James looked around the great room of his in-laws’ Carmel beach house, a warm, open space that was very different from his former, rather stuffy residence in England. He and Madelyn had spent a considerable amount of time out here in California over the past few years to visit her sister and nieces, and would be spending even more time in the area after she retired next spring.
“One more spring Fashion Week,” she’d promised him. Then they planned to sell her apartment in New York, buy a home here in Carmel, and split their time between California and the flat they owned in London. When they weren’t traveling, of course, something they looked forward to doing a great deal more of come spring.
Their wedding anniversary would occur in less than two months time – on Valentine’s Day. They had been married in Paris nearly four years ago, in a simple but very romantic ceremony witnessed only by Madelyn’s sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and their husbands, as well as James’s son and daughter and their spouses and children. His family had welcomed Madelyn into their lives with warmth and affection, and had been all too happy that he had finally been reunited with his long lost love.
Madelyn shook her head as the two extremely rambunctious boys began to chase one of Robert’s prized Australian Shepherds around the room. But the young dog followed its inbred herding instincts, and instead began to lightly nip at the children’s heels, bringing them back in line. She laughed as this action repeated itself several times.
“I think perhaps their parents ought to buy themselves a herding dog – or two – to keep those little devils in line. Though it’s already too late to save their clothes, I’m afraid.”
One of the boys – Noah – had spilled juice on his neatly pressed tan slacks less than five minutes after the evening’s festivities had begun, while his twin – Justin – had lost his navy pullover sweater somewhere and his white oxford shirt was untucked and wrinkled.
By contrast, their female cousins – Daisy and Summer – were sitting contentedly on the window seat on either side of their father as he patiently helped them take their brand new Barbie dolls out of their packaging. The little girls were each wearing the gorgeous Christmas dresses that Maddy had sent them a few weeks ago – a red and black plaid taffeta for Daisy, and a white satin and green velvet for Summer. Like their mother and their aunt before them, the twins were never dressed exactly alike, their parents insisting that the girls establish their own identities. Except that Daisy and Summer were very much alike in both looks and personalities, just as their far rowdier male cousins were.
“Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes,” announced Natalie. “Nathan, do you mind pouring another round of champagne for everyone, please? Well, except for Julia, of course.”
Julia was four months into her second pregnancy, and it had already been confirmed that this time she would only be having one baby and not another set of twins. The news had actually come as a huge relief to her and Nathan, since their two sons were more than a handful.
Lauren patted her sister’s gently rounded bump, hidden behind a Tiffany Rose maternity dress of mulberry jersey. Julia insisted on being stylish even during her pregnancies, though her usual stilettos had been replaced by lower heeled pumps. “So you’re finally going to have a little one you can dress up in lace and frills. Not to mention being able to decorate the nursery in ten different shades of pink.”
The ultrasound Julia had undergone just a few days ago had revealed that this new baby would be the girl she’d always wanted. She had been shocked with her first pregnancy to learn that she would be having not one but two boys, but that realization had only been the beginning of her surprise. Because instead of being placid and docile like she had been as a child, Noah and Justin had been little devils from the time they could crawl. They constantly got into mischief, could rarely sit still, and were always getting dirty. Julia was usually exhausted after a day with them, and happily let Nathan take over when he got home from work. Working full time was out of the question for her, and she now handled design projects working from her home office as time permitted – which was not nearly as often as she would have liked given the amount of time and energy her sons demanded.
Julia heaved a tired sigh. “And I sure as hell hope this one decides to take after me, and not you. I still say our babies were switched at birth. There’s no other logical explanation why your girls are little angels, and my kids are – let’s just call them a handful.”
Lauren snickered. “Jules, those two are way more than a handful. I’ve seen them wear out eight adults in less than an hour. Look, even Scotty has given up.”
She pointed to the year old Australian Shepherd – their father’s youngest dog – who had just curled up on his bed in one corner and gone to sleep.
“They’ll grow out of it,” she assured Julia. “It’s just the terrible twos is all. And never forget your secret weapon when they get really, really naughty – tell them that they have to spend a week with Auntie Lauren. That usually puts the fear of God in them for awhile.”
Julia shook her head. “I’ve played that ace card one too many times recently, and they’re on to me now. Besides, they love coming to stay with you and Ben and the girls. Hey, I know - ”
“No.” Lauren glared at her sister. “We’ve been though this too many times before. You and I are not swapping kids. By some quirk of fate you wound up with your two little demons, while Ben and I have our little sweethearts. Did you ever think that maybe instead of taking after you and I, that our kids are more like their fathers? After all, Ben’s quiet and calm and easygoing, while Nathan was probably a little imp when he was a kid.”
“Not according to his mother,” replied Julia. “Alexis swears that he was an angel compared to Noah and Justin.”
Lauren gave her sister a sympathetic look. “Sorry to tell you, Jules, but a barrel of monkeys would be more angelic than your boys. And – uh, oh. Better go rescue Mom’s collectable Christmas ornaments. Noah Atwood, you’d better leave that alone if you know what’s good for you! Otherwise, Auntie Lauren is going to be very, very angry.”
Ben smiled as he watched his wife make a beeline for their naughty nephew, and hugged both of his daughters a little bit closer. “And we don’t want to make Mommy angry, do we?” he asked Daisy and Summer laughingly.
The twins shook their curly blonde heads slowly, both of them turning big blue eyes up to their father. He gave each of them a kiss in turn on their foreheads, breathing in the sweet baby scent that still clung to their skin even though they were now a little over two years old.
He and Lauren had been shocked to discover her pregnancy a few months after their first wedding anniversary, especially since they hadn’t planned to start a family for at least another year or two. And it had been the very height of irony that Lauren had become pregnant four months after Julia and Nathan had announced their happy news – since it was also the exact number of months between their wedding dates. But after Ben and Lauren had recovered a bit from the surprise, they had both been thrilled with the news, doubly so when it was discovered fairly early on that Lauren, too, was expecting twins.
Lauren, of course, had sailed through her pregnancy, rarely even suffering from morning sickness, while Julia had been miserable for months with nausea, swollen ankles, and fatigue. She still liked to joke that even in the womb her boys had done their best to wear her out. She had also gained a good fifteen pounds more than Lauren, and it had taken her several additional months to lose all of her baby weight. Lauren, on the other hand, had been able to wear her tightest jeans a mere two months after giving birth, which had earned her a very dark glare from her sister.