“That’s not true,” Chase said as Wyatt, Knox, and Finn started to laugh.
I kissed Phoebe’s cheek. Mom was quieter than usual, watching us intently. I was certain she’d give me a piece of her mind after.
Dad leaned forward, whispering something in her ear, and Mom softened. At least I could count on him to have my back.
“Jeremy, your uncle tells me you’re going through a Spider-Man phase,” Phoebe said.
He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, and he said I can have a room here with Spider-Man.”
“That you can, buddy,” I assured him. “But I need you to go shopping with me. I don’t even know where to begin.”
Jeremy climbed on his chair, clapping his hands once. “Yes. Can we go today?”
Duncan turned to him. “We need to schedule that in advance, Jeremy,” he said patiently. “You can’t just expect people to do what you want whenever you want it.”
“But he asked,” Jeremy said.
“I have plans with Phoebe today.” I put my hand on her upper thigh. I was trying very hard not to think about the fact that she was commando.
She smiled up at me and said, “The three of us can go shopping if you want.”
I couldn’t believe that she’d suggested it.
Jeremy’s deafening yelp of joy filled the room. I chuckled as Duncan tried to quiet him a bit.
“Duncan, Riley, would that be okay with both of you?”
My brother didn’t reply right away. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn’t even know Phoebe. But after Riley whispered in his ear, he nodded.
“Sure,” Duncan said. “We’ll pick him up before dinner.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Phoebe said.
Jeremy got down from his chair, running right between us. He gave me a half hug, and I kissed the top of his head.
“You’re awesome, Uncle Griffin. Awesome.”
Knox and Finn were looking at me with suspicion. I knew they were onto me. They were Jeremy’s favorite uncles, but they didn’t have a Spider-Man room for him at their respective places because they each had a bachelor pad. Slowly but surely, I was buying my way onto my nephew’s favorites list.
And Phoebe’s too.
CHAPTER 24
PHOEBE
The family stayedfor another two hours. When it was time to leave, I realized that Jeremy was negotiating with Duncan and Riley again. Everyone else had left, and the three of them were by the window in the living room.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” I asked Griffin. We were quite a few feet away, near the coffee machine.
“I bet he’s asking Duncan if he can spend the night here when we’re done shopping.”
“That would be so cool. We could make it a movie night, buy popcorn and stuff.” I stopped talking and glanced at Griffin. “Shit, I just realized I invited myself for a second night. It wasn’t my intention.”
“Funny, I planned to convince you to stay.”
“Really?”
He grinned wolfishly. “Fuck yes. I want you here with me another night.” He brought his mouth to my ear. “And a third one.”
