Page 32 of A Hot Sauce Halloween

“Okay. Go. Bye!” I say, smiling.

The door closes behind them, shutting out the chaos, and the room goes silent save the sounds of the party still in progress on the main floor.

I exhale hard and turn around, catching sight of Tommy’s far-off stare in the doorway. “Tommy, are you okay?” I ask.

He bites his lip and spins on his heels, charging back into the bar. I watch him go, struggling to keep track of him in the crowd. He walks right up to Monica in the corner, grabs her arm, and pulls her in for a hard kiss on the lips.

I raise a brow in confusion. “I feel like there’s a story there…”

Jake shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey, man! What the fuck are you doing to my girl?”

I wince. “Uh-oh.”

Jake steps forward. “Yeah, on second thought, we should probably break that up…”

I bend over and pick up Charlotte. “We’ll stay here,” I say.

He pauses in the doorway. “But you’re the cop,” he argues.

“Yeah, the pregnant cop.”

Jake grins. “Yeah, you are.”

“Come back here, you son-of-a-bitch!”

I wave him out. “Go!”

He rushes in and I admire his rear trapped within his tight, black pants as he disappears around the bar.

“You know what, Charlotte?” I say. “I think this was a pretty good Halloween, overall.”

She giggles and I kiss her cheek.

* * *

One thing I’ll never,ever, grow bored of is watching Jake carry Charlotte up the stairs.

He clings to her as he slowly climbs. Her little head is fallen against his shoulder, eyes closed and softly twitching in sleep. It’s just after midnight. Daddy and daughter’s first Halloween was officially a success. I hope they keep up the costumes and make it a tradition. I hope she always wants to, no matter how old she gets.

I reach the top and step ahead to open her door for him. Jake moves in the dark and eases her down onto her bed. I slide her shoes off. We tuck her in and whisper good night. Sweet dreams, honey.

We step out and silently close the door.

“I can’t believe Evey’s in labor right now,” I whisper, barely able to contain my excitement before reaching our bedroom. “By morning, I could be an aunt again. And you’ll be an uncle!”

Jake pulls his shirt off and tosses it into the hamper in the bathroom. “Lucky kid,” he says. “Halloween and her birthday back-to-back every year for the rest of her life?”

“Jealous,” I say.

“Super jealous.”

I grab a pair of shorts and a tank top from my drawer. “I wonder if she’ll hate Halloween…”

He scoffs. “Not a chance. Not with us around.”

“Good point.”

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