Page 74 of Cautious

Blake has not been happy with her decision to sell her house and reserve space at an assisted living facility for when she leaves the center. They argue about it a lot. Blake, being his usual stubborn self—which he ironically gets from June—insists she move in with us and that be the end of that.

June, of course, is having none of it. She kindly informed Blake that she would not be giving up naked Tuesdays or wall-banging sex for anyone, least of all him. Eventually, he relented. Honestly, she seems genuinely excited to be moving into the fancy facility, but she knows the offer to live with us is always open.

“I thought you had to pee.”

I come out of my daze and find myself still standing in the hallway, staring at Aiden’s chest.

“Urgh, sorry. This baby brain is no joke. I drift off into a world of my own all the time.”

“Oh, I know. I was with you at the grocery store when you zoned out in the cat food section, remember? You were there for fifteen minutes staring at the boxes of kibble, and you don’t even have a cat.” He laughs, making me scowl.

“Don’t you judge me. This thing,” I point to my huge belly, “is clearly draining my powers. I can’t be super smart, sexy, and awesome while baking the next generation of badass,” I tell him before turning and flouncing away to the sound of his laughter.

I take care of business, and even though we’re having food delivered later, I decide some lunch is in order, so I make my way down to the kitchen.

After a lot of talks between Blake and the guys, they decided a new location for their offices was needed. Something bigger to accommodate their ever-growing clientele, which, thanks to Matilda’s recommendations, now includes a reality TV star, an author, and an up-and-coming rapper. We initially discussed moving to the city. It made sense business-wise, but it wasn’t what we wanted for our daughter. There is nothing wrong with being born and raised in a big city, it just isn’t right for us. I wasn’t sure the rest of the guys would feel the same, but they were adamant that Tempest was home, and they had no intentions of leaving us behind. Plus, they were more than happy to travel when they needed to, and that’s all the clients care about. And this way, we get to stay close to June. The facility she wants to move into is only half an hour away.

They closed on a large property on the end of Main Street a few days before the wedding, which was also right before we moved house. With me so close to giving birth, it’s been all hands on deck, but we held off on a housewarming celebration until now, when we finally had time to enjoy it.

“Hey, space cadet, what are you making?” Kellen asks, swinging the fridge door open and snagging a beer.

“Sandwiches. I have a craving,” I admit.

He stands there sipping his beer, watching me with amusement as I grill some bacon, trying not to gag at the smell, and then slice up some cooked chicken breasts. I layer round after round of bread with lettuce, mayo, cheese, chicken, and bacon. Stacking them on a huge platter, I slide them into the middle of the counter. I’ve made far too many, but I know these guys can put away a lot of food between them. Plus, I want to wrap some and put them in the fridge for when June and Blake get here.

Next, I set about making something tasty for myself to eat since Peaches can’t stomach bacon, much to my horror and the guys’ amusement.

“That is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Kellen says, looking queasy as he stares at my peanut butter, tuna, and pickle sandwich.

Marcus walks into the kitchen before I can answer, snagging half my sandwich from my plate and biting into it before either of us can warn him. Well, serves the fucker right for stealing my food.

Kellen and I stare at his back as he grabs his own beer from the fridge, waiting for him to turn.

When he does, he takes another bite and grins. “This is good, what is it?”

I smile at him as Kellen goes a little green in the corner.

“Trust me, man, you don’t want to know,” Kellen answers as I take a bite myself and groan in appreciation.

The sound of the doorbell has us all turning.

“I’ll go,” Kellen offers, happy to leave and let Marcus and me finish eating.

“Oh, food, thank god.” I look up at the sound of Arlo’s voice as he and Banner descend on the plate of sandwiches.

“Save some for Felix and Aiden,” I remind him.

“They snooze, they lose,” Arlo teases until Aiden walks up behind him and snatches the sandwich out of his hand. “Hey, motherfucker, get your own.”

“You snooze, you lose, asshole,” Aiden mimics before eating the whole sandwich in two bites.

Arlo picks up another sandwich just as Felix walks past, snatching it out of his hand and making him curse.

I burst into fits of giggles at the look of indignation on his face. Banner wisely stays out of the way, guarding his food from grabby hands.

Kellen strolls back in and over to me with a large parcel in his hands.

“Ooh, presents, gimmie.” I make space on the counter, pushing the plates aside.

---