Our Favorite Days (My Favorite Mistake #3) (32 page)

“I will throat punch anyone who says anything like that. Seriously. Becoming a mom is making me lose my chill again.” She flexed her fingers.

“Maybe you should get back into kickboxing.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I’m going to be so glad when I can move without difficulty that I think I’m going to want to go nuts. Of course, I’ll be chasing after them.” She smiled when she said it, though.

“And I’ll be right behind you, baby.”

She kissed my nose.

“Only so you can check out my ass.”

“Well, it is a great ass. Have you seen it?”

“No, I haven’t seen any part of myself for a long time.”

We both laughed and I pulled my wife close.

“I love you, Mrs. Zaccadelli.”

“I love you, Mr. Zaccadelli.”

“N
o one is going to criticize your name,” I said to Lucky Taylor Zaccadelli, my son.

“They wouldn’t dare,” Hunter said as he held Lucy Seven Zaccadelli.

Lucky opened his eyes and looked up at me.

“Hey, little man. Welcome to the world.”

I had never been so exhausted or so happy in my life. I’d gone into labor early, but had been able to deliver both babies without a C-section. They were a little small, but not dangerously so, and they were both healthy. A complete miracle after Hunter and I had been doing so much worrying for so many months.

“Switch?” Hunter said and I passed him Lucky as he gave me Lucy. She looked so much like Hunter and Lucky was definitely more me. I hoped they got the best of both parts of us.

Lucy yawned and it was so cute I started to cry. I had the feeling I was going to be doing a lot of crying now that they were here.

Hunter scooted onto the bed next to me and I looked down at our two little spawns.

“Now would probably be a bad time to ask how many children you think we should have.” I turned to give him a withering look, but he just winked.

“Kidding, Missy. Kidding. I’m happy as we are right now. With these two.” He softly kissed Lucy’s head and that made me tear up again.

“Stop making me cry, dammit,” I said, reaching for another tissue.

“I can’t make any promises. But I’ll do my best, Mrs. Zaccadelli.” It was official now. A week after we’d had our ceremony at Norumbega, we’d gotten a marriage license and then signed the paperwork at the courthouse with Mase and Darah as witnesses. Quick and easy.

“Can we come in?” Darah said, knocking softly at the door and poking her head in.

“Yeah, come on,” I said, smiling. She and Mase came in with balloons and two little teddy bears from the gift shop.

“Oh, they’re just as cute as they were an hour ago. Maybe cuter,” Darah said. Our friends and family had been coming and going all day. This had been one of the first times Hunter and I had been alone.

“Can I?” Darah asked after washing her hands, her enormous engagement ring sparkling as she dried them off.

“Of course,” I said, passing Lucy to her as Hunter handed off Lucky.

“So, what do you think, Dare? You want a pair of these someday?” Mase said.

“Someday, John. Not right now.” She and Mase would be moving into their apartment in Portland next week. We were going to have a going away party for them when I got home from the hospital with the babies and I was already feeling their absence like a dull ache.

We were still going to see them all the time, but it wasn’t the same. Renee and Paul were staying, as well as Jos and Dusty, who were moving upstairs into the room Dara and Mase had vacated.

Hunter and I had talked about renting out the basement and Jos’ friend Hannah had expressed interest, but hadn’t committed yet.

Renee, Jos, Dusty and Paul showed up a few minutes later, along with Hope and John. We weren’t supposed to have so many people in the room at once, but I didn’t care. I’d rather have the room too full than have it empty.

Mom and Tawny couldn’t squeeze their way through, so most of our friends said they were going to get something to eat and they’d be back to see us tomorrow.

“So, I’m thinking that I don’t want to be called Grandma,” Mom said, rocking Lucy as Lucky slept in Hunter’s arms. The nurses said we could put them down, but we didn’t want to.

“Okay, what do you want to be called?” I asked, reaching for a cup of water.

“I was thinking Gigi. It sounds much nicer and doesn’t make me feel old.” I laughed.

“Okay, if that’s what you want to be called, I’ll do my best. But I can’t promise anything. The two of them might come up with something that you don’t really like, and you’re gonna be stuck with it.” She just smiled down at Lucy.

“Doesn’t matter.” Oh, she was smitten. It was hard not to be. Hunter and I made adorable babies, and I wasn’t being biased. I would fight anyone who said they weren’t the cutest babies on the planet. As soon as I could move from this hospital bed.

I’d come to terms with not going back to school next semester and now that the babies were here, I couldn’t imagine wanting to leave them to even go to the bathroom, let alone for the whole day. Hunter still had to get his Master’s and then do his student teaching, so the two of us had a while to go yet before we’d be settled in careers. Things were in flux. Life was busy and chaotic and unexpected.

As if to illustrate my point, Lucky let out a noise somewhere in the region of his diaper and Hunter made a face.

“I grew them, you change them,” I said, but he was already heading over to the little changing station. Lucky certainly didn’t like having Dad messing with his clothes.

Mom shook her head and handed Lucy back to me to go help Hunter.

“Men, you are so completely helpless sometimes,” she said and helped Hunter get the finicky and screaming Lucky out of his dirty diaper and into a clean one.

“Oh, buddy, it’s okay,” Hunter said, gently bouncing Lucky until he quieted.

“Not bad, Dad,” I said, giving him a thumbs up.

“How can something so small be so terrifying?” he said.

“Because you’re responsible for them,” Mom said.

“Oh, right, that,” I said. “You mean we have to actually feed and take care of them? They won’t just do it themselves?” Mom gave me a look.

“Hey, I just pushed out two humans. I’m allowed my sarcasm.”

Lucy made a little noise as if to agree with me.

“See?”

“Oh, just you wait,” Mom said with a smirk on her face. “Just you wait.”

There is one person that, above all, I have to thank for this book. That is Magan Vernon. When I was stuck, when I was worried that I was going to be able to even write this book, you were there. You inspired me, you helped me and this story wouldn’t be what it is without your input. It is undoubtedly a better book because of you. Seriously. I heart you, Twitter Wife.

Additional thanks go to my always patient editor, who was up 20 hours straight working with me on this, as well as Naarah Scheffler, who has been such a huge fan of Hunter and Taylor since the very beginning and who helped with her excellent eyes and knowledge of these characters.

Thank you to my formatter (who is a saint), my publicist who was like WHEN ARE WE DOING THIS, and all the people in my sCAMmers group on FB for being so excited and so supportive.

WAYYYYYYY back in 2012, when I first met Hunter and Taylor, I had always envisioned a second book. Always. I have had this story simmering in my head for nearly four years and it is FINALLY out of my head and onto the page. I couldn’t have done this without all of the people asking me “are Hunter and Taylor getting another book?!”. I thought that maybe after a few years the requests would die down because I didn’t think I was in a place to write this book. But then… there they were. Asking me. Begging me. Glaring at me to finish their story. I cried twice while writing this book. It was like seeing my babies all grown up. Hunter and Taylor have lived in my brain for so long. I don’t think they’ll ever leave and I don’t want them to. I’m just so glad I could continue their story and bring it to the place I always wanted it to be. Thank you for sticking with them and for wanting this story. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Thank you.

Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA/NA and Adult
New York Times
/
USA Today
Best Selling author from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer.

When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.