I slowed my gait as the others forged on. I stopped, turned and looked down at Ren’s mom.
“Did you want a word in private?” I asked quietly.
“Was it that obvious?’ she asked back.
“Yes,” I answered on a smile.
She returned my smile before hers faded. Then she tipped her head to the side and studied me for a moment before speaking.
“It’s just that…” she hesitated then said, “I’m really very sorry to barge in on your family dinner, Ally.”
“That’s okay, Amalea. Mom invited my brothers and their wives without telling Ren and me, so it evens out.”
She grinned.
Then she looked down, reached out and touched my hand briefly, before she looked up and caught my eyes.
“He says he’s moving on,” she said softly, her words confusing me.
“I’m sorry?” I asked.
“From Vito,” she explained, and I pressed my lips together. “Some months ago, he told me he met a girl, he cares a good deal for her, so now it’s time.”
Some months ago.
Ren made this decision some months ago.
How cool was that?
Again she reached out and touched my hand before she whispered, “I certainly am happy to meet you, Ally.”
I got her.
She lost a husband; she was terrified of losing a son.
And she was giving me credit.
I didn’t let her move her hand, but caught it and told her, “He’s doing it for you, too.”
“He’s been going to do it for me for years now, honey.”
Interesting.
“Now he’s doing it,” she continued. “Angela has been talking about it. Dom’s mother, Ramona has been talking about it. Vito’s angry about it. But Lorenzo isn’t backing down.”
I nodded. “He’s got his mind made up and he already has plans for the future.”
Her eyes grew intense on me and they were far from unhappy. “This, I can see.”
I got that, too.
Again with the melty.
Jeez. What was up with me and the melty?
“As crazy as this night started,” I told her, “I’m glad you and the girls were here.”
“Me too, Ally.”
I grinned.
She grinned back.
“Ally, sweetheart, are you and Amalea coming?” Dad called, and I rolled my eyes at Amalea because Dad was likely calling because he was worried she caught me and I wouldn’t want to be caught.
See?
A good dad.
I pulled her hand up, tucked it in the crook of my arm and we walked with our drinks into the family room.
I stopped because everyone was lounging, except Lee and Indy were standing, Lee’s arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist.
This was not weird, entirely. Lee didn’t often have Indy close when he wasn’t claiming her in some way.
It was just weird they were standing.
My eyes went to Ren to see his eyes were doing a sweep of his mom and me. They stopped on his mom’s face, where it was clear he approved of what he saw, before he looked to me. He was also sitting in an armchair and he tipped his head to the armrest.
Seems another alpha hot guy wanted to claim his woman (yes, again, melty).
I let Amalea go and moved across the room to him. I sat my ass on the rest, felt his arm slide around my hips, and looked up at Indy to see she was looking at me.
But it was Dad who spoke.
“We had a lot of surprises tonight, but now I’ll explain one. And that is that Lee and Indy and Hank and Roxie are here because Lee asked that they be.”
What?
My gaze shot to Roxie who was giving me a wide-eyed look, then we both looked to Indy.
Lee was holding her closer, now with both arms, tucking her front to his side, and Indy had wound both arms around my brother.
“We have something to tell everybody,” Lee took over.
Oh my God.
Oh my God!
Oh my God, God, GOD!
“We already told Tom,” Lee went on, and I felt my eyes get hot as I glued them to Indy.
She looked happy. Not her usual run-of-the-mill, I-married-the-man-of-my-dreams-who-I-loved-since-I-was-five happy (which was pretty freaking happy).
But happy.
Oh.
My.
GOD!
“We’re having a baby,” Lee finished.
At his words, I hurdled from the chair, clapping and shouting, “Oh my God! Oh my God, God, God!”
I made it to Indy just as she pulled away from Lee. We collided and wrapped our arms around each other. I bounced her up and down with me as I kept shouting, “Oh my God, God, God!”
“I know!” Indy shouted back.
I stopped bouncing and pulled away an inch, declaring, “You know it’s a girl—”
Indy interrupted me. “She’s named Allyson.”
I smiled.
Indy smiled back.
My eyes got hot.
Her eyes got wet.
“Oh my God, God, God,” I whispered.
“I know,” she whispered back.
We stared at each other for a long time before Mom asked from our side, “Can I hug my daughter-in-law?”
I didn’t want to let her go.
Then again, I never wanted to let Indy go. My BFF. My partner in crime. My sister of the heart and sister by the law. The soon-to-be mother of my brother’s baby.
No, I never wanted to let her go.
Not ever.
“Sure,” I said, my voice husky, and it took some effort to tear my eyes from Indy’s as I let her go and let Mom move in.
Dad called out, “Champagne.”
“I think we have some in the fridge in the garage, Mal,” Mom told him, hugging Indy.
I moved in after Roxie moved out and hugged Lee.
“Pleased for you, bro,” I said in his ear.
“Not as pleased as me,” he said in mine, his arms going tight.
That was not in doubt.
I pulled back and grinned at him.
He let me go with one arm so he could lift a hand and touch my cheek.
Then he said, “When he or she gets here, do me a favor. Don’t try to convert them to Scientology.”
I burst out laughing, and when I was done, my brother was still holding me close and smiling down at me.
I heard Amalea murmur, “An unexpected honor, but one nonetheless, to be here to hear this joyous news,” thus proving she was total class.
But I was listening with half an ear because I was fully feeling the vibe, looking at my brother’s smile and experiencing it again, almost exactly twenty-four hours after I’d just felt it.
That feeling you get only a handful of times in your life, if you’re lucky.