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I hide my smile, remembering the stories Addison told of Alexa and Sienna’s adventures of a Friday night. Perhaps there is a truth to what Dad said in the restaurant; the babies of the family were babied. Sienna is Uncle Noah and Kate’s only shared biological child. For the longest of time, Kate was adamant she didn’t want kids given they had shared custody of Jessa and Nash. To add to that, the two of them have demanding careers. Kate did not hide the fact Sienna was a surprise baby. The surprise was from a drunk night in Vegas with too many shots and a poor attempt at inserting a diaphragm.
At that point, I left the room before anything else was revealed about Uncle Noah and his sexual appetite. Kate’s words, not mine. I recall hearing Mom warning Kate she didn’t want any more details given he is Mom’s cousin. Aunt Adriana, on the other hand, lapped up all the information until Mom ended up joining me in the den.
“Why are we all standing around here? Let’s get some sunshine and relax on the patio,” Nikki shouts over the noise.
Ava is already outside with her friends Gigi and Kylie. The three of them are wearing bikinis, and more notably, Andy is beside me staring directly at Gigi. Nash pulls up beside me, and I tug on my cousin’s arm while admiring how much he looked like a young Uncle Noah.
“Who is the blonde?” Nash asks in a complete trance.
“Gigi,” I tell him, “Ava’s bestie.”
“She’s something,” Nash murmurs, taking a sip of his beer even though he is technically underage. I wasn’t going to say something, though I suspected Mom might. I highly doubt Uncle Noah nor Kate would scold him either.
“Hand’s off, buddy,” Andy chuckles, jokingly. “I’ve been working on her for months.”
I turn to face Andy, crossing my arms beneath my chest. “What does that even mean? Working on her?”
“Flirtatious banter via socials.”
“Right,” I drag, rolling my eyes. “I’m going to leave you two players alone while I go discuss something more interesting.”
I walk past the pool where Uncle Rocky is standing with Dad, Uncle Noah, and Julian. He is cupping his hands like melons, talking animatedly while the men watched on in amusement. I hear the words “bazookas” fly out of his mouth before laughter follows.
Eric is laying on a lounge chair, dressed in gold swimming trunks while trying to sunbathe.
“Honey, pass me the tanning lotion.” He motions toward the chair a few over from him. “My chest looks like it belongs to a little Irish boy.”
I let out a loose laugh. “It’s not that white.”
“Well, it is. My spray tanner, Gerald, had a nervous breakdown after his boyfriend left him for a figure skater. Can you even compete with that? Turns out, you can’t. Gerald checked himself into rehab, and meanwhile, everyone on Melrose is walking around looking like Frosty the Snowman.”
&n
bsp; I sit beside Eric on the empty lounge chair as Jessa and Luna join us.
“How did it happen that the only guys here are our brothers?” Luna complains.
“And look at them?” Jessa nods in their direction. “Like a bunch of lost puppies drooling over Gigi and Kylie.”
I laugh softly. “I think just Gigi. It won’t end well for anyone.”
“Where’s your man?” Jessa asks, taking a mimosa Luna hands her.
“You mean, Austin?”
Jessa looks at Luna until they’re both staring at me with curiosity. Beside me, Eric snickers. “Who else would it be?”
“Sorry, I’m just tired and hungry.” The corners of my mouth move up while I try to downplay my paranoia. “He’s back in LA for the weekend, so just me.”
“Just you, eh?” Eric mumbles with a playful smirk. “Now, isn’t that going to be fun?”
I’m contemplating throwing him into the pool. Ruining his perfectly styled hair and washing all his tanning oil off. But I refrain, remembering Mom’s advice, “With Eric, you need more patience than with a two-year-old in a candy store.”
“We are going to have fun, we don’t need men, anyway,” Luna says with a nod.
Jessa and Luna join their brothers in the pool with the intent of embarrassing them in front of Gigi. I choose to sit it out for a while and enjoy Mom’s homemade mimosa. I don’t know what’s inside it, but it tastes so good.
“So, just you this weekend?” Eric asks again.
