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“A what?” I laugh, thankful to Elle for breaking up the stiffness in the room.
“The whole same age thing,” she gestures between her brothers with a fork. “They have this freaky twin-like bond because they grew up in the same grade, with the same friends, but as you know, they’re not actually blood-related. Hence the twin, but not really a twin.”
Jack tears off a piece of his dinner roll and throws it at Gavin’s head. “Yeah, this guy wanted to be me so badly that he actually wormed his way into our family.”
“What?” I feel like there should be tension in the air after that comment but everyone at the table chuckles, confusing the hell out of me.
“Gavin and Jack were friends before we adopted him,” Carolyn explains. “They were in the same class since first grade. They were best friends, actually, along with Joey. We called them the Three Amigos. Gavin was always at our house anyway so we decided to keep him when we were blessed with the chance to do so.” Carolyn smiles at Gavin lovingly, making me a little misty-eyed.
“Oh, that’s really great.” My voice catches a little on the last word.
“So, Kat, what do your parents do?” Neil asks.
“Um…” A sob gets stuck in my throat.
Gavin grabs my hand under the table, giving me strength to reign in my emotions. “Kat’s mom passed away a few months ago,” he answers on my behalf. “She never had a chance to know her father.”
Carolyn places a hand over her heart. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry about your loss.”
Neil clears his throat. “I’m sorry, Kat. I wouldn’t have brought it up if I knew.”
“It’s okay,” I wave him off. “Really.”
The room is completely silent until it’s interrupted by a loud thump. I look up, startled, and find Jack standing on his chair.
“Who’s up for a game of strip poker?” Jack’s chest is puffed out and he raises his eyebrows comically.
“Jack Anthony Cooper, you get down from that chair right now!” Carolyn rushes to his side and tugs on his arm. “You’d think you were raised in a barn!”
Jack gets down and holds his hands up. “Sorry, Ma.”
She rolls her eyes. “You boys! I swear you’re responsible for every one of my gray hairs.”
“Mom, you don’t have any gray hair,” Gavin says.
She tucks a blonde strand behind her ear. “Only because I visit Ricardo every six weeks on the dot.”
Neil wraps his arms around his wife and pulls her into his chest. “You’d still be the sexiest MILF I know; gray hair or no gray hair.”
Carolyn’s face turns beet red while her kids all groan in unison.
“And on that disturbing note,” Gavin announces, “we’re turning in early. Goodnight everyone!”
He grabs a bottle of wine and tugs me behind him.
WE’VE SPENT THE MORNING WALKING around the downtown waterfront visiting quaint little shops along the way. Gavin suggested we stop for lunch so that’s where we’re at now—a locally-owned café with the best sandwiches in town according to him. The weather is abnormally warm so we’ve selected an outdoor table, giving us the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine while we wait for our food.
“So…exactly how much does Jack know about us?”
I meant to ask him this last night but when we got to our room, Gavin pulled me in for a kiss and I was rather distracted for a while. Not that I’m complaining.
He takes a sip of his coffee. “I still can’t believe that asshole tried calling me out at the dinner table.”
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question,” I say with a grin.
“He knows everything.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Everything? As in?”
