Bea waves him off and rotates the phone screen so I can see Imane in her car seat and she can see me. She’s beaming, black curls peeking from under an orange fuzzy hat. Her big brown eyes match her dad’s, but the rest shines through all Bea.

“There’s my baby,” I coo.

Through the random word sounds, I catch a “Remi here,” and my heart squeezes. She changes so much between updates, and I seek out every one.

“Say Thanksgiving wasn’t the same without you, sissy.” Bea coaches her while handing her a plastic key ring of shapes.

Foster and I spent it with Chase and Colt’s family.

Imane answers in baby, ignoring the toy entirely and desperately reaching for the phone instead. And then the world ends when her mom won’t give it up.

I wince at the cry and screech, but she’s too fucking adorable to really care about eardrums.

Bea flashes me an apologetic face that she backs up with a, “Sorry. Love you.”

She passes me back to Roman in the driver’s seat, and he’s wincing along with me.

“I’m so sad I missed this part with you.” He smothers it in sarcasm, causing me to laugh.

“Yeah, I can sense the unshed tears. Get your girls home.”

“Two of my girls,” he corrects. He smiles but with a seriousness beneath the surface. “We’re not done here. When you have time and are ready, I want to finish our conversation. Then you can tell me more about this Foster guy who’s responsible for you being so fucking happy.” Imane starts to calm behind him, so he lowers his voice. “I’m proud of you, Remington. Stay standing, and remember I’m here for it all. I’ve got you through the good, bad, great, and ugly.”

The words act like his hugs, warm and grounding. What Roman’s always been for me. Despite the cost to him.

“Same. Good, bad, great, and ugly,” I repeat.

“We love you,” he says, and I tell him I love them too. Then he adds, “Warn Foster I’m holding him responsible if anything happens to you. But I won’t lie, I haven’t even met the man and already prefer him watching over you to Xander.”

His nose wrinkles in mock disgust, the call ending before I can even respond. Not that anything I say would matter.

Despite his best efforts, Xander still hasn’t fully reversed Roman’s first impression of him.

To be fair, when my roommate answered our apartment door last Christmas in only low-slung sweatpants—and I mean low—he didn’t expect Roman to be on the other side. Neither did I.

It was Imane’s first Christmas, and Bea’s family was there visiting.