Page 106 of Hell Hath No Fury

Declan smiles innocently. “Oh, how did that get there?”

Issa purses her lips and tsk, “Declan Hughes, you promised no work tonight, and I’m going to make sure you keep your promise.”

He does appear appropriately apologetic, but that doesn’t stop him from saying, “I know, but I’m excited about this new set we’re cooking up. You know how I get when I’m excited about a new song.”

Her eyes soften, and she pats him on the chest. “I know, baby, but too fucking bad. Behave yourself.”

His expression turns slightly sulky as she marches away, guitar in hand, and I chuckle, finding their antics heartwarming. Lilith bends down, pressing her lips against my cheek, and then she takes off across the lawn, joining Carolina and Flora on the play structure.

A touch of sadness washes over me as I watch her chase the little girl, but then she turns back to me, her brilliant smile easing my worries about the past. I know she’s happy. I truly believe she has few regrets at this point in her life, but that doesn’t stop me from occasionally mourning what she didn’t have, what we missed out on.

Something nudges my foot, drawing my attention back to the table. Declan is staring at me as if he’s waiting for me to do something, so I raise a brow at him. “What was that?”

“Does it feel weird?” Declan asks, his expression serious.

Raising my brows, I ask slowly, “Does what feel weird?”

Declan’s eyes widen, and for a moment, he appears somewhat frightened, adding to my ever-increasing confusion about what he’s on about. Then he leans over to Darius and whispers just loud enough for me to hear, “Did no one tell him?”

I glance at Darius who’s watching me with a strange expression on his face, so I ask, “Did who tell me what?”

“For fuck’s sake,” Declan mutters, his eyes now looking anywhere but at me.

“I think it’s supposed to be a surprise,” Darius responds nonchalantly, and once again, I find my eyebrows raised as I stare between the two of them.

I’m about to ask a bit more forcefully, then Antoinette exits the house at a run, a whoop of excitement following in her wake. She makes a beeline for Tony, and the next thing I know, he’s wearing a pink sparkly headband and a shocked expression.

Antoinette doesn’t say a word to him; she just spins around and races across the lawn toward Carolina, whose joyful expression is focused on Tony. Antoinette grabs Carolina’s hand, talking animatedly to her as she pulls her back to where Tony is still standing by the grill, though now he’s poking at the headband as if it may explode at any moment.

“What the fuck is going on?” I ask with a fair amount of annoyance, not surprised when no one answers me. Everyone’s focus is on Antoinette as she hugs Carolina and then Tony before looking around the yard until she finds Lilith, who’s now standing on the edge of the yard by the stairs.

Antoinette motions for her to come closer, and after a brief hesitation, she does, coming to a stop in front of Tony. “Nice headband.”

“It’s pink,” Antoinette says proudly.

Lilith nods slowly as she replies, “Yes. I can see that.” Lilith looks at the headband and then back at Antoinette, who’s vibrating with excitement. Antoinette gives her mother a very pointed look, which Lilith mirrors, obviously having no idea what the hell is going on.

Agatha appears next to Lilith, and she laughs at the pleading look Lilith gives her. Agatha rolls her eyes, then places her arm around Lilith’s shoulder as she leans in and whispers near her ear. Lilith’s eyes widen, her mouth falling open as she looks at Carolina who has her hands on her protruding stomach. “Seriously? You’re sure?”

Carolina nods excitedly, and Lilith pulls her into a hug. I watch on, understanding slowly dawning that the nature of this BBQ was actually a gender reveal. Obviously, I knew they’d decided to go forward with embryo implantation, and that the procedure had been successful, but knowing they’re expecting a baby girl is decidedly bittersweet.

Declan once again nudges my ankle with his foot. I look over at him, now grinning at me rather smugly as he says, “So does it feel weird?”

“Fuck off,” I retort with a laugh, refusing to provide an answer to a question that’s frankly none of his business. Declan laughs loudly, Darius soon joining him and then we sit back, watching the celebrations all around us.

The chaotic nature of this group isn’t new to me, but so far, the events of my first backyard BBQ have been nothing like what I’ve read about online.

And I’m not even remotely sorry.

44

An Ideal Grace

Lilith

Afewdayslater

We stayed at Declan’s place for a couple of days then decided to head back to New York. We contemplated getting a condo or home near Declan, but whenever we’ve mentioned it, Declan has been outright offended that we don’t want to stay with him indefinitely.

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