“Yeah. Oh, well. New beginnings.”

“Amen to that!” she hoots before hopping up. “Well, I’m ready. Do you still wanna go? You seem bummed.”

Shooting up and out of bed, I nod. “No, I’m good. I’m excited for my first college party.”

And I am.

But I’m pretty sure the root of my excitement is knowing that soon, Jace Sinclair will be looking at me with those naughty, sex-filled eyes. And even though everything inside me is telling me it’s a bad idea…I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.

“So, we have news.”

I look to Claire, who is bouncing in her seat, and I’m sort of thankful for the change of subject. The thought of Mom dating makes me gag, and the looks Mom and Coach have been sending each other are hard to ignore. But thankfully everyone glances up at Claire, and by the looks on everyone’s faces and Claire’s and Jude’s smiling faces, I’m sure we all know what is about to be said. For some odd reason, it’s way easier to think of my brother and his wife making babies than my mom dating. Probably because I’ve walked in on them more than once, and the thought of walking in on my mom makes me want to die. Plus, what they are about to say is expected. They’ve been married like five years or something, Jude is killing it in the NHL, and Claire is rocking her job in Vegas.

First comes love, then comes marriage¸ then comes my sister-in-law and brother with a baby strapped to his chest.

It’s just so disgustingly cute.

I look over to see my mom grinning hard as she wiggles with excitement. She is about to be super happy and that’s good. She needs this. She really wants another grandbaby, but I haven’t heard anything about this. They must have been keeping it a surprise.

Before they can even confirm or deny, Mom yells, “You’re pregnant!”

“Mom!” Jude cries as Claire laughs, shaking her head.

Oh. Okay.

“That’s the first thing I thought,” I say, surprised.

“Me too,” Lucy and Jayden say at the same time.

“Oh, wait, you’re not pregnant?” Baylor asks.

“Oooh. I want a cousin,” Angie proclaims.

“Can someone pass me the mashed potatoes?” Markus asks and I shake my head.

This family.

“No! Jeez. Am I getting fat or something?” Claire asks, more to Jude than anyone else. Like the good husband he is, he shakes his head, holding her hand in a reassuring way.

“No, not at all,” my mom adds quickly. “It’s just you’ve been married so long.”

“Not even a year, Mom. That’s not long.” Jude shakes his head. “Jesus.”

“Really? I thought it was like five years.”

Lucy scoffs at my math. “I know. They are so sticky sweet in love, it makes us feel like we’ve been subjected to it longer than we actually have.”

I laugh in agreement as Claire clears her throat.

“Anyway…” Claire sings with laughter in her voice. Really, that’s all she can do.

Laugh at the insanity of this family.

“We bought a house here,” Claire says excitedly, her hands waving in a jazz hands sort of way that has my brows rising. I guess she figured everyone would be excited too.

But looking around, I’m sure everyone is thinking the same thing I am. “Why?” Jude sends me a dirty look at my question, and I hold up my hand. “I mean, I don’t understand why you did that when you live in Vegas and Jude lives in Cali.”

“My contract with the burlesque club is coming to an end, and I’ve turned down the renewal because I miss Jude and I want to be home more. I’m already turning over more to my Assistant Choreographer to make the transition faster.”

Silence comes after that last statement, and I can tell everyone is confused. Well, everyone except Coach, Markus, and Angie; they are all eating happily. Not a care in the world.

“I don’t get it,” Lucy says and I smirk. Leave it to my sister to say what all of us are wondering. But like he did to me, Jude starts to glare at her. “What? How is buying a house here helping?”

“Because, when the season is over, we will be living here.”

“Yeah, starting next year, I’ll be running my aunt’s dance studio a lot more since Reese is so busy with the boys,” Claire adds happily, speaking of her…er…cousins? I don’t know how that works. Phillip is her uncle, so, cousins? But before I can try to figure it out, everyone is nodding, so I do the same. Still not getting it, but oh well. Maybe I’ll actually see Jude more now. That is, before I sign my own contract and ship on out.

“So we’ll have a house in California and one here.”

“I’ll spend half the week here and half the week there,” Claire says.

“That’s a lot of travel,” Mom says, concern on her face.

But Claire nods. “Yeah, but it’s what’s best for us. We are happy.”

“And that is all that matters,” Mom says with a grin. “Because then you’ll start trying for a baby, right?”

“Ugh, Mom,” Jude groans.

“What? I want more grandkids.” Mom’s gaze then falls on Baylor.

“Whoa! Don’t look at me. They are more likely to have kids than us,” she says, hooking her thumb to Jude and Claire.

“Um, no, and it only makes sense that you guys have a kid first ’cause you live here. Easy babysitters,” Jude teases down to Jayden and Baylor.

“No, I can’t play and be pregnant, dumbass.”

“So? Do your job as a woman and have a baby,” Jude throws back at her, his eyes playful. But even I knew he was a dead man the moment he opened his mouth. The women at the table gasp, and laughter sputters out of me.

God, he is a dumbass.

“Jude Marshall!”

“Really, Jude?” Lucy asks as Claire shakes her head.

I look to Coach, but he’s just laughing. “Man, she’s gonna kill you.”

“Your funeral.” Somehow Markus is able to comment around stuffing his mouth as I sit back and watch the show.

As I expected, Baylor’s eyes narrow, her face turning red as she declares, “My job as a woman is to murder you, Jude Sinclair.”

“And I won’t stop her,” Jayden adds.

“Neither will I,” Claire says and Jude just shrugs his shoulders.