Page 20 of Blizzard Babies

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I shake my head. “I don’t think so. I did what had to be done.”

“Yes. Which makes you a hero.” He kisses me. “My hero.”

“They named the baby Charlotte.”

“Of course. Because you are a hero.”

I laugh. “You’re silly.”

“I am serious.” He turns so he can look into my eyes. “You are brave and beautiful and a hero. That is all.”

“Okay.” I smile into my handsome husband’s eyes.

I trust him, and he’s right more often than not.

So who am I to argue with something so profound?

Chapter 11

Laurel

Three months later

“I thought Gage forbade us from ever going to breakfast again?” Whitney asks, giggling as she takes a bite of her pancakes.

I snort. “You really think my husband is the boss of me?”

“Kind of?” Sara cocks her head. “Like literally, if not figuratively.”

“Potato, potahto.” I wave a hand as I nibble on a piece of bacon. “And anyway, I kind of didn’t tell him we were meeting for breakfast.”

The four of us momentarily freeze as we look from one to the other.

Then Charli snickers.

And we all burst out laughing.

“Really?” Whitney wrinkles her nose. “You lied to him?”

“I didn’t lie,” I say patiently. “I told him I had things to do. I simply didn’t include the details.”

“Uh huh.” Charli bites her lip. “I feel that. I didn’t tell Miikka either. I told him I was going to run errands.”

“Exactly.” I nod. “See?”

“I didn’t tell Aaron,” Sara says thoughtfully. “But that’s only because he left at the ass-crack of dawn to go golfing, so he wasn’t around.”

“Um, I told Jack,” Whitney whispers, looking guilty. “Was I not supposed to? I feel like I broke some kind of girl code.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” I chuckle. “He’s had a hard time with me going anywhere by myself since the accident, you know? It’s not worth stressing him out. But I’ll tell him when I get home.”

“Or, you know… now.” Sara has a funny look on her face.

“What?” I twist around to find Gage, Miikka, and Jake coming into the restaurant.

“Okay, who ratted us out?” I turn to Whitney and narrow my eyes. “It was you.”

“Sorry.” Whitney playfully hangs her head.

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