She then looks at them. “Mom, Dad, this is Aubrey, my very best friend. She’s the one who owns this castle.”
I laugh. “Actually, that would be my fiancé. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both. I’m sorry, I would shake your hands or greet you better, but my hands are a little busy at the moment.” A small blush forms over my cheeks as I look down at the twins who stare back at me with wonder.
“Yes, we can see that.” Her mother smiles at the boys. “There’s no worry at all.” She then looks down at my belly and back at the twins as her eyes widen. “Wow, you, and your fiancé work fast. I’ve always liked the idea of siblings so close in age.”
My face heats immensely when her implications kick in. “Oh! No, these aren’t mine. They’re my brother’s. I only have the one, still in the womb.” I smile timidly.
My mother steps closer to Lucia, leaning in to whisper over to her. “But they do work fast. Pregnant from their first night together.”
“Oh my…” Lucia gasps as if she’s just heard the gossip of the century.
“Mom!” Now my face is on fire.
“Oh, sweetie. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Yours and Shane’s love story is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard. It should be told,” she says with tenderness in her eyes, then whispers to Lucia, “I’ll tell you all the details later.”
“Oh God,” I mutter to myself, wishing I could hide my face.
“I have a feeling these two are going to become besties by the end of the night.” Ronnie laughs.
“Here, honey. Why don’t you let us take care of the kids while you and Ronnie start getting ready?” My mom looks over to Stephen and my father. “And you gentlemen could go see if they need more hands outside.”
My father kisses me on the head as my mother takes Parker from me and wanders off with Stephen.
“May I?” Lucia asks, gesturing to Maddox.
“Of course.” I hand him over. “Mira should be coming back in soon to help with these two,” I tell my mother, gesturing to the Burkley twins.
“I just fed them not long ago, so they should be down for a little while. Gracie and Dante are in the theater room watching a movie with Josephine. If you need something or they get hungry, just call out for Marianne, she’ll bring you what you need. And—”
“Sweetie.” My mother places her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll be fine. We’ve been through this with you two.” She nods to me and Ronnie. “Now go make yourselves pretty.”
I let out a breath, blushing slightly. “Okay.”
Two hours later, the girls and I are all doing last-minute touches to our hair and makeup while the boys are getting ready in one of the guest rooms upstairs.
Amanda just came by five minutes ago, telling us it was soon showtime—she’s taken over to make sure everything will run smoothly during the last-minute wedding.
“Baby Brey, I got a serious question for you,” Em says with a devilish smirk, and I know that the question she’s about to ask is one I wish she wouldn’t. “Why do you have such a huge mirror right beside your bed? And why is there such a comfy rug right beneath it but not the rest of the room?”
My face turns a bright red as she begins to laugh, looking at me through the exact mirror she’s mentioned. Cecilia and Morgan also watch me with curious eyes, waiting for an explanation.
I clear my throat and break eye contact. “I’d rather not say.”
“Oh, you naughty girl!” She laughs harder. “Let me guess, you and Shane like watching each other while you do the dirty.”
I cover my face with my hands as it begins to burn while they all start laughing and cheering me on. “I am not answering that!”
“You really don’t need to, Brey. Your face gives you away.” Cecilia giggles as I turn and head for my walk-in where Ronnie is getting ready, leaving them to form their own opinions on the matter, even though they’re correct.
“Hey,” I say softly as I head over to her.
She’s all dressed and dolled up beautifully, with her hair running down her back in elegant curls. It’s a beautiful shade of aqua blue at the top, then gradually darkens into a dark blue. It fits perfectly with our dresses.
“Hi,” she answers in a voice that doesn’t sound like her own. She doesn’t even turn to look at me, instead fixates on her reflection.
“What’s wrong, Ronnie?” I ask with concern as I stand at her side.
“I’m scared…” she finally admits after a moment in a broken voice.
“Is this about Noah?” I know this is what’s been keeping her from setting a date. She’s afraid Noah will come to regret her marrying Gabe and not him.
She nods as a tear slips out, quickly gathering it with a tissue not to ruin her makeup. “What if he changes his mind? What if he starts resenting me for doing this with Gabriel?”
“I don’t think that will be the case. Noah loves you. He would have said something already if he wasn’t on board with this,” I try to reassure her as I pull out my phone from my dress, because yes, this dress has pockets and that has to be the greatest invention.
“I know, you’re right. I’m just… nervous. It will pass, just give me a few minutes. I’ll be okay.” She takes a few calming breaths, but I can still see the sadness and worry on her face.
I quickly shoot off a text to someone I know will be able to settle her worries in an instant.
Me
I think your girl might need a bit of reassurance.
His reply comes through immediately.
Noah
On my way.
I place my hand on her shoulder. “If you need anything, we’re right in the other room.”
She nods as I walk out and close the door slightly behind me, giving her some privacy. I find the other girls standing by, looking at me with an equal look of concern.
“How is she doing?” Morgan questions quietly.
I shake my head. “Not great. She’s having a hard time,” I whisper. “Noah’s on his way down.”
“Poor thing, I can’t imagine this is easy for her. If I were in her place, I’d probably have a hard time, too,” Cecilia says with watery eyes.
None of us truly know what it’s like for Ronnie, but we all understand that choosing to marry one and not the other is a hard decision.
A knock at the door grabs our attention as we all turn in time to see Noah slip into the room. “Where is she?”
I point to the door behind me as he heads for it. He walks through, leaving it slightly open like I had earlier. We all gather closely to hear what they say.
“Oh, Noh,” Ronnie cries.
“Shh, it’s okay, Kitten.”
“I don’t know if I can do this…” she says quietly with a shaky voice.
“You can, Veronica. I know this is hard, but I promise you, this won’t change anything. I love you, and I know you love me. But so does Gabe. You’re focusing on me when you should be focusing on him,” he whispers back to her.
“I don’t want you to hate me…”
“I could never hate you, Kitten. We’re forever.”
“Forever,” she murmurs in return.
They’re silent for a few seconds before Noah speaks up again. “You should see how excited he is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy. He’s probably going to cry when he sees you.”
“You think so?”
“I do, or he’ll just be smiling like a goofy person.” He chuckles.
She giggles softly. “That does sound more like Gabriel.”
Noah sighs. “You look beautiful, Kitten. Now wipe those tears away and go make our guy the happiest man in the world. I’ll be standing right at his side the whole time.”
“Okay,” she whispers, then it’s followed by some smooching sounds.
“You’ve got this. I’ll see you soon.”
Noah exits my walk-in with a smile on his face, nodding to us as he leaves the room. Ronnie comes out seconds later with a newly determined expression. “All right! Let’s get me married!” she exclaims and we all come in to hug her.
“Knock, knock.” Amanda’s voice pulls us away from our little cheerful moment. “It’s time.” She beams at us all.
We make our way to the patio doors that lead to the backyard and find our partners all waiting for us in a line with Ronnie’s father at the back.
Through the doors, I can see John standing in the center of the archway with Gabe looking sophisticated beside him, and as promised, Noah is standing alongside him.
Since there aren’t many guests aside from us, our parents, the Storms, as well as Maze and Bear, who managed to make it, we’ll all be sitting once we reach the end of the path. We’re just doing the walk down before the bride as the couple’s bridesmaids and groomsmen.
The Burkleys stand together at the front, then the Hayeses, followed by the Fords, and ending with Shane and I, the soon-to-be Jeffersons. I smile at the thought as I take my place beside Shane.
“Hey, you.” I kiss Shane’s cheek and hold onto his arm.
“Hi, Angel. How are you feeling? Not too tired? I know this was a big day for you, and you didn’t get a chance to nap.” He smiles down at me as we take a step closer to the doors, waiting for our turn to step out.
“I’m good. You don’t need to worry about me.” I lean my head against his arm.