Page 141 of A Ryan Recollection

“The tiny terrors are awake,” Shane says with a chuckle.

I arch an eyebrow. “You mean Liam and Mikey?”

That makes him laugh harder. I sit up as Ella comes charging into the room, closely followed by Finn, Conor, Liam and Mikey. Ella makes her way straight to Shane and me, fascinated by her baby brother from the second she met him.

“Is he sleeping, Daddy?” she asks sweetly.

He smiles at our daughter. “Yes, princess. At last,” he adds with a weary sigh, no doubt recalling how many times Cian woke for a feed last night.

She wrinkles her cute button nose. “Can I kiss him?”

“Of course. But be gentle.”

She rolls her eyes. “I know.”

Shane glances at me. “She is so like you,” he whispers.

“Mommy. Cookies for breakfast,” Finn says as he clambers up onto my lap.

I brush my fingers through his thick auburn curls. “No, baby.”

He pushes his bottom lip out and pouts. Liam sits on the sofa beside us and plucks Finn from my lap and hoists him over his shoulder, making him giggle. “No cookies. But Da will make you some pancakes if you’re a good boy.”

Mikey nods his agreement and flops down on the sofa next to his twin while Conor leans down and gives me a kiss on the forehead. He looks at our youngest, still sleeping soundly despite the noise in the room now. “How was he last night?”

I rub my tired eyes. “He woke four or five times, I think.”

“Six,” Shane corrects me.

Conor frowns. “You need to start expressing so we can all do some feeds, angel.”

I nod. I’ve been too tired to express but he’s right. We turned my old room into Cian’s nursery and every night one of them stays in there with me to help me, or to keep an eye on Cian if I nod off while feeding him. But it would be easier if we could move his crib into our room and each take turns. “I’ll start today. Promise.”

He brushes my hair back from my face. “Why don’t you go get some sleep while he’s sleeping?”

“I’m good here. With all of you,” I tell him too.

He rolls his eyes but then he scoops me up into his arms. “Conor,” I give a quiet squeak of protest, thinking he’s about to force me to go to bed, but instead he sits down in the empty space until I’m curled up on his lap and we’re all squished together on the huge sofa.

Ella puts her hands on her hips. “Where am I going to sit, Mommy?”

“Right here, my little princess,” Mikey replies, patting his thigh.

She giggles and runs to him, scampering onto his lap before squishing his cheeks together and kissing his nose.

“Cartoons,” Finn demands.

“I’m kinda comfy here, so I say let them watch some TV,” Conor says with a shrug and a few moments later we’re all snuggled together watching cartoons.

Liam laces his fingers through mine. “This sofa is where it all began, baby,” he says quietly but loud enough for his brothers to hear.

I smile at him, remembering that night all those years ago when he first kissed me. And then he and Mikey … My cheeks flush with heat at the memory.

Shane glances sideways at us. “Yeah, when we walked in on the three of you …”

“Ballooning,” Mikey finishes his sentence with a chuckle.

Conor nips my shoulder blade gently. “And you looked so fucking hot,” he growls in my ear.

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