Second time lucky

55

Riley rubbed my back chuckling as I cried all over his shirt. He had surprised me a lot today but this one actually topped them all.

He kissed the top of my head before pulling my chin to look at him. "Go say hi to your parents." He smiled.

I turned around and double check to make sure I wasn't imagining it. My parents were standing with my brother, my kids, and Spencer's family smiling at me.

I quickly walked over to them and hugged them both tightly. I breathed them in, missing the way they smelled, the way mom would make breakfast while dad read the newspaper, the way they never argued, just spent a lot of time playfully bickering.

I guess a part of me idolized them. The relationship they had together was as perfect as Averleighs relationship with Spencer and I wanted that. I wanted the perfect relationship filled with love.

"Mama why are you crying?" Connor asked as I snorted a laugh.

"Mama is just happy to see nana and papa." I smiled wiping my eyes.

"Me and Connor helped daddy with the surprise." Emelia added as I finally let go of my parents.

I crouched down and pulled both my kids into me, holding them tightly. "It was the best surprise ever. I love you both so much."

They gave me a hug before running off to play with Luke's daughter Bella. I stood back up and hugged both of my parents again before we were all ushered to the table set up at one side of the room.

I sat between my parents, wanting to be as close to them as possible while they were here, while Riley sat opposite me next to his dad and my brother.

Ava, brett, and all of Riley's siblings plotted themselves around us as the waiter came and took everyone's drink orders.

"So I'm guessing you liked the surprise?" Anna smiled at me.

"I love it. Today has just been, well, amazing." I stammered completely overjoyed.

"It should be." Shane mumbled barely loud enough for me to hear.

"And why is that?" I jested playfully.

"He's been planning this ever since bimbo Barbie left our house." Sophie added seemingly uninterested.

"This is why you're the favorite sister Anna." Riley added looking flush.

"Yeah, she was blabbering about how much she liked him blah, blah, blah, and then Riley told her he didn't like her as more than a friend, it was epic!" Shane chuckled. "Especially when she got mad and left."

"And now Jacob is the favorite brother."

"Wasn't I always?" Jacob looked up from his phone and around the table as if it were assumed he was always the favorite.

I had to admit, I didn't know Jacob as well as Anna or Riley or the twins. He didn't socialize much but was somehow still there when needed.

In fact thinking of it I had never seen him with friends, much less a girlfriend, even if he was always texting on his cell phone. I secretly always just assumed he was one of the gaming nerds who preferred to be anonymous , or maybe it was because he spent a lot of time away at school and didn't really come back unless it was a holiday.

"Of course you were." I added "you're the only brother that isn't super annoying all the time."

Grace and Allie both laughed at that as Levi found his shit eating grin I hadn't seen in a while.

"So sister, how has you love life been?" He asked causing Riley to smirk at me.

Clearly we would never be over the family dinners where my sex life was the hot topic of conversation.