“Okay, first of all, I knew this from the beginning,” Cooper said. “I can even tell you where we conceived, that’s how soon I knew she was preggers. We were—”

“Stop,” Hannah and Zoe said together.

“Coop, know your audience, buddy,” Zoe said, gesturing to the two very curious children looking at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, right,” Cooper said. “I’m going to have to get used to that, aren’t I? Anyway, I’m just saying I totally called it. Didn’t I, Cookie?”

“That’s actually true,” Amelia said. “I didn’t even know I was pregnant, and Cooper looked at me one morning and said I looked pregnant, and he wanted the record to show that he thought it was twin boys. And I said that was probably impossible, but you never know. And we found out yesterday he was right.”

The room went dead silent. Even among the dust and debris, you could have heard a pin drop.

“Did you just say twins?” Brynn asked.

Amelia beamed. “Yep. Both boys.”

“Holy shit,” Leo said. “Two baby Coopers?”

Cooper puffed out his chest and put a protective hand over Amelia’s belly. “Is anyone really surprised? Of course I’d make two babies at once.”

“This is amazing,” Brynn said, rushing over to hug Amelia.

“Aw, you big goofball,” Zoe said, hugging Cooper.

“Congrats, you guys,” Roland said. “Wow, life is definitely getting interesting.”

“Okay, Chase and Brynn,” Zoe said. “When is it your turn?”

Brynn and Chase smiled at each other. “We’re talking about it,” Brynn said. “Soon.”

“Do Mom and Ben know it’s twins yet?” Roland asked.

“Nah, we’ll tell them when they get back,” Cooper said.

Madeline tugged on Leo’s pant leg. “Daddy, are Grandma and Grandpa coming?”

“No, sweetheart,” Leo said. “They’re still on vacation. But they’ll be back soon.”

I glanced around at our broken-down surroundings. This was sweet, but we didn’t need to keep standing around in my dilapidated house. “Well, now that you’ve seen it, we can go get some food or something. It’ll be a while before I’m ready to entertain guests. But there are a bunch of good restaurants in town.”

“Okay, but can we talk about how scary this house is?” Cooper asked. “Seriously, Gracie, this place looks like it’s going to cave in.”

Everyone looked around, murmuring in agreement.

“You know, we can help,” Chase said.

“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate that, but I didn’t ask you guys to come over here to put you to work.”

“Yeah, but—”

Chase was interrupted by the sound of a loud engine outside. A very loud engine, followed by rowdy voices. I sighed. Of course they were here.

“Hang on a second,” I said, and went to the front door.

Four men poured in, still talking to each other. Arguing, really. Typical brothers.

“Guys,” I said, raising my voice so they’d hear me.

They all stopped, looking around—whether at the house or my family, I wasn’t sure.

“So, guys, these are my brothers and sisters and their families. Roland, Zoe, and their son Hudson. Chase and Brynn, and the furry one is Scout. That’s Leo and Hannah, and their little ones are Madeline and Zachary. And that’s Cooper and Amelia.” I paused to take a breath and gestured to the newcomers. “These guys are my fiancé’s brothers. Evan, Levi, Logan, and Gavin Bailey.”

“We’ve met,” Logan said, and pointed at Brynn. “I was part of the entertainment at her bachelorette party.”

“Oh right, the firefighter,” Brynn said.

“Dude,” Cooper said, pointing at Levi and Logan. “Are you grown-up twins? We’re having twins. It’s like seeing into the future.”

“Identical,” Logan said, glancing at his brother. “Sweet, man. Are yours boys?”

“Yep.”

Logan grinned. “Awesome.”

“Grace, can we talk about this?” Levi asked, looking around, his brow furrowed. “This place is worse on the inside.”

“Exactly,” Cooper said. “I like him.”

“I know, I know.” I put my hands up. “It’s a fixer-upper. That means it needs a lot of fixing. But I got a full inspection, so I know what I’m dealing with.”

“Can I get a copy of that?” Levi asked, wandering farther inside.

“Later,” I said.

Logan put his hands on his hips. “I don’t think it’s that bad. Don’t worry, Grace. We’ll whip this place into shape.”

My brothers glanced at each other, giving subtle nods, as if acknowledging that I’d be fine. And that was true. Asher’s brothers had always taken care of me. His whole family had.

“Who wants pizza?” I asked.

Hudson’s hand shot into the air. “Me.”

Madeline glanced at her cousin and giggled, then copied him. “Me.”

“All right, Baileys, scoot,” I said, trying to shoo Asher’s brothers out the door. “You can come with us to pizza, but I don’t think any of us wants to hang out here in all the dust anymore.”

“That’s fine, Grace,” Evan said. He was the second oldest, and also tallest, at six-foot-four. “We’re on our way to Gram’s anyway.”

“But, pizza,” Gavin said. He was the baby of the family.

“Later, Gav,” Logan said, slipping on a pair of sunglasses. “Grace, we’ll see you later. Miles fam, nice to see you.”

The Baileys said goodbye, then went out and piled into Logan’s muscle car. It ran some of the time, so he loved driving it when it did. The engine started with a loud rumble as the rest of us made our way outside.

I gave everyone the name of the pizza place and basic directions. My hometown wasn’t very big, so I didn’t think they’d have any trouble finding it. They all got in their cars while I locked up.

I had to jiggle the key again to get it to lock. With a deep breath, I touched my fingertips to the door. One step closer. The house we’d dreamed of was mine, and when Asher got home, it would be ours. I’d waited six years. Only two left.

I’d survived this long without him. I could wait a little longer.