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Meghan eventually pulls back. Now, she’s wearing a drunken smile that says she can’t even remember why she was trying to be mad at my brother in the first place.
“Is it weird that I missed you like crazy?” Nadia croons, tugging Harry toward her by the hem of his jacket.
My youngest brother grins and gently clutches his wife’s jaw to steal a kiss. “Codependency. I dig it.”
“Mmm. Here comes the hottest man in Honey Hill,” Emma announces throwing her arms around Jasper. Her girlfriends protest, each claiming that their man is the hottest.
They’re all ridiculous but I can’t lie, watching my younger brothers getting loved on pokes at the jealous part of me. Makes me miss being loved that way.
My eyes wander to Alana. Her eyes wander to mine. With the intensity of the contact, we both look away.
Emma’s face lights up and she flutters her lashes at Jasper. “You guys should join us. This game will be so much more ‘interesting’ now that you’re all here.”
The way she says ‘interesting’ sets me on high alert. Sounds like trouble.
I’ve learned to be careful what I say around Emma. My sister-in-law is a bestselling romance writer, always jotting down bits and pieces of everyone’s conversations in her little notebooks. Sorry, but I don’t want to become the plot line for her next novel.
Harry leans over, eyeballing the game printout that’s in Nadia’s hands. His brows dip. “You’re asking me to play a game called ‘Truth or Darewith What’s On My Phone’—with my mother? I don’t know how I feel about that. I might learn some information that will scar me for life. No offense, Mom.”
She glares pointedly at her youngest son. “Well, thanks for making me feel so welcome,Harry. Anyway, I think I’m going to call it a night.”
Instantly, the girls start whining.
“What…?”
“No. Don’t go, Noelle!”
“We were just starting to have fun!”
Mom fakes a yawn while discreetly making eye signals at our Dad. “I wish I could stay…but it’s beensucha long night…” she says exaggeratedly.
Without missing a beat, my father steps up by her side. “You shouldn’t wear yourself out, honey. You should get your rest.” He takes her elbow and they share an intimate look that makes me want to gag. “I’ll get you home.” He growls at her. Then his guilty eyes turn to us. “So she can rest, of course.”
Harry dramatically grabs his own throat. “I just threw up in my mouth.”
Ignoring her youngest son, Mom bites back a smile. “I guess we’re going to call it a night, kids.”
She kisses everyone goodbye and turns to her ex-husband/new boyfriend with a devious smile on her face. “Mmm. Your hair looks good, Luther,” I hear her say as they stroll away. She squeezes his bicep. “And did you work out today?”
He nods. “You like?”
She grins. “I do. Very,verymuch”
Dad puffs up with machismo. “Good girl.” And I sincerely wish I could un-see the way he grabs a handful of my mother’s ass as they hurry out the door.
Nicky sobs in wide-eyed horror. “Did he just ‘good girl’ our mother?”
Harry pats her head. “Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen, okay?”
Our little sister nods vigorously. “Okie…” she squeaks.
Don’t get me wrong—we’re all overjoyed that our parents are taking a second chance on each other. Their divorce was bitter and painful for us all.
Dad was a workaholic who didn’t make much time for our family. When Mom divorced him and moved us here to Honey Hill, my siblings and I got torn away from the home where we were born in Chicago. For years, our parents couldn’t even be in the same room together. Even still, witnessing their PDA these days isnotmy favorite thing in the world.
I really shouldn’t complain. Their divorce was so ugly. Mom was sad. Dad was angry. And each of my siblings was affected differently. Cash turned withdrawn and grumpy. Jasper became the rebellious playboy. And Harry went in the opposite direction, becoming the most pathetic hopeless romantic this town has ever seen.
As for Nicky, she’s as reckless as a hurricane. Although, it’s probably not fair to blamethat oneon our parents. The girl has been untamable since the day they brought her home from the hospital.
