“Ready, baby?” Dominic pulled her from her musings as he rubbed her stomach tenderly before dropping a kiss on her upturned lips. She was just beginning to get a very tiny baby bump, and he couldn’t keep his hands off it.
She had been resting as he’d insisted. Maddy was in her first school play, and they were meeting Gage, Shannon, and Megan at school to see it. Yawning as she stood from the chair she’d been curled up in, she answered, “I’m ready, babe.” He put a protective arm around her shoulders and led her out of the apartment. He had been pushing her to look at houses, but for now, she wanted to stay where she was comfortable. Frankly, she was just too tired at this point to tackle the big task of moving.
“Thank God they didn’t give Maddy a speaking part in this play, right?” he joked as they found a parking space at the school. “I can only imagine how epic that would be.”
Gwen laughed, agreeing. “I know. Poor Shannon would be terrified. I think the girls are even worse with Gage practically living there. You know, it seems that we were all wrong about him,” she admitted. “He is crazy about Shannon and a natural with the girls. I’ve never seen her happier than she is now.”
“Yeah.” Dominic nodded as they walked through the entrance to the auditorium. “I’m still surprised by that. The guy talks about her nonstop. He’s the last person I would have ever imagined in a serious relationship, much less with kids involved. He’s still a goof, but Shannon has grounded him. I don’t know, despite all his joking around, he always seemed like he was kind of lost. I thought it was because he never had much of a relationship with his family.”
“Maybe he was just waiting for her,” Gwen suggested softly as she curled her arm around Dominic’s waist.
“Maybe he was, baby,” Dominic agreed, looking at her with so much love in his eyes that she knew they were no longer talking about Gage.
Before she could reply, Shannon came rushing up. “Hey guys! We saved you a couple of seats beside us. Oh, my God, you aren’t going to believe it, but my brother Mason brought his boyfriend, Cash! I thought my father was going to swallow his tongue! My mother gave him a few digs in the side, and he actually stood up and shook Cash’s hand and was passably friendly. I left Megan to keep them distracted.”
“Good times,” Gage smirked as he clapped Dominic on the shoulder before hugging Gwen. “Hey, little mama, looking good.” Gwen laughed while Dominic removed his arms from around her.
Rolling his eyes, Dominic said, “Hands off, bro. I think we’ve discussed this.” Both Gwen and Shannon giggled because this conversation happened every time they were together. It was perfectly innocent, but Dominic was the ultimate alpha male where she was concerned and Gage loved to get under his skin.
Shannon took Gage’s hand, pulling him down the aisle, while Dominic and Gwen followed. “Come on, Romeo; let me get you in your seat before Dom takes you out.” Soon they were all settled in the four end seats with a few minutes to spare until curtain time.
Megan was already restless and fidgeting when a little girl about her age walked down the aisle. Megan burst out of her seat and ran to hug her. “Caroline!”
As the girls talked, Shannon leaned over telling Gwen, “Caroline has a sister in Maddy’s class. I think she has one of the speaking parts.”
Beside her, Dominic was saying to himself, “Caroline?” as if trying to figure something out. Gwen gave him a questioning look before a little boy walked up and pulled Megan’s hair, causing her to scream.
As Gage made to grab for Megan, who now looked completely pissed off, Shannon stiffened, saying, “Oh no,” under her breath. It hit Gwen at the same time that Dominic started chuckling under his breath.
It was as if everything suddenly went into slow motion. Megan, bent on revenge, grabbed the little boy’s arm and yelled loud enough to be heard in the next state, “I’m going to get you, Bastard!”
Shannon gasped in horror and every mouth around them dropped open in shock. Gage leaned around the women to give Dominic a high five. “That’s my girl.” He grinned proudly.
“Our kid cannot be friends with anyone named Baxter—are we in agreement?” Dominic smirked.
Gwen started giggling as she snuggled into his arms. “I agree,” she whispered against his neck, “but you’d better prepare yourself. With Megan and Maddy as honorary aunts, I’m scared to think of what our child will pick up along the way.”
She continued to laugh as her words turned him to stone. “Holy—” he began before she elbowed him in the side. He finally relaxed, dropping a kiss onto her head. “I’ve got this, babe. I’ll just run interference whenever they’re visiting. No problem.”
Gwen choked back a reply, not wanting to burst his bubble yet. The poor guy would find out soon enough that, in life, you had to pick your battles and she was sure that Megan and Maddy could get the best of him anytime they chose. But God, you had to love the man for trying.