After seeing Leanne scream her head off once, Trev had no idea if he could face her doing that again. He adored Melanie, and he was delighted they had her, but watching his wife suffer hurt his heart, especially when there was nothing he could do. Belatedly, he greeted Miguel with a casual hug and listened carefully as his friend introduced the kids.

“Marco is twelve. Teresa is ten. Manuel is seven. Tatiana is four. Are you sure there’s space for everyone here?”

“The younger kids can play in the nursery. I hooked up a console in the living room for the older ones, and I have multiple games that allow up to four players.”

Miguel grinned. “I can see you’ve thought this out. I stand corrected.”

“It’s only for a few hours anyway to give your wife—and you—a break.”

“I really appreciate it, man. She’s waiting in the car, so I’m taking off. We’ll be back after the movie.”

“Not a problem.”

Miguel headed out, leaving Trev and Dante to entertain a bunch of children. About an hour in, things settled into a reasonable groove, with Evonnie schooling Marco and Manuel in a racing game. Tatiana wandered into the nursery to check out the toys, and Teresa preferred reading quietly, keeping to herself.

Dante drew Trev aside to whisper, “If my sisters find out I’m babysitting for Miguel, I’ll never hear the end of it. They’ll keep their kids at my house.”

Trev laughed quietly. “I won’t tell, but Evonnie might.”

Without looking up, the girl said, “Oh, I’m totally telling my aunties on you.”

“Damn it,” said Dante.

A few hours later, everyone finally exited, leaving the apartment a mess. Trev was tidying up when Leanne finally got home, and he dropped the dish towel to head straight for her. He’d never get tired of this, never get tired of seeing her smile brightly, never weary of holding her in his arms and breathing her in.

My butterfly. My love. My life. My wife.

“Looks like you had a productive evening,” she observed.

“So. Many. Children.”

In fits and starts, he filled her in on how the night had gone, and she told him about Hazel Jeffords. This…he freaking loved this—the debrief at end of day. No matter how busy they got in life, he adored taking these moments to share everything with each other. When she got to the part about Hazel’s new bumper sticker, he cracked up laughing.

“She is too much. To think she got on your nerves in the beginning.”

“Right? Now I can’t imagine our meetings without her. Is Melanie okay?”

“She’s sleeping for now. I just fed and changed her like half an hour ago.”

“So…we have a few moments of privacy?” Leanne raised her brows in suggestion, and Trev leaned in for a kiss.