3. Sara #2
From the way Beckett talked about the place, one would think it was a house of horrors, but the house at the end of the block doesn’t look bad to me. It’s beautiful and well-kept, just like the other three brownstones.
“What are you guys doing here?” Cortney shakes Brooks’s hand, then angles in and presses a kiss to my cheek.
Cortney Miller, former catcher for the Boston Revs—the baseball team owned by the Langfields, along with the Bolts—is now their general manager.
He and Beckett spend far too much time together.
Not only do they work side by side every day, but their wives are best friends, and they live next door to one another.
I’ve even heard rumors of an interior door from one house to the other, though I haven’t seen it yet.
I’m not sure how Cortney puts up with the grump. He’s a giant with long blond hair, and he’s one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Dylan, from what I can tell, is super chill. They’re the antithesis of Beckett, but maybe that’s why they get along so well.
Unable to fight the smile spreading across my face, I peek over at their six-month-old daughter. She’s all rosy cheeks and smiles, with red hair like her mother.
Brooks grins. “Beckett has a surprise for Liv, so he asked us to come by for moral support.”
I laugh. “Pretty sure he thinks that as long as there are witnesses, she won’t kill him. Is that why you’re heading there too?”
Dylan shakes her head, her golden eyes dancing with glee. “No, Liv has something to tell Beckett. She’s worried he might lose it. I guess we’ll be there for moral support too.”
My stomach sinks. What the hell could Liv have done wrong? “Everything okay?”
With a laugh, Dylan runs the pendant she’s wearing back and forth along its chain. “Oh, the universe has this covered. It will be fine, right, baby girl?”
The little girl babbles up at her mama, her lips glistening. God, she’s adorable.
Cortney whisks Willow from her mother’s arms. She snuggles into his shoulder, tugging at the long blond locks that he’s so famous for.
“I’m not sure the universe is ready for Beckett Langfield to get this news, but after what he put me through, I’m dying to watch the events unfold.”
Still confused, I follow the two of them up the steps to the brownstone, but I turn at the sound of a vehicle slowing in the road. A large black limo van pulls up to the curb, but rather than a limo driver behind the wheel, it’s Beckett.
That’s strange . Before he married Liv, he treated his prized Bentley with more love and care than any woman, yet he’s cruising around in an oversized van?
A loud laugh escapes Dylan, and she slaps a hand to her mouth. “Maybe he already knows.” The words are muffled, but her eyes are bright.
Beckett jumps out and hustles to the back of the vehicle. He hauls the rear door open and helps the most adorable dog to the sidewalk. Its fur is golden, and there’s a white patch over its eye.
With a leash in one hand, Beckett holds a finger up and shoots a scowl at Cortney. “Not a word, Man Bun.”
Dylan throws her head back and full-on guffaws. “This is going to be so good.”
Brooks drops to his knees and grabs for the puppy. “What’s the little guy’s name?”
My boss, who looks like a grumpy, well-groomed Henry Cavill and is dressed in a navy-blue suit, smiles proudly. “Deogi.”
“D-O-G?” I can’t help the confused frown that takes over my face.
“Yeah, Deogi.”
Brooks, who’s still kneeling, laughs as he looks up at his brother. “You can’t name your dog Dog .”
Beckett frowns. “I didn’t. I named it Deogi.”
“Oh my God. Someone stop the insanity,” Cortney grumbles behind me.
Dylan shuffles forward, still grinning, then sighs. “I really can’t wait for Liv to see this.”
Behind the sleek van, Gavin pulls up in his black Bugatti. This man is as ridiculous as Beckett used to be when it comes to his car. He constantly refers to it as his baby in an almost creepy way.
The passenger door flies open, and Aiden jumps from the front seat. He springs off the sidewalk and throws himself down next to Brooks. “A dog!” His eyes are saucers as he looks from Brooks to Beckett to Gavin and then back to the dog again. “Can I get one?”
Brooks throws out an arm and pushes him over. “You control you, bro. Do what you want.”
Aiden collapses on one side, but he doesn’t look away from the dog. He’s still all heart eyes and giant smiles.
“He’s not getting a puppy,” Gavin grumbles, rounding the hood of his car.
It’s impossible not to smile in the presence of all four Langfield brothers. I truly love them. Sure, they write my paycheck—Gavin more so than the rest, since he manages the hockey division of Langfield Corp—but when they’re all together, they’re hysterical.
“Come on,” Aiden whines, popping back up on his knees and nuzzling the dog.
“We do travel for like 70 percent of the year,” I offer. If I have to pick a side, I’m going with Gavin. Staying in his good graces is always priority number one. Paycheck signatures and all that.
Brooks just shakes his head and gives me a charming smile, then turns back to the dog. There he is, laughing off my ridiculousness again. But this time all I’m doing is stating a fact.
Gavin claps Beckett on the back. “Cute dog. Can’t wait to see Finn’s reaction.”
“It’ll probably be like Aiden’s.” Beckett cocks a brow at his youngest brother, who’s got his face buried in the fur of the dog’s neck.
“Hey,” Aiden whines, pulling back. “Are you calling me a child?”
“If the shoe fits,” Gavin mutters, heading up the steps. “Let’s get this show on the road. I’m starving. What are we having for dinner?”
The front door swings open, and Liv’s six-year-old son appears. He’s dressed in camo pants and holding a Nerf gun in front of his chest.
Beckett points at his little boy. “Gun dow?—”
Finn drops the brightly colored weapon on the porch with a clatter and launches himself down the stairs, where he scoots in between Brooks and Aiden. “Whose dog?”
Beckett crouches low and holds the dog’s collar so he can’t jump on Finn. “Ours, Huck. What do you think?”
“Really?” he screeches. He’s up again, and then his little arms are circled around Beckett’s neck and squeezing him tight.
Beckett, miraculously, remains in his crouched position, still holding the dog, and now his son. “Yeah, let’s go find your mom, okay?”
Finn takes off first, and we all follow. The second he’s over the threshold, he screams, “Mom, Winnie, Addie! Bossman boughts us a dog!”
The foyer is tight as we all shuffle in.
Aiden is bouncing on the balls of his feet, still as ecstatic as Finn.
Beckett is half carrying the dog, who isn’t sure about following along with our obnoxious crowd.
Gavin heads straight to the living room, pointing toward me. “We definitely need a drink for this.”
Brooks presses a palm to the small of my back and guides me forward and out of the craziness. “You seem far too excited to be here,” he teases, his breath warm on my neck.
The big family thing is still a novelty to me.
When I was a kid, it was just Mom and me.
Then, when I was in high school, my brother was born.
After that, she was home even less. Her days were spent shuttling him to doctors’ appointments and therapy or working so she could afford to take him to those appointments and therapy.
More often than not, I was home watching television while my brother hung out in his crib.
My friends were Monica and Rachel or Pacey and Joey on Dawson’s Creek .
When he graduated from the crib, I spent my days keeping him entertained in ways that wouldn’t wear him out.
To this day, my eye still twitches any time I see a puzzle.
The chaos of a big family like this is enthralling. I don’t quite understand all the intricacies, but like Gavin, I’m predicting an evening full of entertainment, so a drink sounds perfect.
“You did what now?”
We’ve all filtered into the living room when Liv appears, with their youngest daughter Addie in tow. Addie is four and since the day I met her, I’ve never not seen her in anything but pigtails. Liv pulls up short, and her eyes go wide when she catches sight of the audience.
With a lip caught between her teeth, she scans us, then her attention falls to the dog.
For a long moment, she doesn’t move. Then, without a word, she closes her eyes.
Knowing Liv, she’s taking deep breaths in for four, then letting them out for four.
It’s what she does at work. At least when Beckett is around.
I’ve never seen anyone get under her skin quite the way he does.
“Meet Deogi,” Beckett says, holding up one end of the leash. The other end is still clipped to the puppy that’s now letting out the cutest little playful growls and wrestling with Finn.
Gavin spits out his drink. “He named the dog Dog ?”
“What did you do?” Liv’s hands are on her hips now.
Winnie, Liv’s daughter, appears at the bottom of the stairs.
Like her little brother, the ten-year-old instantly drops to the floor, her grin wide.
She’s Liv’s mini me, with brown hair and brown eyes, but she’s got a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
And, if I’m not mistaken, the braces are new.
Poor kid, I’ve always been told those things suck.
We couldn’t afford them, so I have an imperfect smile, but what can ya do?
Beckett moves closer to Liv, his voice soft. “We got married because of a dog.”
“Because you ran over a dog,” Gavin calls.
Turning to Brooks, I cover my mouth to keep from laughing.His green eyes are bright and full of humor.
“I didn’t hit the dog,” Beckett calls back, though he doesn’t turn away from his wife. “Charlie did.”
Their driver.
Gavin snorts. “That’s not what the papers said.”
“Enough,” Liv cries, craning her neck to look around her husband. “Gavin, why did you let him get a dog?”