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“Thanks. Who’s she?” she whispered, indicating Addison.
I made the introduction. “Uh, this is my friend, Addy. Addy, this is my niece, Samantha, and my brother Gabriel.”
Both Samantha and Gabriel stood there stunned. Was it so hard to believe I’d brought a woman home? Of course, leave it to a teenager to make the moment more awkward.
“Friend or girlfriend?”
Jesus, I could feel my face heat, but thankfully Addison handled it by coming over and taking her hand. “Friend who happens to be a girl. Happy birthday. I like your nails.”
My niece beamed, turning to show me her sparkly manicure too. “Thanks. My mom wanted me to get acrylics, but I like my own nails better.”
Addy nodded. “Me too.”
“I like your hair. I want to do pink streaks too.”
“Absolutely not,” came Gabriel’s voice, causing Samantha to roll her eyes and move on to her grandparents. She hugged them both and followed them into the living room where her gifts were, leaving the rest of us with my older brother in one of his legendary moods.
He glared at Addison, but to her credit, she only smiled. “Nice to meet you, Gabe.”
“Only my friends call me Gabe,” came his asshole retort.
She lifted a brow. “In that case, I’ll call you McGrumps Number Two. I’m afraid McGrumps the First is already taken.”
Like any little brother would, Dominic laughed his ass off. “Boy, do you have them pegged. Don’t be a dick, Gabe. Addy puts up with an office full of testosterone on a daily basis and won’t take shit from you.”
“I don’t need my thirteen-year-old getting any ideas about dyeing her hair pink.”
I was about to speak up and tell my brother to chill when I realized I didn’t need to defend Addy; she had it covered.
“Right, because I dyed my hair specifically to corrupt Samantha,” she retorted.
Kelsey slid up to put an arm around Addy’s shoulders. “Don’t take it personally. He was an asshole when we met too. I believe you accused me of being a gold digger, right, Gabe?”
The joke had been on him since Kelsey came from more money than any of us. My brother had the decency to blush at the memory. His features softened. “Please accept my apology, Addy. I’m in a mood, but it’s no excuse for my behavior.”
The thing about my brother was he always owned his assholeness and gave a sincere apology.
Addy, not one to hold a grudge, extended her hand. “Let’s start over. I’m Addison, but you can call me Addy.”
His lips twitched. “I’m Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe.”
“Wow, I think Addison is the McGrumps whisperer,” Dominic said in awe.
Both Gabe and I rolled our eyes, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.
“You know, if you ever wanted to be the cool dad, then let your daughter do a pink streak in her hair. Or you could wait until she convinces her mom to do it.”
My brother contemplated. “It would come out?”
“Yeah, we could do a temporary color which will come out in a few washes. Just like a strip or two to make it fun. Could even do it tonight if you’re okay with it?”
Samantha came in, her expression hesitant, as if she wasn’t sure whether to approach our group.
“Get over here, squirt, and let me hug you,” Nic said, diffusing the tension like he always did.
Gabe sighed. “Hey, Sam, what do you think about having Addy do a pink streak for you tonight? Only one.”
Her eyes went wide. “Seriously?”
