Dean laughs and hits me with a disbelieving look. “I said we’re pregnant.”
“Who’s pregnant?” I bark.
“Norah and I.”
“Are you serious?” My jaw drops, and I look around at the group of guys who all seem to be in the know already.
Dean chuckles and adjusts his dark-framed glasses. “It’s not really a thing you joke about, so yeah. I’m serious.”
“Holy shit, man, congratulations!” I pull Dean into a hug and slap him on the back. “That’s amazing. I didn’t see this coming so fast. You just got engaged!”
“I know.” Dean laughs again and takes a sip of his IPA. “It wasn’t exactly planned, but we’re both really happy about it.”
“As you should be.” I clink my glass with his and have flashbacks of Jessica having Everly. We were so happy back then. And in love. Or so I thought. I never saw what was coming.
I quickly shake that thought away. “Becoming a dad is the most incredible experience.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait…although I can because Norah really wants to get married before the baby comes.”
“I can understand that,” I reply knowingly. Jessica and I had a similar situation fresh out of college.
“Which is why I wanted to talk to you.” Dean looks at me with an odd expression. “Norah wants to get married before the baby is born, which means by this fall at the latest, and well…all the good venues are booked up already.”
“Okay…” I respond, still wondering how this involves me.
“We want something small with room for an outdoor tent…maybe a little scenic view…like a little creek or something.”
My eyes lift to the sky. “I see where this is going.”
“Something like…” He gestures out to my property with a shit-eating grin on his face.
I sigh heavily. “Dean?”
“Max?”
“Would you like to use my home for your wedding?”
Dean feigns surprise as he places a hand on his chest. “You want to host our wedding? Wow, Max. I mean…boy…I’m not sure…we’ll have to really give it some thought…hell yes!”
I laugh and shove him away from me. “You are about as subtle as a boulder falling in my pool, Dean Moser.”
“I know.” He smiles gleefully and cups his hand to his mouth to yell down to the girls by the pool. “Sugar butt, Max said yes!”
“Yes!” I hear a high-pitched squeal from Norah, and all the girls lean in to figure out what she’s excited about.
“Seriously, Max, you’re the best.” He throws his arm around me and looks toward my sprawling backyard. “This is going to be perfect.”
“Do you have a date in mind already?”
“Thinking mid-October, maybe?”
I grin and shake my head. “I’ll have my assistant clear my schedule.”
Miles holds his beer out. “Congrats, Dean. I’m happy for you. It’ll be nice to add another kid to the group.”
“Hopefully a boy,” Dean says, clinking his glass with Miles’s. “Not that I wouldn’t love a girl. But I wouldn’t trust your son and my daughter growing up together.”
“Fair enough.” Miles laughs and turns his attention to Sam. “Now it’s your turn.”
Sam shakes his head. “Just because you nut jobs are all popping out kids doesn’t mean we are. Maggie and I are enjoying our time with just the two of us.” Sam winks at the group.
Miles groans. “That’s my fucking sister you’re talking about, bro.”
“You just told me you wanted us to have a baby,” Sam argues with a laugh. “You do know how babies are made, right?”
Miles looks ill. “I need more beer.”
After we eat, it starts getting dark out, so we have the kids change into pajamas and all curl up in the theater room for a movie. Everly looks so happy having friends over. It’s not something I’ve ever really let her do, and I realize I need to change that.
The ladies work on getting the girls settled so I head down to the creek to start a fire on the beach. Cassandra is the first to join me with a fresh drink in hand.
“I’m sorry for crashing your party, eating your food, and drinking your alcohol. Mercedes…I mean…Kate is not an easy person to say no to.”
“Oh, trust me, I’m aware,” I reply, stirring the fire around with a long stick and sending sparks up into the air. “And don’t worry about it. You’re not crashing at all. You were invited.”