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When I get to the address Mom gave me for Brendan’s new place—well, new in the sense that I haven’t had a chance to visit since he and Wade moved in about nine months ago—I have to do a couple laps of the street before I can find somewhere to park; it seems we’re not the only people in this street having a holiday party tonight. Thereisa free spot in the driveway, but according to a phone call I got about twenty minutes ago from Shay, the new dads haven’t arrived home yet and I’m not going to be the asshole who takes their parking space and makes them walk halfway up the street with a newborn baby. Especially when it’s fucking freezing out.
I get out of the car and pull on my coat before slamming the driver door and crossing the wet road over to the side of the street that Brendan’s house is on. My feet crunch over old snow as I travel down the sidewalk, eventually arriving at my brother’s house.
It’s a nice little brick house that Brendan renovated himself; it actually previously belonged to Wade’s grandmother and had been sitting unused for years after copping quite a bit of damage from Hurricane Sandy. But it looks great now; although it’s a lot smaller than my parents’ place, so it’ll be interesting to see how the entire Kelly family actually fit in the smaller area.
I press the doorbell and it’s answered by Liam, who seems to have made himself at home. “They’re not here yet,” he grumbles, motioning toward a chair in the entrance where everyone seems to have dumped their coats, before leading me through the hallway to the kitchen at the back of the house and offering me a beer from the fridge.
I take the beer and snap off the cap, then scan my gaze around the living room slash dining area. As if my eyes are being drawn to her like magnets, I see Ellie across the other side of the room; she’s sitting on the arm of the sofa and chatting with Aidan and Declan.
I draw in a deep, steadying breath as my eyes scan over her. She’s wearing a wine-red sweater dress that cuts off around mid-thigh, and knee-high black leather boots that I’m positive were made to be propped against my shoulders. Her lips are the same color as her dress, and her rich golden hair is done in long, soft waves that fall all down her back.Fuuucckkk…I’m so dead.
As if sensing my gaze on her, she turns from her conversation, her sea green eyes flashing as she catches me watching her. Her mouth quirking in amusement, she says something to Aidan and then rises from her perch, stalking across the room toward me.
“Finnegan,” she purrs in that husky voice that sends blood straight to my cock.
I return her smile. “Ellie Cat.”
Her gaze slowly travels up and down my body and then she draws in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Narrowing her eyes at me, she says, “If you thought coming here smelling like a rainforest and wearing a sweater so thin it hides literally none of your abs would break me…you were mistaken.”
I manage to give a nonchalant shrug, despite the fact that her attitude has me so turned on I’m practically vibrating. “And you should know those boots do absolutely nothing for me,” I lie. “And that dress…” I shake my head sadly. “It’s hideous. You should just take it off.”
Her face splits into a teasing grin. “Are you asking me to strip for you?”
I let out a soft chuckle. “I’m just looking out for your brand. I know how important your image is to you.”
“It definitely sounded like you were trying to get me naked. But we both know what you need to do ifthat’sgoing to happen.”
I arch an eyebrow at her. “Set up another Zoom chat?”
She taps a finger to her chin, an expression of mock thoughtfulness on her face. “I don’t remember being completely naked in that.”
I’m about to respond when there’s a commotion behind me and I turn around to see Brendan and Wade have finally arrived home with their new baby girl, Arya. Of course, this leads to a whole lot of fussing over the baby and handing her around from person to person.
I can admit she’s pretty cute, but I’m happy to stand back and admire her from a distance. Kids I can handle okay, but babies—and especially babies this small—scare me a little. I just worry I might drop them or break them or something.
“Okay, seriously, what’s the deal with you and Ellie?” Shay asks me once the baby fuss has died down a little.
As if those words are like a radio signal, my other brothers, as well as Declan’s husband, Heath, all join the conversation too.
“Are you secretly together but pretending not to be?” Brendan asks. “Because if that’s the case you seriously suck at pretending.”
“Yeah, Jamie and I were way better liars,” Shay says.
“No way.” Heath gives a sharp shake of his head. “Dec and I are the best liars here—none of you knew we were fake.”
“I knew!” Connor pipes in.
Shay rolls his eyes. “Technicality. I still claim it doesn’t count because they weren’treallyfaking. They only thought they were faking because they didn’t realize it was real yet.”
“No, we’re not together,” I say firmly, returning the conversation to Ellie. “I mean, wewere. Sort of…I guess…I don’t know. But now, we’re—”
“They’re playing chicken,” Aidan finishes for me. Of course he’d know what the whole deal is, being Ellie’s best friend and everything. “They’re denying each other sex and whoever cracks first and begs for it is the loser.”
A whole bunch of wide, incredulous eyes fix themselves on me.
“Dude, are you insane?” Brendan asks, his mouth agape.
“Stop being a dick and go have sex with your woman,” Liam practically growls.
