💝Please VOTE & COMMENT💝
Jace was sitting on a park bench as he watched the way his girlfriend interacted with the twins. This morning, Riele had insisted that they needed to go to the park across the street and spend some time there, saying that it was not good for little children to spend the weekend holed up in the small apartment, and Jace had agreed reluctantly.
At the moment, the twins were playing in the sand box, trying to make sand castles with Riele's help while Jackson was playing with some of the other children of his own age, a little further away.
Jace looked down to where Ruby was still asleep in the bassinet beside him. The baby yawned and stretched her plump little arms, sleeping peacefully. Smiling fondly, he tucked the light blanket securely around Ruby's feet from where she had kicked it away in her sleep before looking back up at Riele. His smile grew big when she pulled a funny face causing the twins to giggle. He loved the way she cared for his children.
"She's a really nice girl, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she's so beautiful" Jace couldn't stop the words from flowing out of his mouth.
"I....I'm sorry I didn't..." Jace turned to face Mrs. Barnes, blushing fiercely.
"It's....it's.... uhm... She's really great with the kids" He rephrased but Mrs. Barnes gave him a knowing smile.
"It's okay Jace, I know you like her" She handed him his coffee and sat beside him.
"Thank you, Mrs. Barnes" Jace smiled softly as he took a sip from his cup.
Mrs. Barnes smiled back. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Besides, you two make a cute couple" She said and Jace's cheeks flushed at the comment.
"Th...thank you, ma'am" He spoke shyly.
"Jace, look, look, look!!!" Riele called out, her voice filled with excitement.
Turning around, Jace's face split into a huge grin, his eyes twinkling with joy as he witnessed the scene in front of him.
His little nephew, who had been paralyzed ever since the tragic accident that killed his family, was now standing up on two wobbly feet with Riele's help as she encouraged him to take a step forward.
"Come on, sweetheart, you can do this! Come on Alex" She encouraged him as he shakily lifted his right leg and placed it in front of his left one.
"Yes, baby, that's it! Just one more step. Come on honey, you can do this!" Riele's voice shook as she spoke, tears pooling in her eyes as she watched the toddler take careful steps.
Mrs. Barnes pulled out her phone and started recording it while Jace watched awestruck.
After managing to take a few steps, Alex started to lose his balance and Riele didn't want to pressure him so she picked him up and spun him around as the little boy screamed in delight.
Setting him down, Riele pulled him into a tight hug, peppering his face with kisses. Her eyes were moist from emotion. "My sweet little prince, I love you so much. I'm so proud of you, sweetheart!"
"Love you too, mama" Alex whispered into her shoulder causing Riele to freeze in shock.
Pulling away, Alex paled, staring up at her with a frightened expression. "I... I'm sowwy..."
Riele shook her head, a goofy grin spread across her lips. "Oh honey, it's alright. You can call whatever you want and I would be honoured if you called me mama" She said, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.
"I can?" Alex asked, still looking at her with trepidation.
"Yes, sweetheart" Riele nodded her head, smiling widely. She all but jumped to joy when Alex had called her "mama". She could surely say that this was the most memorable moment in her life.
Watching the scene unfold before him, Jace couldn't help but grin happily. Tears of joy blurred his vision and he could feel a couple of them escape his eyes as he wiped them away while Mrs. Barnes dabbed a handkerchief at the corners of her eyes.
When Riele recovered from her initial shock and got her overwhelming emotions under control, she picked up the child and literally bounded over to Jace.
"Jace! Jace, did you hear that!? Alex called me "mama"!!! Oh I can't tell you how happy I am right now. My little prince has called me "mama!!!" She couldn't contain her excitement.
Jace gave her a pained smile as his thoughts drifted back to the day when Alex and Abi called his sister "mama" for the first time and the way his sister had danced around the house for a whole day claiming that it was the happiest day of her life.
Coming out of his reverie, Jace managed to catch the last part of her sentence. ".........it won't be long before Abi and my baby love call me "mama" too!"
Her squealing had woken up the sleeping baby in the bassinet beside him. Jace had no time to say anything as Ruby started screaming, tears spilling from her tiny eyes.
"Here, let me take her" Riele said, setting Alex down in his wheel chair before picking up the baby from the bassinet.
"Oh I'm so sorry, baby love. Mummy was just being a little too excited" She held Ruby with practiced hands, swaying from side to side gently. Little Ruby rocked back and forth in Riele's arms, her screams died down slowly. In less than a minute Ruby was taking huge gasps of air and was blinking her red eyes at Riele.
"Aww, you're choo cute, my baby love" Ruby giggled when Riele tickled her belly and pinched her cheeks.
Jace couldn't help but stare at Riele with such adoration. She was a natural at handling his kids.
By this time, Abigail had toddled over to where they were standing and Mrs. Barnes picked her up, sitting her on her lap.
"Hey, Jace, I was just thinking uhm.....ahh.... will it be okay if we go out for lunch?" Riele asked, a little hesitantly.
"Ahh... I don't know, Rie" Jace said unsurely. He didn't want people to make fun of Riele for going out with a penniless debilitated guy like him.
"Come on, Jace, please. Alex is finally able to walk again and Jackson is going back to school on Monday so I thought we should all celebrate" She gave her best puppy eyes and Jace couldn't say no to her.
"Okay" He conceded and Riele squealed once again, this time somehow Ruby joined in as well, giggling and clapping her hands. Jace shook his head, chuckling at Riele's enthusiasm.
"Mrs. Barnes, can you call up your husband and see if he can join us too?" Riele requested.
"I will call him right now, dear" Liz said and dialed Cooper's number as Riele went to get Jackson.
After lunch, Cooper went back to work while the rest headed home. Putting the twins down for a nap and making sure, Ruby was securely tucked in her crib, Riele went back into the living room where Jace and Liz were waiting for her.
"Okay, so let's start talking about the twins' Birthday party" Liz spoke excitedly as she pulled out a notebook and pen.
"Yeah, so I was thinking we should order a Scooby doo cake for Abi and a dinosaur themed one for Alex. What do you say, Jace?" Riele turned to her boyfriend, asking for his opinion.
"Ahh, that's a good idea but I'm not sure if I'll be able to bake them in my present situation" He admitted wistfully.
"Oh that's okay, Jace, we were planning on ordering them anyway. Also, we should plan the menu for dinner. I was thinking we could set up a play area for the little kids. The twins want to invite their friends from the Day Care" Riele spoke further and Jace blinked in confusion.
"Ahh, how big is this party going to be, Rie?" He inquired, feeling a bit worried.
"Oh it's just going to be our friends and family, let's say about fifty to sixty people" She answered.
"What!?" Jace squeaked out. "But....but, I can't afford that kind of a...."
"Jace, calm down, babe, I'll take care of everything and I was thinking we should hold the party at my parents' place" She suggested.
"Uhm... are you sure your parents wouldn't mind?" Jace asked doubtfully because he had a strong feeling that Mrs. Downs did not like him very much.
"Don't worry about it, baby, I've already talked to my dad and he said we could use the ball room for the main party. The dining room can easily fit at least a hundred guests so that's not going to be a problem. As for the play area, I thought we could set it up in the backyard" Riele explained her plans.
"Wow, you have it all figured out" Liz said, impressed as she started making note of everything they would need for the party. The two women continued their planning until late in the evening. Riele noticed that Jace barely spoke a word during the whole time, opting to listen quietly and speak only when spoken to.
That night, Riele helped Jace into bed and pulled the blanket over his chest before settling down herself. When she crawled under the covers beside him, Jace's good hand automatically wrapped around her as she snuggled into his side.
"Jace, you've been really quiet ever since we came home from lunch. Is there something that's bothering you?" She asked, playing with his shirt buttons.
"Ahh... No, Rie, it's nothing" Jace waved it off but Riele knew he was lying.
"So, something IS bothering you. Tell me, what is it? Was it me? Did I do something wrong?" She pressed further.
He shook his head and turned on his side to face her. "You didn't do anything, babe. It's just this afternoon when Alex called you "mama". My sister acted the same way when the twins first called her mama" He said and that made her realize that they weren't HER kids. Not even close.
Riele shook her head, silently scolding herself for acting so inconsiderate. She was too exuberant over Alex calling her "mama" that she didn't really think about how Jace would feel about his niece and nephew calling her "mama"
"Oh I....I'm so sorry, Jace. I didn't realize that...."
"No need to apologize, Rie. I'm glad you're here for us. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us" Jace quickly assured her, moving closer so he could reach out and slowly stroke her cheek before planting a sweet kiss on her lips.
For the next few weeks, Riele and Liz went crazy with preparations. Jace dropped his two cents every now and then but he was content with just watching things unfold.
Finally, it was the day the twins' turned four and Riele woke up bright and early, excitement radiating off of her. She went to the twins' bedroom and kissed them on their little foreheads lovingly. "Happy Birthday, loves!"
She then went back to their bedroom to wake Jace up so he could finish doing his stretching exercises as part of his physical therapy treatment. She was very happy with her boyfriend's progress. Jace was now able to walk around the house without the crutches but of course, he couldn't do so for longer periods of time. The doctor had assured them that within a week or two, Jace will be able to go back to work.
A couple of hours later, Mrs. Barnes, Ella, Zendaya and the others arrived, and the women locked themselves up in the bedroom to dress up the twins in the costumes Riele had personally designed for them. Abigail was dressed up as Princess Belle while Alex was dressed up as Superman.
Abigail's Outfit
Alexander's Outfit
"Jace, I have laid out your clothes on the bed and I'm going to get Ruby ready for the party. Are you sure you can manage putting them on or do you want me to help you?" Riele asked, picking up the baby and planting a kiss on her chubby cheek causing Ruby to giggle as she tried to grab Riele's curls.
"I can do it, Rie. You guys should go get dressed" Jace smiled softly.
Riele smiled back and nodded her head as she carried Ruby to the other room. She put the baby in a cute baby blue gown while she chose to wear a red strapless dress, pairing it with a simple diamond necklace her father had gifted her for Christmas last year.
Riele's Outfit
Jace was admiring the twins' outfits and he looked up when he heard Riele enter the room. He had a hard blazing look on his face as he slowly got to his feet and walked over to her, taking her in his arms causing Riele's friends to smirk as they exchanged knowing looks.
Jace brought his hand up and caressed her cheek, staring deep into her captivating brown eyes. "You look so stunning in this dress, babe" He said, his tone oozing with desire.
"Th....thanks, baby. You're looking so handsome" Riele was a blushing mess as she felt the familiar tingling sensation between her legs becoming more evident.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in an effort to collect herself but her eyes flew open when she felt his lips on hers and tongue in her mouth as he began kissing her deeply.
Zendaya and Liz had to cover the kids' eyes when the kiss became heated while Bella simply stood there, grinning. It was Ella who decided to interrupt their make out session.
"Ahh, guys, we're going to be late for the party" She said causing Jace and Riele to jump apart, blushing wildly. The others simply covered their mouths and chuckled, looking at the flustered couple.
"Y...yes, we should go" Riele said, picking up Ruby's bassinet and quickly walking out of the apartment before her friends could start teasing her.
Everyone had fun at the party, the adults sipped on their wine as they chatted with friends while the kids had a blast playing various games. Riele's cousin, Samuel had brought his daughter, Zoey, who was a little older than Ruby and the two seemed to hit it off instantly as they babbled to each other cutely.
Throughout the evening, Irene put on a fake smile and pretended to take part in the conversation but in reality, was only waiting for an opportunity to put her plans into action. Howard, who was infuriated when he found out about the birthday party, had given her strict instructions to break Jace and Riele up by the end of the week and that's what she was going to do because a lot was at stake if that didn't happen.
When Jace excused himself to go to the restroom, Irene saw her chance as looked around to make sure no one was watching her before following behind him. When he heard the door close behind him, Jace turned around to see Irene standing there, her lips curling upwards in devilish delight.
"Mrs. Downs? What.....what are you doing here?" Jace asked, his heart hammering inside his chest.
"Hi, handsome" She spoke in a seductive voice as she locked the door and started walking towards him.
To be continued.....🙈
❤Please COMMENT & VOTE❤
A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you liked the chapter 💖 I would love to hear your thoughts.