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“Whichever egg brings in the highest bid at the auction is the winner,” the other twin spoke up. “Of course, some people in here haven’t won yet.”
“So, this is pretty serious business, not just a family fun day?” I asked, looking around the group.
“Yeah, they’re serious. I’m so excited. This is my first one,” Mia spoke up first. “Wait, mine does count, right? I mean, I’m a Hawthorne now.”
“I don’t know about that,” Asher argued.
“Why not?” Mia argued back. “What’s the matter? You afraid I’ll make the best one?”
“Don’t have a blue, Aunt Mia. Mummy doesn’t like that,” Sophie interrupted. “We can all be cobbers and make pretty bum nuts.”
“You’re very right Sophie. What color egg do you want to decorate?” Victoria pointed to the middle of the table. “I think I want a gold one.”
“I want a purple one, or maybe a yellow one. No, a purple one.” Sophie sucked on her thumb. “Mummy, what color should I do?”
“Well, purple is your favorite color, so maybe that’s a good one,” I suggested. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll pick yellow, and you can come help me decorate it after you’re done.”
“Bonza. Miss Victoria, I want a purple one,” Sophie announced proudly. “Uncle Parker, what color do you want?”
“You pick one for me,” Parker said, “I can’t decide.”
“Okay, you can have a blue one and, Aunt Mia, you have a pink one.” Sophie smiled proudly. “Miss Victoria, now what do we do?”
“Come over here with me and we can pass out the eggs.” Victoria put her hand out to Sophie.
I watched as my daughter climbed off her chair and took Victoria by the hand. It felt good for her to have a grandmother figure. I just hoped she didn’t get too attached. We had to leave in a couple weeks.
“Don’t worry about these boys. They don’t know how to bedazzle like we do.” The sister, Murphy, spoke from my left. “You and Mia look so much alike! It’s crazy.”
“We get that a lot. People used to think we were twins,” I said. “Twins are pretty neat. Your brothers are so identical I can’t stop looking at them.”
“Once you get to know them you won’t think they’re identical anymore.” Murphy handed me the stack of aprons being passed around. “Their personalities are very different from each other.”
“I look forward to getting to know them then.” I passed the apron stack to Mr. Hawthorne. “Mr. Hawthorne, what color egg are you decorating?”
“I usually pick whatever egg is leftover. I like to watch the chaos of the group picking.” He let out a low chuckle. “Better rest up. This group gets extremely competitive in the Easter egg hunt.”
“There’s an Easter egg hunt? For the adults?” I looked back to Murphy, who was grinning. “Okay, now that I can’t wait to see.”
“Plan on being ruthless, dear,” Mr. Hawthorne said. “They won’t go easy on you just because you’re a guest.”
This family is amazing. This is the kinda stuff that should be in the tabloids about them.
“So, Murphy, who usually wins this egg decorating?” I asked, tying on my apron.
Chapter 5
Trey
“That would be me,” I said, standing at the only empty chair.
I’d changed out of the bunny suit and dressed in a casual pair of jeans and a button-down shirt. I’d taken extra time to make sure I looked my best. Chloe had no idea how attracted I was to her.I looked forward to chatting. I’d quietly stepped into the room and stood a few feet from her. It wasn’t like me to be acting so shyly. I gave myself a mental shake and took a deep breath.
“Hello. You must be Chloe. I’m Parker’s older brother.” I continued, extending my hand. “My name is Trey.”
“Nice to meet you, Trey. Is that short for something?” Chloe asked, looking straight into my eyes.
“Yes, it’s a nickname for Henry Hawthorne III. Mostly the lll.” I smiled, then rubbed my hands together. “Alright, let’s get this party started, people. I have a trophy to win again.”
