Chapter 2120 - Christmas Party 2023 (7)

JoAnna, Liz, and Brianna were in the room with the kids when Sophia entered with Lia, Adam, Valentin, and one nanny.

Valentin was in his nanny's arms and she took him to the soft-play area. Val was eight months-old, and still too little to play with the toddlers.

Lia and Adam made themselves comfortable. They knew this room like it's their own playroom as they visit often.

Noticing the newcomers (Luke and Mila) who played with Alice and Jayden, Lia took initiative to approach them, and Adam followed after her silently. Adam is used to following his big sister.

"Lia!", Sophia called when she saw that Lia was making a beeline toward new faces. Lia is a good child, but she can be bossy. "They are guests. As the oldest one, you should be a good host."

Sophia didn't know if Lia was older than Luke because they appear to be the same age, but she knows her daughter.

Just as Sophia predicted, Lia straightened her back and smiled smugly. Knowing that she was the oldest one boosted her confidence. When a girl is three years old, being the oldest one means a lot.

Sophia relaxed visibly when she saw that Lia shook hands with Luke (Mila was still small for handshaking) and Lia took over toy-tour from Alice and Jayden. As the oldest one, Lia gets the honor of showing guests around.

Alice and Jayden didn't mind Lia taking over because like this they get more time to play. This was the first time for Luke to come to Los Angeles for a playdate, and Alice and Jayden met him when they went to Seattle. Luke doesn't play much with them (or anyone else) because his focus is mostly on Mila. Alice was secretly observing Mila and plotting how to play dress-up. She loves dressing up others.

JoAnna introduced Brianna to Sophia. JoAnna went to Seattle with Jeff to meet with Max and Liz, and she met Brianna during one of those trips, but Sophia didn't.

Both Brianna and Sophia have a sophisticated demeanor, and a similar style of fashion, so the two of them hit it off immediately.

There was a sitting area in the kids' room, so Liz, JoAnna, Brianna, and Sophia took their seats.

Liz wanted to ensure that Mila will be comfortable before Liz joins Max at the party, and Sophia wanted to confirm that Lia won't bully the newcomers. They chatted while watching the kids.

Not long later, Ellie entered. Two-and-a-half years old Grayden went straight toward the toy trains, and the nanny carried seven months old Amber into the soft-play area where Valentin was.

Little by little, the toy room was being filled with kids.

"Hi, Ellie!", JoAnna greeted enthusiastically. "These are our guests from Seattle, Elizabeth and Brianna… Liz, Bri, this is my good friend Ellie. Ellie is from Seattle, but a few years ago she married to Chicago…"

After exchanging greetings, they shared some high-level information and Brianna's eyes sparkled when she heard that Ellie is behind the EY brand.

Ellie always kept a low profile, but since she became Madam K, Ellie stopped hiding the fact that she owns EY. One big secret is enough.

"I thought you look familiar…", Brianna said to Ellie and covered her mouth while laughing. "Sorry, I probably look like a crazed fan, and I am one. Whenever I called, I got to talk to your staff, and I didn't think that I will get to meet you here in person. I always admired your designs but getting hands on one is nearly impossible."

"Well, there is a room here with a closet full of her work.", JoAnna said with a big smile. "Sarah and Aiden occasionally model for Ellie and she pays them with clothes."

Brianna swallowed hard. "Do you think I can see those?"

"I don't see why not…", JoAnna responded with a shrug. "Kids are doing fine, so we can leave them. In case any trouble happens, nannies will handle it. Oh, and there is a surveillance system that you can connect to with your phone and see what's going on here at any time. Let me show you…"

In one of the guest bedrooms…

JoAnna led the way and Liz, Brianna, Sophia, and Ellie followed.

Brianna's eyes were full of stars as she carefully inspected the garments that were neatly arranged on the hangers in the massive walk-in closet.

Mentally, Bri was calculating the cost of clothes in that closet. Each outfit costs a lot and there were more than a dozen gowns and matching suits for men and there were jackets, coats, and casual sets also (if anything from EY can be called casual).

In the corner were stacks of fashion magazines, and the top one was a cover with Sarah and Aiden on it, both in EY clothes.

"What do you think?", Ellie asked Brianna.

"I'm overwhelmed…", Brianna admitted. "I was not aware that you are this close to Sarah and Aiden. Mia is non-stop talking about Sarah and if I knew that Sarah and her husband are your models, I would come to meet them a long time ago."

"I grew up in Seattle and Hill sisters were my neighbors. Sarah was my maid-of-honor, and Aiden was Jasper's best man. So yeah, we are close.", Ellie responded with a smile while images from her wedding flashed in her mind.

"Jasper?", Brianna asked.

"My husband. He is at the party; you will meet him when we join."

While Brianna and Ellie chatted in the closet, JoAnna was in the bedroom with Sophia and Liz.

JoAnna had another agenda to come to the bedroom before going to the party. The important part of her plan was to be apart from Jeff. She grinned and pulled a pregnancy test from her purse.

"Eh? You will do the test now?", Sophia asked.

JoAnna's smile widened. "Actually, I did the test two weeks ago. I'm doing this one so that I can give it to Jeff as a Christmas present."

Sophia's eyes widened and she took a few rapid breaths. "You are pregnant."

"Wow! Congratulations!", Liz exclaimed to JoAnna who beamed.

JoAnna bobbed her head excitedly and spoke to Sophia, "Can you believe it? All three of us are pregnant at the same time!"

Sophia smiled brightly. She understood that the 'three of us' was for Sophia, JoAnna, and Sarah.

Liz frowned a bit. "I'm not pregnant." She thought that 'three of us' was for Liz, Sophia, and JoAnna because the three of them are in the room.

Instead of clarifying, JoAnna had another idea. She narrowed her eyes at Liz. "Are you sure? Didn't you tell me that you are working on a second child?" She pulled another pregnancy test from her purse and threw it at Liz. "Here, pee on this!"

Liz clumsily caught the pregnancy test. "What? No. It's too early for me. I just started…"

JoAnna didn't take no for an answer. "Go first. The test is already in your hand. The worst thing is that you will get a negative result. And if it's positive, you will know not to drink alcohol tonight…"

Liz exhaled heavily and went into the bathroom. She needed to pee anyway.

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