~Aubree

Breanna walked off and my once folded arms hung loosely at my sides now.

Why's my mother making that woman feel welcomed?!

“Wow... jealousy is not a good look on you hon.”

I blinked at the sound of her voice interrupting my thoughts.

“What?”

“Your face... you're jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Of your ex-husband's new woman.”

Ex-husband.

Never in my life did I think if had one of those. An ex.

I scratched the corner of my nose.

“I'm not jealous of that woman,” I told her.

“Really now?” she shifted in her seat.

“Yeah.”

“I mean, I wouldn't judge you if you were. This is new information and—”

“I said I'm not jealous, Nia! And I don't care what you think of me. I don't even have to talk to you” I frowned.

She relaxed in her seat.

“You're not? I mean if I were in your shoes, I would be.”

“Well, I'm not so get over yourself.”

She smiled a little.

“You're not mad either? I mean she took your food and—”

“What angle are you playing at huh?” I cut her off.

“Angle? I'm not playing at anything sweetie. I'm just saying it's okay to feel jealous.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

“I mean this Trisha lady... I bet she's tall, very pretty, has long shiny dark... maybe blonde or ginger hair, great smile, toned arms, and legs...” she smiled widely, “... and I bet my last dollar that she's not fat.”

I frowned at her insinuation.

“I'm not fat, Nia.”

“Yeah, but I bet she doesn't weigh a ton like you right now.”

“I'm not fat. You are.”

She chuckled.

“I have six kids, Aubree. I'm allowed to gain a little weight.”

I eyed her.

“A little weight? You look like an elephant.”

“I do not.”

“You do too.”

“Do not! You're the one with the giant belly.”

“For a few more weeks then I get my body back.”

“Good luck” she scoffed.

“I don't need it” I folded my arms.

The pump jerked at her breast and she let out a sharp cry, cussing silently under her breath. I rolled my eyes and exhaled deeply.

I'm gonna regret this.

I moved close to her.

“It's not supposed to hurt. You did it wrong.”

She looked up at me.

“What?”

“Pumping isn't supposed to hurt. Here—”

She slapped my hand away.

“Ow! Hey!”

“What do you think you're doing?”

“Helping. And believe me when I say I'm equally surprised” I rolled my eyes.

“Helping? The girls are my third set of twins, Aubree. What makes you think I need help?”

I ignore her and point to the electric pump in the box.

“Use that... it requires less hard work.”

Nia scoffed.

“I'm fine with the manual. I know what I'm doing.”

“No, you don't. And neither does my sister.”

“You don't know what you're talking about. Just get away.”

“I know you've never had to pump with any of your previous kids. And neither has Breanna when Roman was born” I tell her. “You had all the time in the world to be with your kids and Breanna with Roman.”

I go ahead and unbox the electric pump.

“I on the other hand prefer bottle feeding to breastfeeding... considering work was calling. So I know all about pumping.”

Nia rolled her eyes.

“I don't need your help.”

“I'm not doing it for you. Your daughters shouldn't deserve to starve” I let her know and point to the breast shields. “Put them over your nipples.”

I cannot believe I'm doing this.

“Both?”

“It's a double breast pump” I simply said.

She eyed the electric pump for a moment before complying. After correctly positioning the shields over her nipples simultaneously, I asked her to relax her body and then turned on the machine.

“Oh wow,” she chuckled. “It's working.”

I rolled my eyes.

“This is so weird... and I feel so funny.”

“Just try to remain calm. It's perfectly safe and you'll produce more milk in less time relaxed than anxious. Trust me.”

“What makes you think I'll ever trust you?”

I rolled my eyes again and stepped away from her to the fridge.

“How long is this supposed to take?”

“Fifteen to twenty minutes.”

“Oh cool.”

I closed the fridge again and proceeded to the pantry.

“Hey, could grab my phone and play my audiobook for me?”

I poked my head out of the pantry door.

“And what makes you think I'd do that?”

“Well, I'm not the one who offered her services to her sister-in-law so... chop-chop. Let's go.”

I pulled my lower lip in and dragged myself to get her phone for her.

“Chapter fourteen. Play it” she nodded.

I hit play and placed her phone on the counter before getting back to what I was doing. The only sound that echoed through the room walls was the sound of her audiobook.

As I unintentionally listened, I realized it was one of those mafia romance novels that probably had those humiliating naked male torsos as the cover.

Why is she listening to that?

And how long did it take Breanna to get the babies?

“A pepper rolled away” Nia's voice reached my ears.

I blinked.

“What?”

“Your peppers. One rolled away” she pointed to the kitchen floor.

I followed her finger and sighed quietly. I couldn't possibly bend.

I couldn't even see my own feet.

“Yeah. Thanks” I muttered.

“I think it's done,” she said again.

I turned to her.

“Okay. You... wanna pump again?”

She bit her lip.

“I don't know.”

I nodded.

“Well you know how it's done now so whenever you want, you can pump,” I said, grabbing a knife.

Nia jumped a little and a tiny smirk tugged at my lips. It was when the silence in the kitchen became deafening that I realized she'd stopped listening to the audiobook.

I looked up from the vegetables I was cutting and she was just staring at the milk shed pump. I was contemplating whether to ask what was wrong when she spoke up.

“I'm pumping because my milk's not coming in” she let out. “I never had a problem with my milk supply and the doctor said there's nothing wrong with me. But the girls are hardly full after each feeding... and so even though I hate it, I have to pump.”

Why is she telling me this?

“Emmett thought it'd be great to get a change of scenery. So that's part of the reason we came here.”

Okay?

“I mean, I've tried everything... mess, herbs, meditation... but nada.”

“Maybe you should stop having babies. Ever thought of that?” I asked.

She looked up at me, her eyes filling with... tears?

Wait, I broke her?

“I didn't mean it like that—”

“Yeah you did” she chuckled with a small sniff.

I bit the inside of my cheek.

“And we've already decided to not have any more kids so I'm going to let this one go.”

“Mm,” I hummed and turned my attention back to the vegetables.

“But hey not that I care for your input but... do you have any advice?”

I looked up from the chopping board and scoffed.

“I'm sure Breanna will be here any moment to give you great advice.”

“Her advice was to relax and not overthink. Not very helpful since I'm constantly overthinking this.”

“Breanna's advice was not helpful? No” I faked a gasp.

A small smile cracked on her lips and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

“I'm serious. What would you be like your advice?”

I sighed and rubbed my aching lower back.

“Well,” I began, reaching out for a paper towel and a pen that just happened to be lying around.

I scribbled down some foods, do's and don't's, and passed it to her.

“What's this?”

“My advice.”

She glanced through the list for a minute, then frowned.

“I've done all these Aubree. Didn't work.”

“Did you do it in that order?”

“It's in a particular order?” she asked, looking at the list again.

“You're welcome.”

She gave me a look and then continued to read through the list.

“Why does this come with an asterisk?”

I smirked.

“Because it's very important.”

“How is Emmett massaging my breasts supposed to help with my milk production?

“Oh trust me... it helps... a lot.”

She made a slightly disgusted face.

“Did Riccardo do that to yours?” she asked quietly.

“All the time,” I said with a smile. “And so if it doesn't work for you, then I'm sorry but my brother wasn't gifted with magic fingers.”

She snorted out a laugh.

“Oh, he has magic fingers.”

She did not just say that.

I chuckled.

“Good.”

She smiled at me and then folded her arms.

“I bet Trisha is making very good use of Ricky's magic fingers now.”

My smile drops into a small frown and I make a face at Nia.

“I don't care about that Nia.”

“Right. Right,” she nodded, fighting back a smile.

“And who even names their child Trisha?” I pouted. “Like Trish? Trash? Trish trash Trisha?”

Nia let out a loud laugh.

“Okay, now you're just being petty.”

I rolled my eyes.

“What are you doing anyway?” she asked, stopping at my side.

“Making mushroom and tofu stir-fry.”

“Wow, that sounds surprisingly good.”

I eyed her a little.

“You hate mushrooms.”

“No, I lied about that to get out of eating your aunt's exotic mushroom soup.”

I chuckled and shook my head.

“That soup did not sit well with any of us.”

“Right?” she chuckled. “If I help, can I have some?”

“No.”

“Hey!”

“No.”

“Oh come on. We've gone close to forty minutes without killing each other and you don't wanna share your meal?”

“I only gave you tips... from one mom to the other. That... doesn't make us friends or meal-buddies.”

“And your tips included the consumption of tofu. You're making a tofu meal. How am I supposed to just sit down and let it pass me by?” she folded her arms.

Smart move.

I sighed.

“Fine.”

“Yes!” she cheered in a whisper.

“Just this once” I quickly added.

She scoffed.

“You don't have to tell me twice because I'm not planning to share a meal with the devil ever again.”

I smiled.

“No problem. But the devil never forgets to call in those who owe him a favor” I smirked. “And so when I do, you'd better be available to deliver.”

Nia folded her arms.

“If the favor's for the right reasons, I'd do more than just deliver.”

I smirked.

“Deal.”

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

~Brie

“Oh not again” Avery sighed as her phone rang yet again.

“Someone's popular today” I teased.

She let out a humorless laugh and shook her head.

“It's not what you think Brie” she sighed. “It's my cousin... Josie.”

“Well if I know anything about cousins, I know she's not going to stop calling till you pick up.”

“But I'm at work and she's only calling to complain about something.”

I smiled.

“But a cousin doesn’t ignore calls from her cousin, right?”

I shook my head sympathetically.

“No, she doesn’t, Avery.”

“Okay,” she sighed and swiped the bar over her phone's screen before hitting the speaker. “Hi, Jo,” she said, trying to sound upbeat.

“Kill me now!” her cousin exclaimed in the most dramatic way possible.

I arched a brow.

Oh wow.

Avery rubbed her temple.

“The wedding is going to be in June, of course, and I’m going to look like a complete fool!” Josie lamented. “She knows I want to get married in June. What a copycat!”

“This isn’t really about you, Josie” Avery muttered very lowly.

“What?”

“Aren’t you happy for Livy? She’s going to marry the love of her life” Avery said instead.

“But she’s my little sister, Ave! And she’s getting married before me. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?”

When Avery didn't respond, her cousin kept going.

“No, but of course you don’t, because you’re an only child and never had to deal with sibling rivalry and competition. It’s brutal, Avery. Trust me. And now everyone is going to give me sympathetic looks and think Olivia is the prettier one because she snagged a man first. Oh, God, this is awful!”

I think Aubree missed her twin.

Avery sighed.

“It’s already November, Jo. By the time June gets here—”

“You need to meet me right now, Avery. I need a shoulder to cry and a latte ASAP.”

“I can't. It's almost my lunch break and I've already made plans with my girls. We're having lunch together.”

“You're picking your work friends over me?”

“I can't just up and leave work for you. We'll talk when I get home.”

“Ugh! Nevermind. I'm going to get my nails done. Bye.”

The call ended and Avery groaned loudly.

“Noodles?” I asked.

“Yes please” she sighed heavily.

I nodded.

“Let's just wait for the rest of the girls then we'll go get noodles okay?”

“Mm-hmm,” she whimpered playfully, making me chuckle.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

~Aiden

The moment my conference call wraps up, I'm dying to see Breanna and take her out for lunch.

“Would you like anything else, Mr. Corleone?”

“No. Thank you, Cynthia.”

“Okay. Well if it's okay sir, I'd like to take my lunch break now.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

“Thank you” she smiled and stepped out of my office.

I could take her out to this new place that recently opened out of town. I'd just make up an excuse saying I need someone to take pictures and bring her with me.

I get up and go and look for her.

She’s seated with Avery and Cynthia, chatting away.

They're probably waiting for Megan.

I walk up to them and clear my throat.

“Can I see you for a moment, Miss Nolan?”

Avery stopped laughing mid-sentence and Breanna looked up at me.

“Sure,” she said. “Be back in a minute, girls.”

Avery nodded. I led her to the hallway and stopped.

“Hey,” I said and nudged her with my elbow.

“Hi?” she murmured, chuckling a little and pressing her arm against mine.

“How are things going?”

She arched a brow.

“Good. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?”

She smiled.

“You called me just to ask how things are going, Aiden?”

I shrugged.

“Why not? I can't do that now?”

She chuckled.

“Yes you can.”

I nodded.

“Good” I glanced down at my watch. “It’s lunchtime, though. Care to join me?”

“Aiden...”

I sighed.

“I know, I know. You have plans with the girls but I feel like I haven't seen you in ten years and I can't just ignore that, Breanna. I need to see you, talk to you, touch you.”

“Aiden, shh,” she warned me, glancing around.

But the temptation was too much, and I pulled her into my office and closed the door. Passion infused me and I yanked her into my arms and kissed her hard. She instantly melted, arms wrapping around my neck, and kissed me back with unbridled fervor.

“God, Breanna, you taste so good,” I whispered.

Her nails scratched the back of my neck, sliding through the hair above the edge of my collar and I stifled a groan. I wanted to bend her over the table, flip her skirt up, and sink into her sweet wetness.

Get it together, Aiden. Anyone could come in, I reprimanded myself.

But she smelt so damn good. With a low growl, I dropped a kiss behind her ear and locked down my desire.

“Are you trying to get me in trouble?” she asked in a throaty whisper.

“I’m the boss, baby. And I say it’s okay to sneak off and have a stolen moment. You know how much I love our stolen moments.”

Breanna pulled back and straightened my tie.

“Well, I love our stolen moments too.”

My mouth curved and I gave her another quick kiss.

“How about dinner? Tonight” I suggested.

She sighed.

“I'm babysitting my nephews and nieces. My brother's taking his wife out for dinner.”

“Can't Zach babysit?”

She chuckled.

“No.”

I pouted.

“Which reminds me... he getting married and he wants you to be his second best man.”

I arched a brow.

“I'm sorry... what?”

Breanna nodded.

“Wait, you told him?” I grinned.

“Not exactly.”

Oh.

“But his fiancée wants Aubree and I to be maid-of-honors and Riccardo and my boyfriend to be the best men.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed, tilting her head to give me a sweet kiss. “Plus my parents want you to come to Thanksgiving dinner at our house.”

I smiled.

“I'd love to.”

“Except everyone would know my boss is my boyfriend and a scandal is the last thing I want for us, my love” she sighed.

I nodded.

Right.

“Well, how about we go to DC for the weekend?” I asked before she caught on to my troubled look.

“Washington?”

I nodded.

“Just the two of us?”

“Just us.”

She nodded with a smile.

“I'd love that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, Aiden.”

I smiled.

“Perfect.”

“Well, I've gotta get to lunch with the girls so.”

I nodded and gave her a swift kiss right before opening the door from her.

“See you later then, Miss Nolan?”

“Of course, Mr. Corleone” she replied with a sultry smile before sashaying away.

Thank you so much for reading! ✨