“And your daughters?” November asks, looking at Cece before shooting back her latest shot.

“They’re with their dad. They’re staying the night with him tonight, and then we’ll stay with my parents until it’s okay for us to come back here.”

“It won’t be long. The guys are determined to get you and your babies back in your house as soon as possible. Really, I wouldn’t be surprised if they all decided to camp out here until it’s done,” November tells her then leans toward April. “Give me another one.”

I shoot back my shot, and then set the glass down on the edge of the firepit between us before she can give me another one. “I can’t drink anymore.” I cover the top with my hand when she tries to fill it once more.

“Aw, come on.” Willow nudges my foot. “One more drink won’t hurt.”

“Mia is a lightweight.” Cece grins at me. “She’d probably pass out until tomorrow night if she had another shot.”

“She’s not lying.” I shrug, and everyone laughs.

“Well, I’ll pay tribute for Mia.” Nalia holds out her glass, and I watch her take another shot, and everyone else follows her lead. With my body feeling relaxed, I place my feet up on the firepit as we talk.

“All the girls should get breakfast tomorrow,” November suggests, looking around the group. “If we go around eight, everyone should be able to make it even the babies.” She starts to pull out her phone, I’m guessing to send a text and ask them.

“I wish I could, but I’m picking my girls up in the morning from their dad’s and taking them to school,” Cece says, and I frown at her.

“Mike can’t take the girls to school tomorrow morning?” I ask, sitting up.

“He has work,” she tells me with a shrug.

“At like nine. He can drop them before he goes to his office, so you can go out to breakfast or sleep in for once.”

“I don’t mind taking them.”

“Of course you don’t. You never mind doing it all.” I roll my eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She narrows her gaze on mine.

“You let him off the hook for everything, Cece. He sees the girls one day a week. One.” I hold up a finger—or I’m pretty sure it’s one finger, because it kinda looks like two. “I get that he works, but you work too, and you’re going to school. It’s not fair that it all falls on you.”

“You’re right,” she agrees with me as she holds out her glass to April. “I just don’t want to rock the boat right now.”

“So when are you going to rock the boat?” I ask, not sure I’d have the courage if I weren’t half drunk—or mostly drunk.

“I don’t know,” she snaps, and my spine stiffens in response to her sharp tone. “Is that what you want me to say?”

“No,” I snap back. “I want my sister to grow a damn backbone and demand the man she had kids with to step up and take care of his responsibilities more than one day a fricking week.”

“I’m doing the best I can,” she hisses.

“No, Cece, you’re doing it fucking all and letting Mike do whatever the hell he wants, when he’s the one who should be tying himself in knots to make sure you and his girls are happy, regardless if you’re together or not.” I stand ready to storm off then remember Talon’s mom and family are watching. “Sorry.” I look around at them. “I’m going in to see if the guys need help.”

I don’t wait for them to respond. I head inside and find Talon upstairs with Bax in the master bathroom, cleaning up broken glass from the shower and the long mirror above the double sinks. The moment his eyes meet mine, I start to cry, and it takes me a few minutes to pull myself together enough to explain what happened.

Everything after that is a blur, but I do know he takes me back to his house and helps me into bed, insisting I will feel better after I sleep, and that Cece and I will talk and things will be okay. But as my eyes drift closed, I don’t know if he’s right. I’ve always tried to lay things out for Cece in a way that won’t hurt her feelings, but I didn’t do that this time. And even though I don’t regret it, I’m not sure speaking the truth was the right thing to do especially with everything that has happened.

I wake up feeling hot with Talon’s heavy weight holding me hostage, his arm curved around my waist, his thigh thrown over mine, and his chin in my neck as he breathes deep in sleep. Needing to get up and drink some water before the slight headache I’m feeling because of dehydration becomes unbearable. I start to move but stop when I hear several mewls of disapproval coming from what must be Soma and her kittens, who have joined us in bed. With no choice but to disturb them, I carefully slip out of bed, and once I’m standing, I realize I’m wearing a T-shit that must have been put on me when I was passed out. Vowing to seriously never drink again or at least stop when I know I should, I leave the bedroom and pad down the hall to the kitchen where I grab a glass and fill it from the tap.

“Can’t sleep?” I don’t scream at that question. Instead, I squeak and fumble with the full glass of water in my hand, barely catching it before it crashes to the floor, but I soak my tee in the process. “Sorry.” Cece comes toward me, taking the glass from my hand and refilling it from the tap as I grab a rag to clean up my mess. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you saw me sitting here.”

“I didn’t.” I take my glass back when she hands it to me and down it in just a few gulps. Once I empty it, I fill the glass again, asking, “Why are you here?”

“We need to talk,” she says, the dim light coming from outside hiding her expression, so I don’t know what to expect from her as I keep my mouth closed and wait. “You’re right. I’ve let Mike off the hook for everything, and it’s not fair to me to let him continue on like he has. But more importantly, it’s not fair to our girls.” I listen to her take a deep breath. “I know he should be more involved. I know I should demand more from him, but I’m afraid.”

“Of what?” I ask when she doesn’t say more.

“Of him stepping out of the picture completely, of him abandoning the girls like Dad abandoned us. I mean…” I see in the shadows as her head shakes back and forth. “I don’t ever want them to experience that. I don’t want them to ever feel like they are that easily forgotten.”

“Do you miss Dad?” I ask, knowing the answer but still wanting her to admit it out loud.

“What?”

“Dad, our biological dad, do you miss him?”

“I never really think about him, to be honest,” she says, and I close my eyes.

“Don’t you see, Cece, that you can’t miss something you never had? Either Mike wants to be a part of his girls’ lives, or he doesn’t. Either he wants to make them a priority, or he doesn’t. Sharing DNA with a child doesn’t make you a parent. The bond built over time expressed through devotion and love does. I know you want what’s best for Ruby, Kate, and Lola, but wanting him to step up and be the father he should be isn’t going to make it happen.” I step toward her shadow when I see her shoulders slump forward in defeat. “I know you want what’s best for your babies, but letting Mike continue on like he has been isn’t giving them what they need. The girls need time with their dad, and you need to demand that he gives them that.”