Seven days pass by in a blink, and every morning, I’ve woken up with Emily in my arms. We’ve quickly fallen into a routine, and each morning, we have a cup of coffee before work, take turns making breakfast, and often shower together to save water, or at least that’s the joke. Though the Richard thing pisses me the fuck off, he’s only given us an unexpected opportunity to move our relationship to another level. Usually, I’d have taken things much slower, but now that she’s practically living with me, I don’t want her to leave. Today is our first day off since everything happened, and we’re due to be at the ranch soon for that birthday party, though all I want to do is crawl back in bed and get naked.

“Are you almost ready?” I ask, leaning against the doorway as I watch Emily go back and forth between what to wear.

She turns from studying the sundresses lying across the bed and looks at me in complete frustration.

“Okay.” I hold up my hands but keep the smile on my face. “You should just wear the dress you have on. You look great.” I walk forward, pull her into my arms, and plant a kiss on her lips.

She sucks in a deep breath. “I texted Kiera some pictures, but she was zero help. If it were up to her, I’d be dressed like a go-go dancer twenty-four seven.”

“For once, I don’t disagree with her.”

She releases a light laugh. “I know I’m probably overanalyzing it, but I want to look nice. It’s only a birthday party with your entire family who probably already know everything about me.” She shrugs her shoulders, looking defeated.

I give her a pointed look, then smirk.

“I just want to make a good impression since your sister will be there, and I haven’t met her yet.”

Running my fingers through her hair, I pull her face into my hands and force her to look into my eyes. “Courtney is the most laid-back of them all. Trust me when I say as soon as you two meet, you’ll feel like you’ve known her for life. She has that kind of personality.”

She slightly relaxes. “I’m taking your word for it.”

“Also, Mama rented a bouncy house, and there’s going to be lots of kids, food, and cake, and probably Kool-Aid. So if you know what’s good for you, don’t wear anything too nice.” Finally, she lets out a laugh, and I grab her hand and lead her to where the gifts are in the living room.

One day after work last week, we went shopping for the triplets. Emily insisted on smart pads and stroller ride toys that we’re going to have to ship to California for Courtney afterward.

“Don’t forget the birthday cards,” Emily says as she picks up one of the big boxes wrapped in pink paper. I grab them from the table and pick up the other two boxes. After I lock the door, we walk through the garage, and I can already tell it’s going to be hot as hell today.

Glancing at Emily, she smiles at me, then climbs into the truck. As we drive to the ranch, we talk about a little of everything, and being around her feels natural and comfortable. It’s then I realize how much I’m going to miss being with her every day like this. Though I’ve lived alone for years, I’m already used to having her around. Not to mention the morning sex. Getting up early is no longer an issue for either of us. Not many people around here fully understand this work lifestyle, so it’s nice to have a companion who gets it. When Richard’s finally caught, and she goes back to her condo, it’ll be strange having an empty house again.

By the time we make it to my parents’ house, I can tell Emily’s nerves have gotten the best of her again. After I park, I grab her hand, kiss her knuckles, then look into her eyes. “Stop worrying. You’ll get wrinkle lines,” I tease. “Everyone already loves you.”

She smiles. “We should’ve brought vodka.”

Laughing, I shake my head. “No spiking the punch.”

“Damn. You’re no fun.”

I wink back at her, hoping she’ll finally relax and just be herself. There’s no reason they won’t like her, so I’m not the least bit worried.

After we grab the gifts from the back, I lead Emily to the backyard where everyone is huddled at picnic tables near a big bounce house with an inflatable slide. Dad is barbecuing, and I hear Courtney laughing with Jessica and Dylan. If my hands weren’t full of gifts, I’d grab Emily’s hand to give her an extra ounce of courage.

“That’s Jessica, right? The girl who emceed the auction?” Emily asks.

I chuckle. “Yeah, that’s Jessica, Dylan’s lady. Mama adores her quirky personality.”

“She could’ve written a book about all of you with how accurate her descriptions were.” Emily gives me a smirk.

“Don’t get cocky,” I tell her, bumping her arm with mine.

As soon as I walk up and we set down the gifts, Courtney stands and basically jumps into my arms.

“My big brother! I missed you.” She gives me a squeeze.

“Are you drunk?” I ask with a chuckle.

She gives me her signature shut-the-hell-up look. “No, I’m just happy to see you.” Courtney glances over at Emily who’s smiling sweetly.

“Court, this is my girlfriend, Emily.” It seems like everyone stops talking and looks at us, but I try to ignore them because it feels so natural to call her that. Emily’s smile grows, and I interlock my fingers with hers. The electricity that streams between us is so damn powerful that I can’t help but smile too. Kiera is sitting by Benita and Aunt Charlotte, and she lets out a big aww. It’s the first time I’ve admitted that publicly, but I want the whole world to know at this point. Emily is mine—exactly the way it should be.

Courtney immediately hugs Emily. “I’m so happy to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you.”

Emily laughs. “I hope all good things. Nice to meet you too.”

“Totally wonderful things. Oh, you gotta meet my husband, Drew.” Courtney waves him over from the guys. He’s carrying one of the triplets in his arms, and I notice River and John are holding the other two.

“This is Drew.” I look at Emily and see her cheeks redden. I hold back a laugh because she thought Drew was me the morning after the wedding. Though we’re both built the same, we’re opposites.

“Hi, there,” he says.

“Oh my goodness. They’re adorable,” Emily says, glancing at the triplets. Courtney dressed them in matching “I’M ONE” birthday shirts, and admittedly, it’s kinda cute.

On cue, Mama walks up. “I could always use some more grandkids.” She winks at Emily and me.

“You’re a greedy grandma,” Alex says loud enough for everyone to hear, and River giggles, thankfully breaking Mama’s attention away from us.

“And it’s time for more. I want a minimum of twenty grandbabies to spoil, so y’all need to get to work.” She points at all of her kids.

As soon as Mama walks away, Courtney speaks. “Hell to the no. I’m d-o-n-e, done.”

“That’s what I said too,” Viola says, with Kayla next to her. Kayla is carrying her daughter in her arms and gives me a smile. Courtney met them in college, and the last time I saw either of them was at Courtney’s wedding three years ago. There’s a quick introduction, and I know Emily’s head is spinning with all of the names. Luckily, she’s sober this time so she can retain all the information.

I’m so happy to see everyone here. Considering Mama insisted the birthday party be held here for the kids since she barely gets to see them during the holidays, Courtney decided she wanted all the aunts and uncles in one place, which meant she dragged all her friends here—Travis, Viola, Kayla, and Logan—along with all the kids. I see Logan and Travis are chatting with John, and I give him a wave.

“Well, we know why you had tons of kids,” Courtney tells Viola, glancing over at Viola’s husband, Travis. He lifts his hands as if he’s not guilty.

“Keep on talking, you’re just jinxing yourself,” Viola tells Courtney. “Once you open the flood gates…”

“Exactly,” Kayla says. “I swear it’s in the California water.”

“Well, you’re up next, Kay,” Court tells her. “Seriously. We’ve got three. Viola has three. You need to push out two more.”

Emily can’t stop laughing as they go back and forth about getting pregnant and having more kids.

“Technically, we have two, so keep your mouth shut.” Kayla points a finger at Courtney, but she doesn’t even flinch. “Skylar is my stepdaughter, and our other daughter, Abigail, is only one, so trust me, we have our hands plenty full,” Kayla tells Emily.

“See what you have to look forward to.” Courtney looks at Emily and crosses her arms, then bursts into laughter.

Emily’s mouth drops open. “Uh. Guess Evan wasn’t joking when he said his mama would be asking about weddings and babies.”

“Did someone say Courtney’s pregnant?” Jackson stands up and yells across the way, causing everyone to look over at us again.

“Shut up, Jackson! No one’s pregnant,” Courtney narrows his eyes at him.

“Come on Court-Court, it’s nothing to be embarrassed over.”

Courtney flips him off where only he can see it, and as she opens her mouth to tell him off, one of the triplets starts crying, and Drew tries to calm him, but it’s no use. Emily asks if she can hold him, and Drew hands him over. As soon as Emily has him in her arms, he stops crying.

“You’re so cute with your big blue eyes,” Emily tells him, and he just stares at her.

“Looks like you’ve got some competition.” Courtney elbows me with a laugh.

“What’s his name?” Emily asks.

“This one’s Anderson. River is holding Creevey, and John has Delaney.”

Emily’s eyes light up when she puts the pieces together. “They all have last names as first names.” She smiles when Courtney confirms with a nod.

“Drew and I couldn’t agree on anything, which meant naming three babies became impossible. So instead of trying to decide on three random names, we decided to go with a theme. It was either names of presidents or last names, but ultimately the vote went to the latter.”

“I love it. What a cute idea.” Emily makes a silly face at Anderson, and he giggles.

All the Bishop kids have blue eyes and look exactly like we did when we were little. Anderson is an exact replica of Courtney as a baby. I glance around at them and see Alex holding Riley and can’t help but think of how much of my heart my nieces and nephews already have. Being an uncle is one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced.

Kiera and Benita walk up, and I leave the girls to chat, but before I walk away, I steal one more look of Emily holding the baby and take a mental snapshot.

I walk over to the picnic table where all the guys are sitting and take a seat. Drew, Travis, Logan, Benita’s husband, Aaron, and John are talking about sports, so naturally, I change the subject.

“How was the flight?” I ask Drew. I think back to the first moment I met him and basically threatened to kill him if he hurt my sister. Glad he didn’t. He actually turned out to be perfect for her. He’s a police officer, and I know he’s taken good care of my sister all these years. Watching her get married was hard because she’s my only sister, but knowing she was marrying a guy like Drew made it a tad easier.

“Nothing like flying with three babies.” He laughs. “If it weren’t for having extra sets of arms, I’m not sure what we would’ve done. Luckily, Skylar is old enough to help out with Logan’s baby girl, so Kayla and he also took turns holding the babies.”

“I’ve heard it gets easier,” Travis adds, glancing over at his daughter and two sons in the inflatable house. “Thank goodness they aren’t babies anymore, though, or that flight would’ve been a fucking nightmare.”

“Daddy! Watch me!” I hear Ginny, Travis’ daughter, calling from the bounce house. She tries to jump and touch her toes at the same time. All the kids are laughing and yelling as they jump around. Benita’s twin boys and Skylar are in there too.

“Yeah, baby. You’re doing good.” Travis walks over and watches her. “Go ahead, James. Good job, buddy,” he praises when James does a somersault in the bounce house.

“Come on, Daddy. Get in with us,” Ginny begs, and the other kids start begging too. He looks at Drew and me, and we wave him on. Kid peer pressure at its finest.

“Adults can get inside; just ask Jackson,” I tell him. One time, Jackson rented one of them for his and John’s birthday a few years ago as a joke. Nothing like watching a handful of adults play inside of a big, pink, blow-up princess castle.

Travis takes off his shoes to join the kids, and soon, they’re all screaming and laughing.

“So you and Emily are officially a thing, huh?” John asks, taking a sip of sweet tea just as Jackson walks up and plops next to me.

“What are y’all talkin’ about? That fine ass you’re officially datin’ now?” Jackson turns to me with a shit-eating grin.

I grunt. “If you didn’t look just like him, I’d swear you were adopted.”

John laughs. “It’s not easy havin’ the same face. Trust me. The other day in the grocery store, this random woman walked up and grabbed my ass with both hands.”

“Who was it?” Jackson asks. “Might need to give her a call.”

“I have no idea. I got the hell out of there as quick as I could.” John gives me a pointed look. I can’t even imagine having to deal with anyone who’s hooked up with Jackson. Most of them are full-blown psycho. Or he just turns them that way.

“Food’s ready,” Dad announces, carrying a couple of trays to the table where the rest of the food sits. On the other table are the three birthday cakes Mama made for the triplets and then another large cake for the rest of us to eat.

I stand and walk over to Emily, placing my arm around her as we walk to the line to make our plates.

“You were right,” she whispers, looking over at Courtney.

“Aren’t I always?”

“Look at these two lovebirds.” Jackson whistles, patting me hard on the back. He’s trying to embarrass me, but if he keeps it up, he’s going to be the one put in an awkward situation. Just on cue, Kiera walks up, and Jackson stops talking. I smile at him, then turn to Kiera.

“So how’re you and Trent?” I ask nice and loud. “Where is he today, by the way?”

Emily’s eyes widen as she tries to stifle a laugh. Jackson groans behind me, and if I had to guess, his hands are probably balled into fists too.

Kiera is either completely oblivious or just ignores him. “Wonderful, actually. He got an emergency call out this morning and had to head to work.”

“What a shame,” Jackson comments quietly, but by the scowl Kiera makes, I’m positive she heard him.

“He’s a great guy. Very kind and treats me right.” There’s a glow on her face that I don’t miss. “And he isn’t afraid to tell me how he feels, which is a nice change of pace,” she adds. I’m pretty sure that was a direct burn meant only for Jackson.

“That’s great to hear, Kiera.” I pull her into a side hug. Even though I haven’t been around a lot when she was younger, she’s like another little sister. “Everyone deserves to have someone who makes them happy,” I say, just as Mama walks up.

“Hey, honey.” Mama hugs Emily, then looks between the two of us with a smile, but she doesn’t say anything. By the look on her face, she doesn’t need to. I know exactly what she’s thinking. She’s overjoyed that I brought her here today, and if I’m being honest, I am too.

Mama goes to Aunt Charlotte, and I hear them chatting about the weather. The sun beams down on us, and I’m happy there’s a breeze at least. It’s only May, and if this is any indication of how the summer will be, then the guys are going to sweat their asses off working in the pastures.

Just as we make our way to the table, I see Dad made enough hamburger patties and hot dogs to feed an army. Probably because Dad doesn’t really care for crowds and prefers to occupy himself with the grilling. I grab a paper plate and hand one to Emily. After we prep our food, we find our place at the picnic table with Alex, River, and Riley.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” River tells Emily.

“Yeah, me too. What a great day for it, too.” Emily looks at the inflatable house.

“We should go jump in it after we eat,” I tell her.

“No way,” she says before taking a bite of her hamburger.

“You should. It’s actually a lot of fun,” Alex encourages. “Riley giggles the whole time when I take him in there.”

“Maybe.” Emily smiles.

“You two are too cute.” River looks at Emily, then back at me. Emily blushes but hides it behind her burger. “And good to have around. Someone needs to keep Evan on his toes,” she teases.

John sits on the other side of Emily, and Kiera joins us too. Jackson is too busy giving Courtney a hard time, but she secretly likes it. Those two are always giving each other shit; they’ve picked on each other since we were kids.

I place my hand on Emily’s back and listen to her and John talk about Houston and how she liked growing up there. It’s the most words I’ve heard him say to someone he doesn’t really know in a long time. Though I really shouldn’t be that surprised. She has a way of breaking people out of their shell. It’s part of what makes her a great doctor—people feel like they can easily trust her.

“I’m going to wash my hands real quick,” I whisper to Emily.

“Okay.” She gives me a smile, then pops a pickle into her mouth.

As I’m walking to the house, I look around at all the people who showed up for the birthday party and feel so damn blessed that this is my family. We give each other a hard time, but that’s what I love most about them. All the different personalities mingle together to make for a damn good time.

I walk up the back steps of the porch, then walk inside. Once I’m in the kitchen, I turn on the water and pour soap into my hand. Benita comes around the corner and scares the shit out of me.

“Shit,” I mutter.

She leans against the counter and lifts an eyebrow. “Don’t be so damn jumpy.” She chuckles. “So…” She lingers for way too long, and I can already guess what she’s going to say.

She’s just as bad as Mama when it comes to gossip, but I trust her. Basically, if I want to know anything about what’s going on in the family, I know she’s the cousin to call.

“Yes?” I ask with a smile.

“I can’t believe you’re actually dating someone. I’m really happy for you, Evan,” she says.

“Thanks, B. It’s been a while.” I turn off the water and dry my hands and look at her. “I just had to find the right woman. That’s all.”

Benita smiles, and we head toward the door. “I think you did. You two seem perfect together.”

I nod my head with a grin. “She makes me happier than I’ve been in a real long time.”

We walk back to the party and sit down at the table. I watch Emily laugh and smile when she talks to River, and I wonder how I got so lucky. Maybe taking a page from the “Bishop brothers dating book” wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“He’s fussy,” Alex says when Riley refuses to eat. He keeps pointing at the bounce house and mumbling something.

“He wants to go back in.” I laugh. “I’ll take him.”

“Are you sure?” River asks.

“Yeah.” I stand and lift Riley into my arms, and he gives me a smile, showing his one tooth. Emily watches me, and I shoot her a wink.

“Come on, buddy.” I slip my shoes off and step inside. He instantly starts yelling and laughing with excitement as I barely bounce around.

“Y’all okay in there?” Alex peeks inside the door with a smile. He lowers his voice. “So when’s the wedding?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I ask.

“Between you and Emily,” he jokes.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t you dare let Mama hear you say that, or I’ll be kicking your ass.”

Alex laughs, and so does Riley. Like father, like son.