Page 61 of Backup Plan

I glance up at Penny and grin. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she says, and her cheeks turn a little pink as she offers a small wave.

“How was your week?” I ask over their laughter as they each try to move, but they’re no match for my arm strength.

“Better now. How was yours?”

My grin widens. “Better now.” I glance down at each of the boys. “Did you bring me a Happy Meal?”

“No!” Benji squeals.

I turn to Sammy.

“Ask Mom, not me!” he protests.

“Nobody gets up until I get an order of fries,” I announce.

“I didn’t know you’d be home this early, Spinosaurus,” Penny says. “Or I would’ve brought you something.”

I laugh and relent, letting the boys go and pushing to a stand. “I got to the airport early, and there was room on the flight before my scheduled one, so I hopped on.”

“I’m glad you’re back early. But how long were you hiding in there waiting for us?”

“Oh, about an hour,” I say, and I’m about to walk over and pull her into my arms and plant a kiss on her mouth when I realize…I can’t. I clear my throat. “Kidding. I get a notification anytime my keycard is used to enter the parking garage.”

“Uncle Liam, my kindergarten thingy is tomorrow. Are you coming?” Benji asks.

“You don’t have school tomorrow, honey,” Penny says. “It’s on Monday, and I’m not sure if Liam will—”

“What time is it?” I ask, interrupting Penny.

“After morning recess,” Benji says.

I look to Penny for that one.

“Nine o’clock,” she clarifies.

I glance at Sammy. “Will you be there?”

“Yeah, the teachers excuse brothers and sisters so they can go,” he says.

“Cool, save me a seat,” I say, and both Sammy and Benji seem to light up at that.

“Okay, boys, bath and shower time,” Penny announces, and neither one of them moves.

“Boys, you have sixty seconds to start your water before Spinosaurus leaves and doesn’t come back tomorrow to hang out.” I press my lips together, and they both scramble from their spots on the floor and run to their respective bathrooms to get clean.

She shakes her head a little, and as she crosses the room to walk over toward me, she says, “You’re magic with them.” She loops her arms around my waist.

I shrug. “It’s just because I’m new and not a parent.” I wrap my arms around her, too, and she tilts her head back. I drop my lips to hers, and I’m hungry to turn it into a deep, intense kiss, but I’m also aware that her kids are just around the corner. So I keep it in my pants. For now.

The same cannot be said for later once the boys are down and we enjoy a half-hour session in my bedroom.

We take the kids to the park on Saturday, where they run around and play together. Sammy is the typical bossy older brother, and I find myself siding with Benji, the younger brother who’s a lot like I was back when I was his age—only I had four older brothers to contend with who were nine, seven, three, and two years older than me and bossed me around all the time.

I think that’s a lot of the reason why I picked up the slack with Mom and Dad during the last six months. Maybe I wanted to prove that I’m not some little kid anymore, that I’m an adult and capable of doing adult things since they all seem to look at me like the baby of the family despite there being an actual baby of the family who’s five years younger than me. It’s not the same since she’s the little sister, I guess.

Sometimes being from a big family is a pain in the ass. Other times, like at Mom’s funeral, it’s a blessing. And this Saturday will be yet another place where I come together with my siblings to celebrate a marriage.