Page 163 of Gracefully Yours

“Yes, little bear?” I lifted him up on my hip, ruffling his dark hair. He was a carbon copy of Daniel, a fact that my husband was all too smug about. It was okay, though. My little mini-me was currently sleeping in the stroller.

“Can we get ice cream?” He pointed at the parlor that we were standing directly across.

I laughed. “Later, baby, I promise.”

I’d had Beau two and a half years after Abigail—we knew we wanted more kids, but both of us had also wanted to enjoy our time with just one. My favorite part was I got to be pregnant with my best friends, and a little over a month after Beau was born, Penelope Elaine Harper came into the world.

Perched on Matthew’s shoulders, she was wearing a Princess Anna costume. Thinking back to the first Halloween party we attended together, I can’t help but smile at the memory.

That was the night Gabbi had met Hunter, and now they had a daughter of their own: Quinlan. She was a spunky three-year-old, with a wild and adventurous spirit that always left her covered in dirt.

We’d all brought our families to Disney World for vacation now that summer had arrived.

Owen, Matthew and Noelle’s son, was currently keeping a close eye on my youngest, Ellie, as she slept in the stroller.

“Don’t wake her up,” I warned. “She’s still little.” Her second birthday was coming up in July, but it was still a few months away.

“I know,” he said, whispering back at me.

At four years old, he was the spitting image of his dad—all that blond, messy hair—with just a splattering of Noelle’s freckles. Unfortunately for him, he’d also inherited both of their abilities to burn. We were putting on sunscreen almost every hour on this trip. The Florida heat—even in May—was no joke.

“Did we miss anything?” Angelina asked, with one of her twins’ hands clasped tightly in hers. Benjamin was right behind her, holding on to the others.

“Beau wants ice cream,” I repeated, looking down at him.

Angelina’s identical twins—Zachary and Wesley—were a little under a year older than Beau. The resemblance was almost uncanny, except for the twins’ bright blue eyes. They all had the same thick, dark, beautiful hair.

“Oooh, ice cream?” Hunter asked, tickling the back of his daughter’s legs. “I could go for ice cream. What do you think, princess?”

“Yes! Ice cream!” Quinlan agreed.

Gabbi rolled her eyes at her husband.

“Itishot,” Angelina groaned. “That sounds like it would hit the spot.”

Daniel flashed a grin at me. “What do you think, darling?”

“I think we need to feed the kids some actual food first.”

“But mommy!” Abbi protested, still on Daniel’s shoulders.

I shot her a look. “No ice cream until after we fill your tummy withactualfood.”

“Come on, spoilsport, we’re on vacation.” Daniel had let Abbi down, and even Noelle licked her lips, staring at the window display.

“Fine,”I agreed. “Let’s get ice cream now.”

“Lead the way, darling,” Daniel said, and all of us, plus the kids, headed into the parlor.

“Why are my kids so obsessed with ice cream?” I muttered, looking at Daniel, who gave me a sheepish grin. He spoiled our kids, and we both knew it. We both did.

Everyone, except for Ellie, was holding a kid’s cone with little chocolate ears on top, and us adults were enjoying own cones as well. I had to admit, it hit the spot.

“What’s next?” Benjamin asked, his eyes looking at the map in his hands.

“The girls want to meet the princesses,” Noelle said, looking at the group of our daughters, all dressed up in their princess gowns for the day at Magic Kingdom.

Our husbands all groaned, clearly not thrilled about the idea.

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