Page 97 of Love Me Forever

"Of course you did," I said. "Poor Declan. He probably got a lot of heartburn because of all that.”

“I did. And Tate egged everyone on,” Declan added.

We heard footsteps behind us. Turning around, I saw Lena approaching us.

"I need to steal Bonnie," she said. “Travis, don't let them scare her away."

"Nah. My girl's tough."

My heart went into overdrive. I couldn't believe he'd called me "his girl" in front of his whole family.

"Better safe than sorry," Lena said, taking me away from the kitchen. She laced an arm with mine, the way Reece and Kimberly did at the crafts fair.

"I brought some baby clothes," she told me once we were away from the group.

"Really? But it’s your birthday. Today is all about you."

"Nonsense. I worked on them this past week. I knew you'd be here, and I wanted them ready. I left them upstairs. Want to see them?”

“Of course.”

We walked up the staircase leading to the second floor, then went into a room on the right. The clothes were absolutely adorable. They were tiny and varied in color: cream, yellow, and light green. I couldn't believe she'd spent the week before her birthday working on these.

"I love them. Thank you. They’re perfect," I gushed.

"If you like, I can make a few more."

"What? No, that’s a lot of work," I said.

"Oh, darling, please. You can’t have enough baby clothes. They throw up on everything. I know you can buy everything these days, but I’d love to make some more.”

I nodded, pressing my lips together. My hormones seemed to be tied to some waterworks behind my eyes, because I felt misty-eyed, and I had no idea how to hide it. I looked down at my feet, but the effort of holding back the tears was costing me. I was sure my face was completely wrecked.

"Oh, I've made you cry," she said.

I looked up, drawing in a sharp breath. "Everything seems to make me cry these days."

She smiled at me in the mirror, putting her hands on my arms. "I remember that time. It's no fun. Can I just give you a piece of advice? Two, actually."

"Of course. I'd love some advice." I googled a lot, but I wanted to talk to someone who'd been through it, someone I was close to.

"Be kind to yourself during this time. You're going to experience a lot of things, and you're going to feel irrational a lot of times."

“Oh God, yes. That is definitely happening to me. I feel like I have multiple personalities lately."

"Once, I made my husband fly to California to bring me grapes because I wanted a specific type. And the poor guy did it. I don't know how he put up with me."

I couldn't help it as my face exploded in a smile. "Okay, now I see where Travis gets his behavior—from his dad."

"My husband definitely set a great example for our boys. And that's my second piece of advice. Let Travis spoil you."

My smile widened even more. "He does that in spades."

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