Page 114 of Jay Bird

She reached down and took his hand. “Yeah.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

By the time the party had been going for a couple of hours, Willow had stopped trying to remember everyone’s names and just accepted that at some point she was probably going to call someone the wrong thing.

When Jay Bird had told her that Alpha and Bravo were close, Willow hadn’t fully understood what he had meant until today. This wasn’t a group of coworkers who occasionally got together outside of work. These two teams were family. And somehow, they had made room for her and Lily without making either of them feel like outsiders.

Willow sat on the edge of Ace and Alex’s pool with her feet dangling in the water while she watched the chaos unfolding around her. Music played quietly from speakers somewhere on the patio, the smell of burgers still lingered in the air from lunch, and every few minutes someone yelled at one of the kids to slow down, stop running, or quit splashing somebody who clearly didn’t want to be splashed.

It was loud and chaotic, but somehow, that was what made it wonderful.

She had liked Alex immediately. There was something about the woman that drew people to her, and the more Willow learned about her, the more convinced she became that Mia’s sister-in-law was some kind of superhero disguised as a normal human being.

Then there was Tenley and her husband, Potter, along with their three daughters, who seemed to have inherited varying degrees of their parents’ personalities. Frost and Autumn were there with their sons Cody and Aiden. Skittles and Anna Grace had been another easy introduction because Willow already knew Anna Grace from working at Mia’s clinic and the rescue center.

She had met Dino and Arianna, Diego and Campbell, and then Irish and Bailey, whose daughter Sienna, Willow had quickly discovered, was Amira’s partner in crime. The two girls together were apparently the reason every adult in the vicinity had learned to be suspicious whenever things got too quiet.

The two little girls had spent the afternoon bouncing from one activity to another, and judging from the resigned expressions of every adult around them, this was normal.

At one point, Sienna had come racing past the pool wearing a pair of goggles, one flipper, and what Willow was certain was a plastic tiara.

Amira had followed, carrying a water gun.

Willow wasn’t sure which one was the bad influence. Although, considering Amira had the weapon, she had her suspicions.

Mia and Stitch were there too with Camden, along with everyone Willow had already met from Bravo. Derek and Juliette seemed perfectly content to float between conversations while helping with babies, passing out snacks, and playing with the kids. Willow had caught herself smiling more than once while watching Derek crouch beside Lily to help her with something.

The intimidating commander of two SEAL teams apparently had absolutely no defense against toddlers.

It was sweet, but more importantly, Lily was having the time of her life.

“Momma!”

Willow looked toward the pool.

Lily was several feet away with Juliette, wearing purple-and-blue floaties that matched her swimsuit. She kicked her little legs furiously while Juliette held her beneath the stomach.

“Look, Momma! Swim!”

“I see. You’re doing great, bug.”

That was questionable, considering Lily had been kicking for nearly thirty seconds and hadn’t moved more than six inches, but Willow wasn’t about to crush her enthusiasm.

“Momma swim!”

Willow’s smile faltered. “I will in a little bit.”

Lily frowned. “Now.”

Juliette laughed. “She’s very persuasive.”

“She’s bossy.”

“Momma, swim!”

“See?” Juliette grinned.

Willow waved to her daughter, then looked down at the water.