AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bryant mock glared at her, then at the stairs behind her. “I thought you’d tamed this little brat?”
“I try.” Amusement was laced through James’s exasperated tone. “What did she do?”
“Acting like I live on another planet and only come around on holidays.”
“You do only come around on holidays!” Olivia protested, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at him.
James chuckled. “She has a point, little brother.”
“I’m about to make a point on her bottom. Here.” Picking up a paper bag she hadn’t even noticed sitting on the floor, Bryant held it out to her. “Have your present, brat.”
Olivia grabbed the gift from his hands and pulled out a bottle of peppermint schnapps—her favorite. “Yummy! I’m going to make a drink. Anyone else?” Without waiting for an answer, she headed for the dining room where they kept a fully stocked liquor cabinet.
“Olivia Jane.”
Her full name, delivered in her Daddy’s no-nonsense tone, stopped her in her tracks. Turning back around, she gave him her best sheepish smile. “Yes, Daddy?”
“Do I need to go get a larger plug to help you remember the rules?”
Embarrassment heated her cheeks, and she shook her head. “No, Daddy, I’ll remember. May I please fix myself a drink?”
“Wait until Shannon gets here and see if she wants a drink. One, Olivia Jane. And not a ‘jumbo’ one, either.”
Jesus, if her cheeks got any hotter, she’d be able to bake cookies on them. “Okay. I’ll just go put this with the other stuff.”
“Good girl.”
Chapter19
James watched his wife hurry through the entryway to the dining area where they kept the liquor cabinet. When she’d disappeared from sight, he grinned and shook his head.
“Jumbo drinks?” Bryant cocked an eyebrow at him, obviously waiting for the rest of the story.
“Yeah. She went out with Shannon the other night and ‘technically’ only had one drink like she’d been told. But considering she herself confessed that ‘one drink’ was really the equivalent of several margaritas, she earned every bit of the paddling she got the next day.”
“Poor little brat.”
James narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”
“Why not? All the easier to convince her to run away with me,” Bryant shot back with an easy grin.
“Asshole.”
“Jerk.”
Pulling his brother in for a quick, hard hug, James let the short embrace settle him, giving him back some of the strength he’d lost over the past few days. “God, I’ve missed you.”
“I know. I don’t come around enough.”
The pair separated and James punched his twin in his rock-hard shoulder. “You don’t. But Olivia and I haven’t invited you in a while, either. She misses you, too.”
“I know, I know. Jeez, just lay the guilt on me, Mom.” Bryant rubbed at the back of his neck, a habit James recognized since he’d caught himself doing so on more than one occasion when the matriarch of the Monroe family had given him a piece of her mind.
“Doesn’t matter. You’re here now. Thanks for coming so quickly. We need someone who can cut through the legal bullshit without emotions clouding everything.”
With a derisive snort, Bryant shook his head. “I’ll do my best, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling some pretty strong fucking emotions about the whole thing. I love her too, you know.”
Olivia waltzed back into the foyer with a distinctly mischievous smile on her face. When she tilted her face up for a kiss, he tasted peppermint on her lips. Well, that explained the smile. His little brat was looking for a spanking. “Olivia Jane Monroe. Did you have a drink after I told you not to?”
