Joey’s eyes shot to me, a mixture of excitement and panic evident. We hadn’t discussed me not knowing the gender.
“If you want to find out by yourself, you can tell the baker which cupcakes to pack, and then I can find out with the daddies,” I told her.
“Really?!” Joey asked excitedly. “Can we do that?”
I nodded.
Dr. Benson smiled. “Okay, Mama, hands over your ears so I can tell this one what kind of sibling she’s got.”
I did as I was told and avoided listening as the doctor leaned down and whispered in Joey’s ear. Once they were done, I wiped the jelly off my stomach and we said our goodbyes before heading straight to the bakery.
Joey was a ball of excitement the entire way there and kept her lips sealed.
I wasn’t planning on being surprised, but now I was looking forward to sharing that with my pack.
“Daddies!” Joey bellowed as she dashed into the kitchen, box of cupcakes in hand. She was moving so fast, I had to follow at a considerably slower pace.
“We’re all here, munchkin.” Jensen laughed as he came out of the living room, finding me. “How did it go?”
“Baby is perfectly healthy, and the doctor told Joey, and Joey alone, the gender.” I smiled.
“So we get to find out together?” Cullen asked from behind me, his sudden appearance making me jump.
I gasped, my hand flying to my chest in an attempt to calm my raging heartbeat. “Jesus! Make louder steps to avoid giving the pregnant woman a heart attack, please!”
The corner of his mouth cocked up in a grin. “Noted. I’ll be more aggressive in my walking endeavors.”
“Now, let’s go find out what I have cooking in here,” I said, resting a hand on my stomach as I went to go find Joey. “Your child has the cupcakes at the ready.”
Gideon wandered out of the office. “I thought I heard the excitement of a future big sister,” he said, pulling me in for a quick hug.
“Yep, she’s enthusiastic for sure. I think?—”
“Daddies! Bethany! Come on!” Joey squawked from the kitchen.
A giggle escaped me as Gideon looked toward the kitchen in surprise. “I think we’d better not make her wait.”
I shrugged. “It’s your DNA to blame. I need a bit more time before I can claim to be a bad influence.”
Jensen chuckled and lightly pushed me toward the kitchen.
Joey was sitting at the breakfast bar, five vanilla cupcakes lined up perfectly. The grin on her face was infectious.
“You guys, line up and get your cupcakes!” she instructed. “We all have to bite together!”
Everyone nodded and did as they were told. I stood between Cullen and Jensen as Gideon went to stand next to Joey, cupcake in hand.
“When do we bite?” Jensen asked, directing his question to Joey, as she was leading this little adventure.
“I’ll count to three.Thenwe bite,” Joey explained seriously.
The tone of her voice made me think that she and one of the dads had debated the wholeon threeorafter threedebacle when it came to counting.
“I’m ready!” Cullen said, holding up his cupcake.
Joey counted down, and as soon as the word “three” escaped her, we all took a bite.
Colors aside, the cupcakes were delicious. For a moment, I considered taking a second bite before looking at the colored frosting in the center.