“I think we’ll need more help than that with twenty-four donuts and only four of us.”
“Trust me, there will be more than four of us for breakfast,” I sighed, knowing darn well that my sisters and brothers would be over bright and early. As we pulled into my parents’ driveway, I realized I’d underestimated my siblings since there were five extra cars parked on the road in front of their house. “Way more than four of us for dinner too.”
“I thought it was supposed to be just us tonight?” Landon asked, sounding a little nervous.
“That’s what I thought, but my brothers and sisters aren’t very good at listening to me. Which is a huge part of the reason I moved to Wisconsin in the first place.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” Landon breathed against my lips, stealing them for a quick kiss after he parked the car. “I owe them a lot for being a major pain in your ass.”
“Try to remember that when my brothers ask you to play hockey out back on the pond and proceed to try to beat the shit out of you,” I suggested. “Or while my sisters take Tallie hostage and refuse to give her up unless it’s time for me to breastfeed.”
We were swarmed as we walked into the house. My oldest sister, Willa, grabbed the baby carrier as soon as we walked in the door. My other sisters, Hazel and Phoebe, quickly followed her to the kitchen after giving Landon and I hugs. They flashed me the thumbs-up sign, while pointing at Landon’s ass as they walked away.
My oldest brother, Devin, glared at them before leveling Landon with what I assumed was supposed to be an intimidating look. Gabe stood behind him, trying to do the same but the twinkle in his eye gave away the fact that he was trying not to laugh at the whole thing.
“You two better be nice to my husband,” I warned them.
“Or else what, baby sis?” Gabe laughed.
“Or else you won’t get any dumplings!” my mom called from the kitchen.
“But I’m the one who stopped and got them,” he yelled back.
“From Dumpling House?” I squealed, throwing myself in his arms.
“Of course.” He gave me a quick squeeze before setting me back on my feet. “It’s your favorite after all.”
“I think he’s my favorite of the bunch,” Landon whispered in my ear, one of his hands slid down my back while the other stretched out to shake Gabe’s hand.
I did quick introductions, pointing everyone out to him before I followed my nose and headed into the kitchen. The counter was covered with dishes piled high with dumplings, all kinds of them. Pan fried and steamed. I hugged my mom and dad, grabbing a plate as soon as I stepped away because I couldn’t wait to dig in.
“Where’s the hubby and kids?” I asked Willa before stuffing half a dumpling in my mouth.
“At home. I’ll bring them with me when I come back in the morning.”
“Same with me,” Devin added, stealing a dumpling from my plate and earning himself a glare.
“Oh, you have a husband now too?” I teased.
“The wife and kid,” he grumbled around a mouthful of food.
Landon plopped a replacement dumpling on my plate for the one Devin had stolen. My dad patted him on the back and smiled approvingly as he walked past.
“You sure you want to eat all that?” Devin asked, trying to steal another one.
“She needs to eat more,” Phoebe defended. “She’s breastfeeding Tallie so she’s still eating for two.”
Gabe covered his ears, glaring at my older sister. “Shh! My precious ears don’t need to hear anything about Zoe’s body parts.”
“Stop teasing your sister,” Mom chided.
“Yeah.” I stuck my tongue out at Devin and handed him an empty plate so he’d get his own and stop stealing mine. “If you don’t want to watch me eat, then you’d better head home because I’m going to raid Mom’s freezer for ice cream next.”
“Ice cream?” Landon echoed, staring down at my plate of dumplings. “And Chinese food?”
Crap! He’d figured it out faster than I’d intended.
“Isn’t that what you craved all the time when you were pregnant with Tallie?” my mom asked.
You couldn’t put much past my mom, either.
“Well, shit,” Devin grumbled. “We better not hurt him too badly if they have another baby on the way.”
It looked like the cat was out of the bag. I turned to Landon, pulling out the little stick I’d tucked into my jacket pocket before we’d left the house that morning. His eyes lit up when he saw the two pink lines. He pulled the plate out of my grip and handed it over to Devin. Then he tugged me into his arms and hugged me tight.