"You can finally meet my husband!" Bianca wraps her arm around my waist and walks me into the kitchen area where a slightly older-looking man is standing, his hand clasped in Rhodes's as they greet one another. Little Briella sits in an armchair beside them, her legs stretched out in front of her with her heels just hanging off the end.
"Amelia, this is Bryan, Bryan, this is Rhodes's girlfriend Amelia," Bianca boasts proudly as we stand in front of them. He too pulls me into a gentle hug and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
"Lovely to meet you finally, these ladies have been talking my ear off about you for God knows how long," he greets me with a low chuckle as he gestures to Eloise, Bianca, and even Briella, who is now holding her arms out impatiently to Rhodes. Rhodes bends down and scoops her up into his arms gently, resting her small frame on his hip.
"It's nice to meet you too," I nod and smile before Eloise loudly claps her hands, bringing all of the attention in the room to her.
"Now that we're all here, it's all hands on deck to get everything ready. Girls are in the kitchen with me, boys are tidying around the house and making sure the table is set," her eyes widen as nobody makes a move. "Come on then hop to it!" she orders with a wide grin. I know she loves this; bringing all of the family together, and I bet it's making it a lot sweeter having Rhodes here. Bianca grabs my hand and pulls me through the archway into the kitchen and hands me one of the aprons, which I tie around my waist. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rhodes place Briella back down in her chair surrounded by some toys and a coloring book. I think my eyes play tricks on me as I watch him place a kiss on the top of her head before he and Bryan work to clear off the table.
"Most of the main meal is finished, I just need a hand with dessert. Bianca, I need you to help me with the final touches on the trifle. Amelia can you whip the cream for us?" Eloise rubs my back gently as she guides me over to one of the benches with all of the necessary equipment set up.
"Of course," I reply with a grin. Seems fairly easy, hard to screw up, right up my alley. I get to work as Bianca and Eloise start working on slicing up a large portion of strawberries. I wonder how many people are going to be attending this lunch. From the size of Eloise's dining table, I would say that around 12 people could squeeze around it while another few could sit at the breakfast bar just inside the kitchen. Judging by the amount of food Eloise has got prepared on her own I would say that the guest list would be airing on the larger side.
"So Amelia, did you enjoy your birthday?" Eloise raises her voice slightly so that I can hear her over the sound of the electric whisk.