Hiraeth [GxG]

Chapter 16

"Hey, Mila. Is it okay if Julian, Jazmine, and I come over for dinner later? We've got some big news." Naturally, this piqued my interest immediately.

"What kind of news? And of course, you can come over for dinner. You all can literally just show up anytime you want to; no need to ask." I heard a sigh of relief from over the phone.

"It's a surprise. I'll make sure to bring over dessert to pair with your mom's cooking. Also, send me lots of pictures of your new building! I can't wait till we have the grand opening." We exchanged goodbyes and got off the phone.

I was headed to my new building for work. I was really excited to see it. This will be the first time I'm going to be seeing it fully finished. I remember when it was just a foundation, and now it will be this big building that I sketched myself when I get there. Then, my dream work building would officially have come to life.

Driving up to the building, I was in awe. It was everything I had envisioned and more as I parked right beside Lori. She got out with a huge smile.

"Oh my god, can you believe it? It looks amazing." We both took this time to just take it all in and admire the building. This place is very meaningful to me. It represents my dreams coming true. I've always dreamt about owning my own business and selling my art; not only has this dream come true, but it's been successful.

It wasn't anything too fancy, just a two-story building with the top floor having a huge window to let in plenty of natural light; It was where I would do my photoshoots and had plenty of offices for the new employees I would have. The bottom level was the main art gallery and had a reception area. It was perfect.

"Are you ready to head inside and check it out?" I held up the key, and Lori squealed out with excitement.

"Hell yeah. Let's go!" Safe to say, we were just as excited as kids were for ice cream.

Emma's POV:

It's been an extremely long day. Between the council breathing down my neck and the rising hysteria of the people, I was crashing. Honestly, I felt like I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Better be careful there, Emma; you keep pulling on your hair like that; you'll end up bald." I looked up to Lance to see his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"What do you want, brother?" I was not in the mood to deal with anyone—especially people who want to joke around.

"Well, then. Someone is in a bad mood. So I have some news..." He trailed off, and I could feel his nervousness rising.

"What is it? Why are you nervous? You know you can talk to me about anything." He was now sitting in one of the chairs in my office. He then cleared his throat.

"Elisia has been bugging me about having a baby. She says it's time to expand the family, and well... Chloe's mom has helped her, and now she's pregnant." My eyebrows raised at this.

"Holy shit Lance. I never thought you two would ever have kids." I heard him audibly gulp.

"Yeah, I know." He then shot forward and started pacing back and forth. "I mean, what am I going to do? I have never seen myself as a parent, and now we have a baby on the way. What if they hate me? What if I am just a horrible father in general? I don't know what to do, Emma." He was looking at me wildly before he collapsed back down into his seat. His head is now in his hands. "What the hell do I do?" I leaned back in my chair, and it was now my turn to look at him amused.

"Everything will be okay. You are going to be a great father, and Elisia is going to be a great mother. You have each other, and you have all of us there to help you. So, you aren't going to go through this alone." He looked back up at me with a concerned look.