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Murphy joins the three of us and passes us each a bottle of beer.
“What the fuck are you wearing, Murph?” I re-read his ridiculous apron.Master Basteris printed on his apron with a picture of a turkey in a roasting pan below it. “Dude. No.”
“Come on. It’s funny, and you know it.” Murph looks over at the table full of girls. “Sabrina made me promise I’d stop with the innuendos before the kids are old enough to read, so I gotta get it in while I still can.” He lifts his beer to his lips. “Just wait until you see next year’s.”
Carys moves next to me and kisses her brother’s cheek before I watch her check in with her mom.
Damn. Her ass looks fantastic in that skirt.
A roll smacks me in the face. “What the fuck?” I glare at Murphy, who’s laughing like an ass, with Brady and Declan trying to hide their faces.
Murph picks up another roll. “Stop looking at my sister’s ass.”
“In all fairness, she’shissister too.” My eyes snap to Nattie, who just grabbed a piece of pepperoni bread from the island.
“You little traitor.” I glare at my evil twin, but she shrugs her shoulders, then gives me the finger. “How about you come up with another way to say I’m the size of a house, and we’ll see what else I can come up with?”
One point, Nattie. She definitely won that round.
Dad steps into the kitchen and pulls two root beers from the fridge for Tommy and him. “What’s got you guys laughing so hard over here?”
“Just busting Coop’s balls, Coach.” Murphy throws an arm around my shoulders, and Dad eyes it cautiously.
My gaze swings to Carys across the kitchen. “She’s beautiful, asshole. And I’m allowed to look whenever I want.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to know, let alone see, what any of you are looking at,” Dad teases.
Declan glances around the room. “More than half the women in here are pregnant, Dad. It might be a little late for that.”
Dad takes the beer out of Declan’s hand, takes a sip, then hands it back. “There’s knowing, and there’s seeing for yourself. Two very different things, son.”
Murphy sprays the beer in his mouth out through his nose as he chokes. “Yeah, Coach. Pretty sure I found that out the hard way.”
The rest of us laugh. “Yeah, Dad. That kitchen table looks new. Doesn’t it, Murph?” I goad him. The tales of Murphy walking in on Dad and Katherine having sex on the table will never get old.
“It actually is, Cooper.” Dad leans in close and drops his voice. “Because the old one wasn’t sturdy enough to do what I wanted to with your girlfriend’s mother.”
He takes my beer bottle and taps it to the top of Murphy’s so the foam rises and spills over the sides.
Dad walks away while Brady absolutely loses his shit because he’s laughing so hard. “And that, my friends, is a mic drop moment.”
* * *
I tap Murphy’s shoulder, after the dinner dishes are done, and motion for him to follow me outside.
His shoulders deflate, like a kid about to get yelled at. “Come on, Coop. You can’t be pissed. It was a funny joke.”
I keep walking until we’re far enough away from the house, then turn around to face him. “I didn’t even hear the joke, Murph. I brought you out here to tell you I’m going to ask your sister to marry me.”
One side of Murph’s mouth pulls up in a shit-eating grin. “Is this you asking for permission?”
“No, asshole. I asked your mom for permission. I’mtellingyou out of respect. But don’t say anything to anyone else yet. I want to make sure it’s a surprise.” I pull the box out of my pocket and show him the ring I bought weeks ago.
He whistles long and low. “Damn, man. That’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. I hope she likes it.” I stuff it back in my pocket and ignore the goofy grin growing on his face.
“Do you know when you’re gonna pop the question?” I shake my head, and he holds his bottle of beer up, waiting for me to do the same. “To my favorite sister marrying my favorite brother.” He taps his bottle to mine, and I shake my head.
