AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mikey—” I grumble, but the sound of the doorbell cuts off my thought.
“Listen, you don’t know what’s going to happen. Don’t give up on it if it’s what you want.” He smacks my shoulder, then nods toward the door, indicating that we should greet Tad together.
I focus my energy on that. Why not give Tad a little bit of shit?
Mikey pulls the door open. “Tad.”
“Mike.” No one ever,evercalls my brother Mike. It sounds weird. But Tad always does. He says “Mikey” is too infantile for a grown man. Like Tad is better. What the hell kind of name is that, anyway? Tad’s eyes drift to me, and with a scowl, he says, “Luke.”
“Great to see ya, Tad.”
Do you know I’m giving your ex-wife the best sex of her life?
Do you know she dreamed of me when she was with you?
Do you know she’s happier than she’s ever been?
Do you know you’re a douchelord?
I want to say all of it, but I keep a—only slightly menacing—smile on my face. Mikey does the same, leaving Tad to shift on his feet in discomfort. I’m not quite six-foot-two and Mikey is six-foot-three. Tad is five-foot-ten at best.
The intensity of our standoff is bridging on awkward. Thankfully, Trish and Zoey appear with the boys in tow. They give hugs to Mikey and Trish, then they turn to me.
“Will you make us pancakes on Saturday morning?” Alex asks.
I glance up at Tad, then back at Alex. “You bet, buddy.”
“Can we put chocolate chips in them?” A.J. asks, bouncing around. Like the kid needs more chocolate.
“Sure thing.” I look over at Zoey. “That’s your mom’s favorite kind, anyway.”
Tad scoffs loudly. “Boys, we’ve gotta go. Come on.”
They each give me hugs, then turn to Zoey. She squeezes them tightly, and I can see the pain in her eyes at saying goodbye. I wish I had kids of my own, but I can’t imagine how hard it must be to have to say goodbye to them, especially when they don’t seem happy about where they’re going.
Once they’re out the door, the four of us turn to look at each other.
“Well, I think we’ve got some serious celebrating to do,” Mikey says.
“Hell yes,” I agree.
“With sparkling cider only,” Trish says.
“Sounds perfect.” Zoey loops her arm around Trish’s and they head for the kitchen. My brother and I follow, watching them and wondering how the hell we possibly got so goddamn lucky.
Chapter 7
Zoey
Mystomachisfullof anxious butterflies as I pull the homemade tomato sauce from the stove. The dough for the pizza is rising on the counter and Luke is finishing up in the shower. I wanted to shower with him, but someone had to make sure the sauce didn’t burn. Mama O would not be pleased to hear about her secret recipe sauce being burned by one of the few outside her biological family to know it.
I glance up at the clock for what seems like the hundredth time. I can’t wait for the boys to get home. Knowing the way they feel about Luke, I hope they’ll be excited. But of course, I can’t stop the nervousness. I want them to be happy about this.
At least they’ll be excited about pizza. Trying to calm my nervous energy, I grab my phone and put on a playlist of Taylor Swift songs, always a surefire way to calm my nerves or stress.Cornelia Street, one of my absolute favorites, comes on first. I start dancing around the kitchen, probably looking like a total idiot. But dancing around the kitchen while cooking puts me in a good mood every time. That mood turns even better when warm arms wrap around my waist.
I spin to look at Luke. “You look so damn sexy dancing like that.”
“I’m a terrible dancer.”
