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The hand of hers I’d been holding lightly turned, and it was her turn to squeeze mine, except she didn’t let go afterward.
“Oh, my God, you’re Mint Ghirardelli chick! I can’t believe that was you! We flew out after he first saw you because he needed to see us to make sure we were okay. Obviously, he didn’t tell us what was up until after it went to court, but we knew it had to be something like that because of how he was acting about our safety.”
I didn’t doubt that one bit. There was no way the man could be how he was with a stranger and not absolutely worship the ground his kids walked on. Now I kind of felt guilty for being pissed at him when she’d been telling us her story in the salon the other day.
“Wait, hold up,” Naomi giggled, holding her hand up. “Does that mean your sister’s the one who married into the Townsends?”
Cyn bit down on her lower lip but nodded, making us all burst out laughing.
“Oh, honey,” Heidi—the sober one of us— chuckled, shaking her head. “There are rules in life we have to abide by, and if you live in this area, a lot of them revolve around that family.”
Evie held a finger up. “Rule one: Never get them wet. They’ve turned into their own version of the Gremlins, multiplying at a crazy rate without water. We do our best not to add to it and tempt more of them to appear by getting them wet.”
A snort came from the end of the table as Layla saluted us with her glass. “Excellent rule.”
Leaning into Cyn’s side, Evie whispered, “She’s a Townsend, by the way.”
“A rare breed,” Layla added. “In my generation of the family, there were only two females born. More have come along since then with the next generation, but me and my cousin were kind of like rare diamonds until that happened. A belated welcome to the family, by the way. Mom said you were coming over next week with your son to meet us all.”
Cyn blinked and then asked slowly, “That’s what the text I got sent said. Thank goodness I’ll know one of you, at least. What’s rule two?”
“If you value your sanity, don’t get into a relationship with one. There’s no doubt you’ll be included in the family, especially as your sister’s married to one of them, at some point, but avoid any romantic entanglements with any of the single ones.”
“That’ll be your brother-in-law’s remaining single brothers, by the way,” Layla interjected, putting it into perspective for her. “Those are the only relationship risk ones left.”
Cyn’s nose wrinkled. “Yeah, that’s not a problem for me. I’ve been around the others enough to know I’m not attracted to any of them.”
I’m pretty sure the other women’s expressions matched my own—shock. “Are you a mutant?”
I mean, I had to ask it! I’d never come across any single and straight woman who didn’t fall for the male Townsend allure, regardless of how old they were. Hell, I even blushed when Hurst Townsend spoke to me, and he was older than my dad.
“No, but it’s a bit like calling my dad ‘Daddy.’ The possibility of it happening is always there, but I don’t want to become a topic of conversation for everyone else.”
Downing the rest of my drink and nodding at the chick, Leisha, who was behind the bar and watching us with a grin on her face like she knew what the conversation was centered on, I prepared myself mentally for what I was about to wade in to.
I had sisters, we spoke about random shit all the time, and what Cyn had just said was definitely going to end up like one of the ones we nursed alcohol all the way through for. Leisha knew this because she’d done it enough times when we all met up here, and she also knew to keep my drinks weaker than the other ladies. I never left myself vulnerable, but I was also allowed to enjoy a drink with my friends.
“Okay, explain this to me—what’s this about not calling Ned ‘Daddy?’”
“Ooh,” a new voice cooed from behind me, almost making me pee my panties, except this one I knew well and had been expecting at some point. “Who are we calling ‘Daddy?’” Tony asked as he pulled a chair up next to me and sat down.
“Cyn, you remember Tony from Delicious Divas?”
She rolled her eyes back at me. “The guy’s totally unforgettable.”
Then, focusing on him, she filled him on the conversation so far. “Okay, so, my dad is Ned Dahl.” As he opened his mouth to say something, she waved her hand. “Yeah, that Ned Dahl. Anyway, that means my sister is married to one of the Townsend-Rossis, and I mentioned I wasn’t attracted to any of the remaining single Townsends, so Jacinda asked me if I was a mutant. I was just explaining that me being with one of the family was like me calling Dad ‘Daddy,’ i.e., it’d make me a topic of conversation for everyone else. I don’t think they understood what I meant, though.”
