“Sherrilyn Harlow Carne?”

Turning sharply to the couple on the steps, Sherry met his gaze as he announced, “This is my wife, Leigh Argeneau.”

She offered her hand to the other woman. “Call me Sherry. I’ve only ever been called Sherrilyn Harlow Carne by my mother and that was when I was in trouble.”

Leigh chuckled and took her hand in a warm grasp. “Sherry it is.”

“Yes. You aren’t the one in trouble,” Lucian announced dryly as the two women shook.

Leigh rolled her eyes at the words and smiled wryly. “Ignore him. We’re new parents, so we aren’t getting a lot of sleep at the moment. It makes him cranky.”

“Yeah, that’s what it is. Lack of sleep due to the babies,” Justin said with a snort as he moved past them. “’Cause Lucian was just a big huggie bear before that.”

When Sherry glanced curiously to the man disappearing into the house, Basil said helpfully, “Lucian is always cranky.”

Much to her surprise, when Sherry then glanced worriedly to Lucian to see how he was taking the announcement, he was nodding with agreement and apparent satisfaction. She gathered he was proud of his crankiness.

“Don’t mind Lucian,” Leigh said lightly. “He just acts all growly and mean around the boys to keep them in line. He’s really a marshmallow.”

Now it was Basil who snorted.