By the time we get back to the kitchen, suspicion hackles me. Finn and Tripp are waiting by the back door in their own bathing suits, both with conspiring grins.
I stop and walk back to the kitchen window and see the line of people leading to an enormous inflatable slide with a wading pool at the bottom. Declan, Robbie, Raven, Ember, and Charlie are all at the edge of the pool, dancing around with nervous energy. Charlie sees me through the window and waves her hands impatiently.
I go back to the living area, and Finn raises one eyebrow at me. “Ready?”
“Let her go!” I run behind Winnie as he opens the door.
She doesn’t hesitate and blasts through looking for a pool, then stops dead when she sees the huge slide. Her head swings to me in disbelief, and she screeches. “Aunt Presley! Can I?”
“Go, baby!” I cry and watch as she beelines to Ember, who’s waiting with her arms waving in the air.
The second she hits Ember, Robbie picks them both up and tumbles back over the side of the shallow pool. There’s a lot of screeching and cheering when Declan, Charlie, Blake, and Nate crawl up the ‘ladder’ and slide down, joining the others in the pool area.
“Oh my God.” Reese grabs my elbow. “Did they do that for her?”
“I don’t know,” I answer her honestly, looking around and taking in the expansive backyard with rolling hills and a massive in-ground pool with rock garden waterfalls. There is a pool house to the side, with an indoor kitchen and hot tub on the outline of the property. I finally allow myself to take in the enormity of the situation, and my heart starts to race.
“Surely, they didn’t… Did they?” I ask, panicked.
“Yes, they did, but don’t be alarmed. The guys are going to enjoy it as much as her.” Evelyn comes up with Jenna following, carrying one of the babies.
“Why?”
“Don’t ask questions, Presley. Just know that this was done out of love.” Jenna bounces the baby, who becomes restless, wailing.
She shifts from side to side, hushing the baby and patting it on the back until the cries become howls. I understand the sound immediately and have flashbacks of Winnie as a baby.
“May I?” I reach out my arms, and she eagerly, yet gently, puts James in my arms.
On instinct, I re-wrap the swaddle with one hand and hold him close, running my hand from his bottom up his back until he quiets and starts cooing. He looks at me with sleepy eyes, and I walk away from the group to a quiet space and hum, swaying him until he’s fully relaxed in my arms. After a few minutes, I look at Jenna and lay my head to the side to indicate he’s asleep. She comes to me and takes him, giving me a look of appreciation before going into the house.
Finn comes up and lifts me from behind, twirling me until I fall over his shoulder with a yelp.
“Is there any man that’s immune to your power?”
“I hardly think a baby constitutes any kind of power,” I cry, floundering to get down.
“Finn! Finn! Aunt Presley needs to get wet!” my traitor niece calls from the distance, and I start to wiggle more as Finn walks forward.
“Yes, Whitney! She does.”
“Please, Finn, no,” I plead. “I promise to get in the pool, but don’t throw me in.”
“I’m not going to throw you in.”
“You aren’t?” I stop protesting.
“No, we’re going to jump in.” He pulls me back, and my arms and legs wrap around him.
I notice how close we are to the edge and start to panic. I had a plan, but this was not it. I wanted to hang with the girls, drink beer, and play with Winnie, not get soaked and look like a wet rat for the rest of the day.
“Finn.” I lean in, rubbing against his growing erection. “We can walk in on the stairs like normal people. Let me down. Stop making a scene. I’ll remove my cover-up, and it’ll be all good. If you throw me in this pool, there will be no sex for a week. I can promise you that.”
His face is full of innocence as he gives me a quick nod. Before I can protest, he rips the light cover-up over my head and smiles seductively.
“You try to withhold sex, I’ll find other ways to fuck your gorgeous body.”
He takes a step back and free falls, arching to soften the blow before we both hit the water, me screeching. His arms wrap around me as he pumps his legs and brings us to the surface to a loud group of cheers.