Page 79 of Marcus

“Lucky, that is your sister’s toy!”

A very tired-looking Siena came out of the sitting room right after the kids, but at the sight of Cella at the end of the hallway taking off her shoes, the woman smiled. The two shared a look that said kids, huh?

Because yeah, these kids never stopped.

“Good to see you around,” Siena said.

Cella laughed and hung her purse on a waiting hook. “I know, I’ve been kind of MIA for the last while, I guess.”

“Work, right?”

“That, and other things.”

Siena raised her brow, leaning against the hallway wall as Cella came closer. Her brother’s wife had always been probably the easiest person they welcomed into their family folds. There was just something about Siena that seemed warm and wonderful.

Plus, she loved John.

Like crazy.

Cella considered all of that a win and counted Siena as one of her friends. But like everyone else in her life that was important, Siena was yet another person who she felt like she had left to the wayside as she worked on this Toronto project and handled this thing between her and Marcus.

“What other things are those?” Siena grinned. “Because I heard from a little bird that there might be a man in Toronto that caught your eye, huh? I was waiting to hear it from you, but I mean … if the bird’s info is correct, I might listen to him a little more.”

Lord.

They were all nosy.

She kind of loved it, though.

Before she could answer her sister-in-law’s question, the kids came flying back through the hallway. This time, it was Tiffany leading the pack with the skirt of her pink dress swishing wildly with every step she took. John wasn’t far behind the kids, his laughter making the house even noisier than it already was, but he loved this, she knew.

All his kids.

His wife.

These years were some of the best for her brother after the hell of the previous ones. He seemed content to live in the present more than he ever did his past, which was yet another reason why Cella attempted to mend those bridges between the two of them.

John let the kids continue into the sitting room where all the toys were set up without him, and stood next to his wife to sling an arm around her shoulder. Pulling Siena in close, John dropped a kiss to her head before turning his attention on his sister.

“What was this I heard about some bird telling you things?”

“Shut up, you know that was you, John.”

He laughed. “Yeah, well—”

“If you all could not talk about my private life when even I’m not talking about it,” Cella interjected before anyone else could say anything more, “then that would be great.”

“I didn’t mean any harm,” John said, “you know that, Cella.”

Yeah, she did.

Still …

“I didn’t even know what I was doing with a certain someone until just recently, so there wasn’t very much to tell.”

Siena grinned. “But that sounds like now there might be something. Am I right?”

“Well …”