Sophitz: A Week to Find Love

Chapter 44

Sophie's P.O.V.

"So? What happened next?" We all looked at each other with grins. 

"Well, what do you mean?" Keefe asked with a smirk. Isabella crossed her arms in annoyance as she looked at me. 

"Uncle Keefe is being annoying again!" she complained. Her younger brother nodded forcefully. 

"Yes!" he agreed. "You need to finish the story!"

"I think it's getting past your bedtime," Fitz told them, with a slight twinkle in his eyes. Isabella's jaw hung open in shock and Flynn, seeing her do so, tried to imitate her. 

"You can't leave us on a cliffhanger!" she exclaimed. "It's not fair! Do something Aunt Biana!" Biana glanced at her brother. 

"Well, I suppose we shouldn't just leave them hanging like this..." 

"Yeah!" another voice exclaimed. "Tell them, mom!" Rose, 10 years old and just slightly younger than Isabella by a few months had recently developed a habit of agreeing with everything her best friend said. 

"Please!" Will and Zac begged at the same time. It was like they were constantly reading each other's minds - perhaps it was some twin thing. Their mom, Linh, hushed them and told them to settle down so we could finish the story. 

"Cookie!" Ellie started wobbling on her two legs, having recently learned to walk and toddled over to her dad. Keefe picked her up and set her down between Flynn and Rose on the couch. 

"No cookie," Marella told her only daughter. "It's way too late. But you can have one tomorrow." 

"I'll sneak you one later," Keefe whispered with a grin. Marella raised her eyebrows, but I could see a smile forming on her face. 

"Come on, mom!" Isabella pleaded. "Please finish the story. I wouldn't be able to live if you didn't!" 

"Yeah! Izzie is right!" Flynn agreed without hesitation. He was only 7 so I wasn't sure when he'd grow out of this phase. Hopefully never, since I loved seeing my kids get along so well. 

"Alright," Fitz gave in. "Now, where were we?" 

"At the quadruple wedd-" Rose was interrupted by loud wailing coming from the other room. 

"I'll get her!" I exclaimed, rushing towards the room. My third child, possibly my final - I wasn't entirely sure yet - had probably just woken up from a nap. It was weird, considering it was almost 8 o'clock now. But I had learned from my previous two kids that babies were extremely unpredictable. 

"There, there," I told Eliza, picking her up from her crib. Fitz had insisted we name her after my name, but I thought that she deserved her own name. So we settled on a shortened version of my middle name, Elizabeth, and I had to say I really loved it. I was against naming my own baby after myself - it seemed almost vain - but now I saw that it just reminded me of both myself and Fitz. It was common for babies to change hair color and eye color, but I hoped Eliza kept my blonde hair and Fitz's teal eyes. 

"Is she alright?" Fitz asked from the doorway. "Is she sick? Should I call the doctor?" 

I laughed softly so I wouldn't disturb Eliza. Even though we'd already had two kids, Fitz was always worried about Eliza. And I thought that it was wonderful my kids would have a father as caring and sweet as Fitz. 

"No, everything's fine," I assured my husband. "Are they enjoying the rest of the story?" 

"Yep," Fitz answered. "I left just as Keefe was starting to tell them about how he ruined the cake." I grinned, remembering the memory. 

"I still can't believe he just fell right into it," I said, still confused as to how such a thing might've happened. We quieted down for a moment to listen to the muffled voices coming from the living room. It was hard to make out what was happening through the thick walls of our house, but I was pretty sure Tam was admitting to tripping Keefe and causing him to fall into the cake.

"Huh," Fitz said with a look of thought. "I guess it was Tam all along." 

"Somehow it doesn't surprise me," I replied. "It's been years and they still have a rivalry." Fitz moved closer as I placed Eliza back in her crib. She wasn't fully asleep yet, but I could tell she was getting tired. 

"I'm glad we decided to make this house," Fitz said unexpectedly. "It's nice to have everyone here..." 

Maybe it was crazy for 15 people to live under one roof, but Linh had convinced everyone that we should do it. She gave a lot of compelling reasons and not a day passed by where I regretted the choice of agreeing. And now that we all were living in this huge dream house, I couldn't envision my life any other way. Something was constantly happening in this house and the thought of living anywhere else seemed boring compared to the fun, spontaneous life we had built here with all of our friends. 

"Yeah, and remember when you used to think it was crazy?" I asked. Fitz laughed and shook his head. 

"Boy, was I wrong," he admitted. "This was the best decision of my life." I crossed my arms and looked at him. 

"Next to marrying you and having the kids, of course," he added quickly with a grin. I laughed and kissed him on the cheek. 

"I really couldn't have asked for a better life," I said with a happy sigh. Fitz wrapped his arms around me and we stood there for a moment before realizing it was quiet. Too quiet. 

"Get 'em!" The light bulb switched on as all the kids came rushing through to ambush us. Our friends were close behind with wide grins on their faces. 

"Make sure to follow the plan!" Dex reminded. 

"Hug, tickle, kiss!" the kids answered in unison. They all burst into laughter and I was soon swarmed with people on all sides of me. I was worried for a moment that Eliza would start crying, but all I heard was a happy baby giggling and making gurgling noises. 

"I never thought I'd end up here in my life," Fitz told me over the loud noise of everyone in the room. "But I don't regret anything that led up to this moment right now." I smiled at the sweet comment, feeling myself blush. Sure, it had been years, but I didn't think I'd ever stop blushing when Fitz gave me a compliment or said something even remotely sweet. 

And to think that it all started that first day I met him, accidentally crashing into him at the grocery market and feeling completely embarrassed about it. If only I knew that moment would lead up to this life I now had, full of love, laughter, and happiness. 

Yep, that really was one heck of a week. But I wouldn't have traded it for the world. 

No, you really couldn't put a price on love. Whether that was with your friends, family, or... I glanced at Fitz with a huge smile. 

Or that one true love of yours that you finally found.