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“I only did that once,” he points out sarcastically.
“Twice,” she says. He thinks about it, obviously realizes she’s right, and pulls an ‘eek’ face at everyone.
“Huxley! You didnotfall asleep while making love with your wife,” Sidnie scolds.
“In my defense,” he states, “Elizabeth was due to get up at five a.m. for a Zoom call with Titus, so—”
“Wait,” Titus says, “how did it end up being my fault? I wasn’t even in the country!”
Huxley gives a short laugh and continues, “So I took the night shift, and Teddy decided at two a.m. that there were far more amusing things to do than go to sleep, so I was awake for four hours. And then Elizabeth came back to bed just as I was dozing off at six and decided I deserved a prize for my parenting skills, and it was so pleasant and relaxing that I just kind of dozed off…”
“Nice to know my technique is so great that it sends you to sleep,” Elizabeth says tartly.
He pulls her onto his lap and whispers something in her ear, and she pushes him, then giggles and says, “Naughty boy.”
“You’re lucky,” Aroha says out of the blue. “Not everyone has an excuse as good as that.”
Everyone looks at her, puzzled for a moment. Then Juliette’s eyes widen, and she stares at James, who’s wincing with embarrassment. “James!” she declares. “Please tell me she’s not talking about you.”
Henry and Alex laugh, and Tyson says, “Jesus, bro. Seriously?”
James gives Aroha a wry look. “Thank you,” he says, half-amused, half-sarcastic.
“What’s this?” Elizabeth asks. “When did this happen?” And the others sit up at the news that something’s going on between James and Aroha.
James looks at Aroha and says, “Go on then. Clearly the world needs to know what an idiot I am.” His eyes challenge her to confess it all.
She sees he’s annoyed, though, and drops her gaze, maybe regretting her outburst.
James studies her for a moment. He’s obviously embarrassed that she’s told everyone, but I know he likes her, and I’m sure he regrets what happened. His lips curve up.
“I’d had a lot to drink,” he says, “and it was very late. I took her home, promised her the best sex of her life, then fell asleep before I could get her knickers off. It wasn’t my greatest moment.”
Everyone laughs, pleased he decided to make fun of himself rather than be offended.
“So what’s the plan this afternoon?” I ask, smiling at Titus as he gets up and gestures for me to take his seat. Old fashioned, but very sweet.
“Paintball for the guys this afternoon,” Alex says.
“Ooh. Who’s likely to win?”
“Mack, probably,” Huxley says. “He’s a sprinter. Broke all sorts of records before he got old and past it.”
“That’s true, unfortunately.” Mack pats his stomach. “I’m getting a paunch.”
“No, you’re not,” Sidnie scoffs. “But you do groan when you get up out of a chair now.”
“I do that, too,” Huxley says, and a couple of the others nod.
“You realize none of us is going to be able to walk after the game,” Titus points out.
“Jesus,” Damon says, “you bunch of old farts.”
“You’re only twenty-seven,” Saxon states. “Some of us are heading toward thirty at a rate of knots.”
“For God’s sake, just bring him back in one piece,” Belle says.
“Especially his family jewels,” Elizabeth states. “You don’t want to spend your wedding night icing his nuts.”
