Cupcake Overload (Cupcakes 2)

“Sure,?

? I replied, just as Cade came in through the back, a bag of puppy food under his arm.

He looked from the puppy, to Carmen, then back to me and said, “Looks like she’s living up to her name.”

“Elin,” Elena screeched when she walked into the front door and locked eyes on CB.

“Jeez, Lena, I told you to wait for me. I want to see the house too,” Elin complained as he rushed in behind her, his backpack slung over his shoulder. Eric was one step behind him.

Elin followed Elena’s pointed finger then squealed.

“Is it ours?” he asked, falling immediately to his knees, much to CB’s delight.

She danced around him, yapping happily as he laughed along with her.

Elena was still standing there speechless with her hand thrown out. Hearing the puppy’s excited chatter broke her out of the spell, and she dropped her tote bag to the floor as she sunk to her knees next to her brother.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Elena asked, just as Cade walked into the foyer.

“She’s a girl, and yes, she’s yours,” he replied with a smile, and I’m not kidding, the expression on his face as he looked at my kids caused my ovaries to quiver.

“What’s her name?” Elin asked, giggling as the happy puppy covered him in kisses.

Before Cade could answer, I said, “CB.”

“CB?” Elena asked, looking up, her brow furrowed. “Like, quarterback?”

“That would be QB, sweetie,” Eric answered, grinning at me over the twins’ heads.

“Like CB radio?” Elin asked.

“Oh, like, Carrie Bradshaw?” Elena shouted.

That made me pause.

“How do you know who Carrie Bradshaw is?” I asked, visions of Mr. Big, Samantha, and tons of sex flitting through my mind.

“From The Carrie Diaries, duh,” Elena replied with an eye roll. “‘Member, I watched like the whole thing on Netflix in one weekend.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that my daughter’s innocence was intact, at least for the time being.

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“So, which is it?” Elin asked.

“You can interpret it however you like,” I responded. I certainly wasn’t going to tell the kids their new prized pet was a cockblocker.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Eric asked, gesturing toward the door.

I looked to Cade, then glanced at the kids, silently asking if he minded. He lifted his head toward the door, then knelt next to the trio on the floor.

“Let’s take CB outside so she can learn to piss outside and not on the floor.”

“Swear jar,” Elena said automatically.

Cade grinned and replied, “You guys are getting rich off of me,” then they walked together toward the back.

I watched them for a minute, loving the site of the back of their three heads, as they talked and laughed softly. Something about it made me feel all ooey gooey inside.