Chapter 3
“Have we got everything we need?”
“We have two babies.”
Zari rolled her eyes at East.
“I mean all the stuff we need for the babies.”
“We do, Zari. Come on, get in.”
“Let me just…”
“Zari!”
She got in the car.
There were two car seats in the back, and the twins were already strapped in. They were being driven, because Zari trusted Alex behind the wheel.
“Mia and Deon and Jayla…”
“They’ll come straight over from their classes. Rachel and Julia are both already there. Will you stop worrying?”
“Okay. Stopping it right now. Everything will be fine. Of course everything will be fine.
She got in and immediately turned to East and started worrying again.
“Maybe we should’ve done a small thing, just us having dinner or something. We could have eased into the whole grandchildren thing. Maybe that would’ve been a better idea.”
“Zari…”
“Yes. Yes, of course. Stop worrying. Stopping right now.”
But she didn’t stop, not until he took her hand and held it tight.
“It’s going to be fine, right?”
“Zari, look at it this way. I don’t care what they think. I care what you think. You’re more important to me than they are. You’ve loved me more than they have. They’re the ones on trial here, not you. I promise you that.”
“Doesn’t feel like that.”
“That’s because you care. You’re the one who matters to me, Zari. I promise.”
Zari relaxed a little.
Things had been better for a week. A little mortifyingly, the babies had started sleeping through the night when she’d loosened up a bit, and East had refrained from pointing out that her stress had probably contributed to their restlessness too. But she’d felt it.
All their markers were excellent, and the doctor was pleased with everything. The doctor had been especially pleased with her own improvement, a little embarrassingly.
East had been spending more time at home. She hadn’t asked him to, but he’d understood. He’d postponed most of his overseas trips. She wasn’t sure how he’d managed it, and she knew that time zones meant he might be losing more sleep than she was, but he was handling it.
Mia was happier. Deon looked more rested. Deon loved having East around, as did Jayla.
Zari was happier, too. She was rested, at least. Maybe she would even come to terms with the fact that her children were already millionaires. East had already set up trust funds for them, though they were still negotiating the terms of them. Still, they were negotiating terms instead of fighting over whether they should have those trust funds at all, so that was an improvement. Everything had improved.
Things were looking better.
That’s exactly why Zari expected the evening to go absolutely terribly.
“Relax, Zari. It will be fine.”
“Even you don’t sound too certain of that!”
East grinned.
“Well, I am the black sheep of the family.”
“I don’t understand that. I don’t understand that even a little bit. Your family is nuts.”
“Good.” East managed to lean over the baby seats and plant a kiss on her forehead.
“Remember that. They make absolutely no sense and so are in no position to judge you.”
“Great,” muttered Zari, picking at her cuticles nervously. It was a habit she’d gotten rid of years ago. Apparently, meeting her baby daddy’s parents could bring a lot of things back.
“You’re lucky, you don’t have to deal with any of this.”
“I have to deal with my family,” pointed out East. “Ready?”
“Here? We’re already here? I… How do I look?”
“You look absolutely fabulous. I love you.”
Zari melted a little bit. She knew he meant it.
She’d started to feel better about her changed body after that evening when he had…
She got a little heated when she thought of it.
“You’re thinking about the last time we were here. Want me to send them all away so we can do that again?”
Zari grinned.
“Wouldn’t that go down well. Let’s get this done, East.”
Zari worked efficiently. Years of waitressing and bartending made you very efficient. She had the babies in their slings—and didn’t East look adorable with little Angie in her sling—and was ready to go in under two minutes.
They held hands on the ride up and Zari was grateful for the support.
“You weren’t half this nervous about meeting me. You stood your ground with me.”
“Because I had the choice to walk away. Now… Now I love you. That means that your family will be my family whether I like them or not and I would prefer that they like me.”
“You’re my family, Zari.”
“I know, but…”
“They’ll be here in ten minutes. You’re my family. You’re mine. Everything I have is yours, if only you’d take it. This is your home, as much as our home. Don’t forget that. You’re not a guest here.”
Zari frowned a little, but her nerves settled when she saw how perfect everything was. Rachel and Julia had definitely worked wonders.
“The nursery here is ready. Why don’t we get the babies settled?”
Zari nodded and the babies, miraculously, cooperated. She had just enough time to freshen up before she heard the voices from the living room.
“East! Well, doesn’t this all look domestic. And so boring, dear. I don’t know how my son could possibly have such boring, prosaic tastes.”
“Hello, Martha, Tim.”
Zari didn’t think she’d ever get used to anybody calling their parents by their first names.
“Where are the stars?”
Zari grinned. Cole, of course. Thank heavens he was there.
“All three of them are in the nursery.”
“Well, then.”
Zari barely had time to brace herself before a timeless, gorgeous woman breezed into the nursery.
“Where are my son’s babies?”
Zari didn’t have time to introduce herself before Jeremy let out a piercing wail.
“It’s okay, honey, that’s your grandmother.”
“Please, let’s not go there. Oh, you’re picking him up. Well, that’s one way to give your children attachment issues. We raised our sons to be independent. You must be Zari. The mother.”
“This is the love of my life and the mother of my children, Zari Davis,” said East firmly and walked in just as Angie started crying, too, as if in sympathy. Before East could get to Angie, Cole had stepped in and neatly scooped her up. Like magic, Angie settled.
“There, come now, my angel. Let’s go into the kitchen and see what deliciousness Rachel has whipped up, shall we?”
“I do hope it’s sugar and gluten-free. I’m on a fast,” declared Martha.
“If you’re on a fast, it can hardly matter, Martha. Zari, my mother, Martha Cooper.”
“Yes, of course. I recognize you, obviously. You look wonderful, Ms. Cooper.”