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Annabelle insistedI come back with them to their house after the services earlier. When I got here, the snow was coming down, but it was drivable. A few hours later, Nattie and I have finished off two bottles of wine and possibly joined the boys for a shot or two of scotch.
It tastes like a Christmas tree.
Declan has declared that no one is leaving tonight because there’s a foot of snow on the ground, and it’s supposed to keep coming down.
I could walk home if I really wanted to. It’s not that far. But Declan laughed at my drunk self and said no. When Cooper pointed out that my bodyguard is probably freezing to death, sitting outside in his car, I went out, followed by Cooper, and asked poor Marco if he wanted to come in. Marco declined.
It doesn’t matter that I can protect myself or that my favorite gun is sitting in my purse on top of Annabelle’s fridge because it’s not like I can keep it on the table with little hands all around their house. It didn’t matter that Cooper is a Navy SEAL, and he promised he’d keep an eye on me. Marco didn’t look impressed, and hours later, he was still parked in the same damn spot.
Declan and Belles took Gracie and Evie upstairs to go to bed while Nattie, Brady, Cooper, and I sit around a big bleached-wood dining room table. A Monopoly board sits in front of us, surrounded by chips, dip, salsa, and popcorn. Belle’s brother, Tommy, is watching Godzilla vs. King Kong in the other room, having had no interest in our board game. According to him, “Monopoly is boring.”
“Do you really have to leave tomorrow, Coop?” I’ve learned over the last few years, drunk Nattie is always one of two extremes. She’s either really happy and hyper or incredibly sappy and sad. Tonight, sappy and sad seem to have won. “What if you just say you missed your flight? What would the Navy do? Tell them it’s my fault. Tell them it’s a twin thing. Tell them anything. Just don’t go back so soon.” She wipes away the tears threatening to spill from her pretty blue eyes.
Brady pulls her from her chair and sits her on his lap, wrapping her up in a bear hug.
“Oh, God. Come on. I’m here for a day. Ya think you can keep your hands to yourself for a few more hours, man?” Coop closes his eyes as he dramatically scrunches up his face. Swear to God, I’ve seen Evie make the same face when Belles tries to get her to eat a vegetable.
When I met Cooper Sinclair, he was nineteen years old and had just finished Navy bootcamp. He was about to start training to become a Navy SEAL. That was two years ago. Since then, he’s put on twenty pounds of muscle, lost any baby fat that he still had on his handsome face, and transformed from an attractive teenager into a beautiful man.
These Sinclair genes run strong. Coop and Nattie are both stunning, blue-eyed blondes. However, Nattie’s hair is a whiter blonde than Coop’s dirty blonde. And Declan may take after his father with his darker complexion and hair, but he’s no less stunning.
“Such a manly face, Coop. Do your SEAL buddies know you make that face when you think about your sister having sex?” I know I’m egging him on. But in my defense, it’s fun. And bonus points, it keeps my mind off other things, like Sam.
“Whatever you say, Amelia. Just because you’re not getting any tonight doesn’t mean my sister needs to.” Oh, that little shithead.
I take the chip I just dipped in queso and throw it at Coop’s face. “Who said I was getting any at all, Coop?”
He grabs the chip mid-air, then eats it before looking across the table at Brady and tips his beer bottle at him, giving him up as the rat.
I point my finger at said rat. “You’ve got a big mouth, Brady Ryan.”
Nattie giggles, hiding her face against Brady’s chest. “You have an even bigger mouth, Natalie. If Brady knows anything, it’s because you told him.”
Annabelle comes back into the dining room, rubbing her baby bump and yawning like she’d rather be in bed with the twins than down here with the adults. “Amelia, you’re part of the family. And after the hospital last week, I’m pretty sure everyone knows something is going on with you and Sam. So suck it up, buttercup.”
Declan joins the group, sitting down next to his wife. His hand automatically going to her belly just to rest there.
Family.
The people in this room have been the closest thing I’ve had to family in all the years since my mom died.
I’m not sure why I do what I do next, but I blurt it out before changing my mind. “So, speaking of family, could I get your unbiased opinions on something?”
I take a few minutes and explain everything about the insane Kingston situation, then realize I’ve accomplished the impossible... I’ve left Natalie Sinclair speechless.
I scan the five people surrounding me when I realize not a soul is speaking.
Instead, they’re all just staring.
Cooper blows out a long, low whistle. “Well damn, Amelia. You really know how to go big or go home, don’t you?”
Nattie kicks him under the table.
Well, she tries to, I think. But she manages to kick me instead.
“Children.” Declan looks between his siblings. “No fighting. If you wake a twin, you get to put them back to bed.”
Belles links her hand with mine and squeezes. “You didn’t tell me.” She looks hurt.
