Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Andre glanced at the ruler and smiled at his son. "Alright, kiddo. In a bit, Dad'll take you for a spin.”

He checked the numbers again and grinned. "Hey, you've actually shot up a couple centimeters."

Mia's little one was done with the height check, so Molly nudged her own kid forward. "Mia, it's our turn now."

Wayne looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, letting his mom poke and prod him. As he tried to stand still, his toes kept twitching, and Chad rushed over to help. The second Wayne spotted his dad, he burst into tears and flung himself into his father's arms.

Mia laughed, "Maybe we should just lay him on the table and measure him sideways?"

So the whole crew migrated from the wall to the kitchen table, turning it into a family operation—everyone busy, everyone oddly entertained.

Eventually, Wayne started crying again, and Grandpa Hansen swept in to play the hero. "Don't cry, sweetheart. Come here, let Grandpa give you a squeeze. They're all just being mean-Grandpa's the only good guy here."

After a busy day at work, the dads barely had time to take off their coats before being dragged outside for a romp in the snow.

That night, Henry ran wild in the snowy yard, squealing with glee. Suddenly, he stopped, coughed hard, and just stood there, cheeks red and cold.

The cough startled Mia and Andre. Andre hurried over, scooped his son up, and pressed a hand to his icy, flushed face. "Let's get you inside, buddy."

Back in the living room, Andre coaxed cup after cup of water into Henry.

Chad came over, his own little one in tow. "Everything alright, Andre?"

Andre glanced at Henry's face, worried. "Whenever Henry gets a cold, it goes straight to a fever. Gotta keep him hydrated."

Mia went to mix up some formula.

After two days at the Cedillos', Jade dutifully went back to work.

She'd been switched to another department. Coleen, her new "boss," eyed her. "With you working right under my nose, let's see if I can keep you in check now." Jade grinned. "Only if you give me a raise."

Coleen shot back, "Great. As soon as you pay me back for all the babysitting I've done for you."

Jade peeked at her baby in the car seat and instantly put on her sweetest face. "Mom, don't be like that we're family! Just tell me what you need, I'll do it."

Coleen rolled her eyes. "Stop bugging me."

"On it!" Jade chirped, and dashed off.

Meanwhile, Leo had wandered over to the Calders' again. Anya saw him coming and pouted. Leo teased, "Don't pout like that you could balance a bottle on your lips."

She huffed, "Chad, when are you heading out?”

Leo laughed, "I just walked in! Haven't even had a chance to sit on your couch yet."

With exam results coming out soon, Mia was a ball of nerves at home-so jittery, she'd even started hitting the books again.noveldrama

Henry climbed into her lap, his chubby cheeks squished against her notes. "Mommy, come play with me."

Mia sighed, "Mommy's played plenty today, honey. If I don't pass this year, I'll be mortified. Call your uncle-see if he can come over."

She dialed Cooper, who was still catching up on sleep. Soon, Henry was babbling away with his uncle.

Half an hour later, Cooper rolled up at Maplewood Estates. "Pumpkin, Uncle's here!"

Henry bolted over with a shout. "Cooper~"

Cooper spotted Mia studying and grinned. "Sis, what's got you so stressed?" "I'm worried I won't pass. It'd be so embarrassing."

Cooper shrugged. "If you don't make it here, just come overseas with me. It's crazy competitive here anyway-a lot of folks just take the GRE or TOEFL and head abroad for grad school."

All Cooper wanted was to scoop up his little nephew and convince his sister to come have an adventure with them.