Page 63 of Blame It On the Lattes

“It’s the baby!” she shrieked, grinning ear to ear as she cuddled it to her chest while checking out all of the accessories that went with it. Thankfully, Avery had already unpacked everything and put the batteries in. She leaned over and gently flipped the switch to turn it on so Kennedy could hear it cry.

“I love it so much! Thank you, Momma!”

“You’re welcome, sweet girl. But it’s from me and Sam.”

“Thank you, Sam!”

Kennedy got up and wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing tightly as she hugged me.

“You’re welcome.”

I hadn’t helped Avery with that gift for Kennedy, but I knew that our lives were already starting to change, and she was taking the first step by including me in everything that involved her daughter. If that wasn’t one of the greatest gifts of all, I didn’t know what was.

“You next,” I said, nodding to Avery, who was still holding her gift.

“How about we open them at the same time?” she suggested, smiling at me.

“Deal.”

We both unwrapped our gifts, and I loved the small gasp that escaped her lips when she found the delicate gold heart necklace I had picked for her. I hadn’t seen her wear much jewelry, but I had noticed the way she admired it when we went shopping.

“Oh my gosh, Sam! This is beautiful. Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome.”

I opened the lid of the small box Kennedy had picked for me and slowly opened it. Inside was a clay ornament in the shape of Kennedy’s hand. In the middle, she’d written my name in red paint with a heart underneath it.

“Kennedy, did you make this for me?” I asked, my throat tight with emotion. I held it up for her to see, making sure I didn’t accidentally break it.

She nodded and grinned while setting her baby down to give it a bottle.

“Thank you so much. It’s so beautiful.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied as she picked the baby up and started to burp it. It seemed a bit fast for it to have finished eating, but what did I know about babies?

“Alright, my love. We’ve opened one gift for tonight, but now it’s time to get to bed. Santa can’t come if we’re up playing all night,” Avery said to Kennedy as she stood up and collected the few pieces of trash from our gifts.

“Okay, Momma. Can Sam sit with us while you read tonight?”

“Of course, he’s more than welcome to if he’d like to,” Avery said, giving me a nervous look.

“I would love to.”

I wrapped my arms around Avery’s waist while we waited for Kennedy to get up. This was just the beginning of the most wonderful life I could have ever imagined.

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