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Nay?
Hades chuckled. “Yeah.”
Vada smiled. “Just checking.”
“They’re here!” Even from the first floor, Allie’s high-pitched squeal bounced off the walls. There was no missing her excitement. Vada stepped back first, then leaned in, giving him another quick kiss before rushing to the door. Allie wasn’t the only one who was excited.
A few minutes later, Hades walked out of his room and down the stairs.
Allie and Emme were circled together in the center of the room with Trini and Vada. He lifted his chin to Roan, who returned the same gesture. It seemed Roan shared Hades’ level of enthusiasm for this. But much like Hades, Roan would do just about anything Emme asked. Fatherhood—it ain’t for the weak.
Allie spun around, smiling. “Can we go now?”
Hades glanced down at the girls’ dresses and waited a few seconds. It seemed Allie had forgotten about a discussion they had last week. While he wasn’t opposed to them wearing dresses on the motorcycle, he had a firm rule of wearing pants. It was a safety measure that Hades adamantly enforced with Allie. But since the girls had insisted on taking the motorcycles, he and Roan had come up with an alternative.
“Get your pants on,” Hades said and watched all the excitement drain from their faces. He battened down his smile and looked at Roan, who was smirking. They both knew they’d get pushback. From what he’d heard, Emme was just as unhappy as Allie with the pants rule. It didn’t matter. Their safety was the only thing both men were concerned about. This was non-negotiable.
Allie and Emme looked at each other silently for a few seconds. It reminded him a lot of watching the old ladies when they were up to something, a preplanned attack of sorts. The scene only made it harder not to give in to his laugh.
Emme gave a sharp but subtle nod, and both girls turned to face him. Looks like Allie will take the lead on this one. These two had become tight in their first year of school and had remained so. Hades could already see these two would be trouble in the foreseeable future.
“Daddy,” —Allie held up her hands— “usually the accidents that happen are rider error.”
His girl wasn’t lying. And it seemed she’d done some research. This would be interesting.
Hades folded his arms and raised his brows. “Rider error?”
Emme stepped closer to Allie and pointed at him. “Um, Uncle Hades, that means it would be your fault.”
Hades slowly nodded, ignoring Trini’s chuckle echoing in the background.
“And we know you and Uncle Roan would never let anything bad happen to us, so we feel safe enough to not wear pants under our dresses.” Allie gave a sharp nod.
This is so my fucking kid.
Emme nudged Allie’s arm and lowered her voice. “Tell him the other part.”
Allie widened her eyes and nodded. “Oh yeah, and we did some research, and studies show that what I just said is true.”
Oh, Christ! Studies show? Hades turned to Vada with a harsh glare.
“See what you’ve done?” He was only half teasing.
Vada gasped and shook her head. “What studies? Where’d you read that?”
It didn’t matter where they’d read it or if they had simply made it up. It didn’t change a thing.
Hades held up two fingers. “Either you put on pants, or Vada drives you. Ladies’ choice.”
The visible disappointment happened in unison. Their lips tugged down as well as their shoulders, and they both released heavy sighs. The room was drowned in silence for a few seconds. Allie was still quiet, but Emme seemed to perk up, and she spun around to face Roan.
“Daddy, what if…” Emme never got to finish. Roan shook his head, shutting her down.
Trini must have sensed they were at a stalemate, fathers versus daughters, with neither side willing to fold. She clapped her hands, gaining the attention of both girls.
“Pants or no pants, it’s so much cooler pulling up to a dance on a motorcycle than a minivan. I think the choice is pretty obvious. Don’t you?” Trini held out a pair of color-coordinated pink pants. Both girls hesitated and looked at their respective fathers. Hades and Roan didn’t even blink, showing they were unified. Begrudgingly, Emme took the pants and followed Allie up the stairs.
Hades waited for the click of the door and smiled, looking over at Roan who smirked, shaking his head.
