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As I opened the door, Slick called out my name.
“I meant what I said. Thanks for today,” he said.
“You’re welcome.”
Irish
I closed down the listening device. Of course, I’d bugged the room, but I hadn’t expected to hear that. Slick admitting he loved me rocked me. And I honestly didn’t know how to feel about that. A part of me wanted to revel in his love, and the other part wanted to run for the hills. But even knowing how he felt, it didn’t mean that I would be his dirty secret for life. I deserved better than that.
Chapter Thirteen.
Drake
Slick was spiralling, and Drake was worried. It didn’t help that one of the freaking prospects had also found his woman and was being given the run-around. Between Slick’s mess and his prospects, Drake was ready to tear his hair out. It also didn’t help that things remained icy at home.
Phoe had kept her word and made him sleep at the clubhouse for four days, but whenever he arrived home, Carmelle and the girls made themselves scarce. There was an atmosphere in his home, and Drake was prepared to tackle it tonight. He parked his bike in one of the garages in his usual spot, walked into the Hall, and wondered what the hell was going on.
Eddie and Tony were shrieking at the top of their lungs as they sat on a tray at the top of each staircase, their brothers, sister, and cousins behind them. Eddie, aged twelve now, was certainly the bolder of the twins. But Tony held his own in a much quieter way. Behind Eddie stood Timmy, now aged eight, with his twin, Scout, behind Tony.
Hanging for dear life to the smooth wooden bannisters with a leg swung over either side were Garrett and Jake, both of themalso now eight. They were level with Eddie and Tony, and Drake frowned.
He hugged the shadows as he watched his sets of twins. Timmy was taller than Scout, and they’d both overcome their addiction they were born with. It had been a long, hard slog, but they’d made it, him and Phoe, together. He was proud of what his boys had overcome. But Scout was smaller than most eight-year-olds, and Drake had no doubt the reason was the illness he’d been born with. In the winter, Drake and Phoe both watched Scout closely because he was prone to cold and flu.
Garrett still had issues but was no longer in the danger zone and hadn’t been for years. He had asthma, and if there was an illness going around, Garrett picked it up. Jake was small like Scout but had the health of a horse. But Jake was the quietest child they had, and Drake often had to make sure he got attention.
Drake suddenly realised what both pairs of twins were about to do, and he stepped forward just as Garrett completed a countdown.
“No!” Drake roared as Timmy and Scout both pushed Eddie and Tony. At the same time, Garrett and Jake began sliding down the banister. Eddie was shrieking at the top of her lungs and waved her hands in the air.
Drake dashed to the middle of the entrance hall, unsure which child to aim for. Even as he dithered, Eddie slammed to the floor with a grunt, leapt up on her tray, and waved her hands around. On the opposite side, Jake slid off the end of the bannister, giggling all the way as he landed in a heap on the floor. Seconds later, Garrett landed on his feet next to Eddie while Tony slammed into last place.
“We won!” Eddie crowed, high fiving Garrett.
“Are you insane?” Drake bellowed.
Four pairs of innocent eyes turned towards him, and Drake inwardly groaned.
He and Phoe had encouraged all the kids to be close, not just the sets of twins, and they often ganged up on him and Phoe together. On the mezzanine level, which was set between the two sets of stairs, several sets of eyes peeked through the spindles at him. Drake sent them all a dark stare.
“Don’t any of you dare move! That includes you, Shannon and Sadie!” Drake shouted as the two girls went to sneak off.
“What would you have done if one of you fell?” Drake addressed Eddie.
She shrugged and pointed to the stairs.
“We brought our mattresses down,” she replied casually.
Drake thought his head was going to pop off. Okay, he might have missed seeing them, but that wasn’t the point.
“You did what?”
“Oh, come on, Dad, we’re only having fun!” Eddie retorted.
Drake idolised his fiery daughter, but sometimes he wanted to throttle her. This was one of those times. He ran a hand through his hair as Carmelle and Phoe appeared from the rear of the house.
“What’s going on?” Phoe asked, her brow furrowed as she studied the mattresses.
“Our kids thought it would be fun to ride trays down the stairs while their brothers slid down the banisters. If they’d fallen from that height…” Drake broke off and made a strangled noise.
