Ronan
It's surreal to be standing at my brother's door with Thane's arm around me. Surreal andwarm. I snuggle in a little closer to my own personal furnace and hit the doorbell.
We're met with a cacophony of barking and kids screeching and Roly saying something in Spanish. My brother, looking every bit the part of a bi-bear, opens the door with a flourish, wearing an apron.
A frilly apron.
He shakes his head, holding up his hand. "Don't say anything. My apron caught fire, and this is all Ashley had at her house."
I bring my fist to my mouth and snort. Thane looks away, biting his lip.
"Fine. Laugh,” he says, ushering us into the entryway, where we take off our coats and stomp our shoes.
Thane’s hand wraps around the back of my neck and we both chuckle. Frankly, it just feels good to be affectionate in front of my family. Speaking of which, the three most beautiful young ladies in the world bum-rush us, surrounding us with giggles and hugs, pressing dogs into our hands for snuggles and kisses. I stoop, making sure all of my nieces are properly hugged. Lily, the oldest, reaches out to Thane and hugs his waist.
Thane goes still for a second, emotions flooding his face. He turns to the side, and I can’t be sure, but it looks like he’s wiping something from his eyes. Heath and I make eye contact, and he pulls me into a big bear-hug.
"We’re gonna make sure he knows what family is supposed to feel like," he whispers gruffly in my ear.
I wipe away a few of my own stray tears and nod, following them into the living room. Jake and Jean-Pierre, along with Evie and Scout, are waiting for us. Before stepping down into the bright, wide-open space, I stop for a moment and take it all in.
When it comes to family, we are awfully lucky. Heath used to work for Jean-Pierre and Scout, but now they’ve all joined forces, including their significant others. Frankly, our group got a huge upgrade when they all went into business together. Sure, the money is good, but these brilliant, kind, supportive people are all now a part of my family too.
The sliding door opens, and more kids pour into the living room, followed by two very tired-looking adults.
“Annie!” I say, running over to Jake and Evie’s sister-in-law.
Annie gives me a hug and is followed by Spence, Jake’s twin. They’re fraternal twins, but their features are as similar as their coloring is different, and having him and Jake in the same room feels like a weird trick of the light.
Jake’s hair has grown to nearly his shoulders, and he’s wearing something sheer and iridescent in black, his fingernails painted a dark purple, with a smudge of guyliner finishing out his look. Spence, on the other hand, is wearing khakis and a white button-down, showing off his tan, his bright smile, and his gorgeous, trimmed red hair.
What’s cool is that neither looks at the other like they are wrong.
Jean-Pierre, clotheshorse that he is, is wearing one of the fancy suits that he favors. Tonight’s choice has a sort of burnished-velvet print that could only look good on a seven-foot-tall god of a man. Jake is sitting on his lap, whispering in his ear, and they are in their own bubble, hardly aware of us at all. Knowing what I do of Jake's past, and the things that Jean-Pierre had to overcome, it feels special to see them like this now.
Evie, her lavender hair coiled up into victory rolls, looks stunning in her shapely fifties-inspired dress. Her five-inch heels are set off to the side, and her lipstick, fingernails, and toenails all match perfectly.
She taps Jake’s arm. "You know, there's kids here. You could pay a little attention to the rest of us," she says with a brilliant smile. There's no heat in her words, only affection and humor, and Jake tosses it right back.
“Sure, like Dad didn’t find you and Scout in a compromising position in the pool the other day.”
I catch Scout’s eye as the sibs go back and forth, and she shrugs, popping her collar.
As ever, Scout is striking. She's as tall as Heath is, though quite lean, with a gorgeous salt-and-pepper undercut that has gotten just a bit saltier in the last year. She reaches over and slides Evie onto her lap. Evie’s protests sound like a whole lot of weak sauce with Scout’s large hand palming her ass.
“Fine,” she says, snuggling into her wife’s embrace.
Thane finds us a spot on the large L-shaped couch. “When in Rome,” he says, laughing as he pulls me down onto his lap.
Without a second thought, I cross one leg over the other and lean into him, enjoying the feel of his large, strong arm across my chest.
We’re all laughing at ourselves, ridiculously loved up as we are, when Roly walks in. Expecting some sass, I'm surprised when he looks disgruntled. His eyes flit to me and Thane, and his lips turn down even further. I know that he and Thane had a brief affair, but he's clearly happy with Heath, so I thought there wasn’t anything to worry about. Maybe I was wrong.
Heath sees Roly’s reaction, and his head tilts to the side in confusion. He walks over to the man I know he'll be marrying as quickly as he possibly can, whispering in his ear. Roly shakes his head, annoyance playing out on his features. Heath places his hand on Roly’s chest, rubbing it softly. Roly’s shoulders finally relax and he stands on his tiptoes, leaning up to whisper in my brother's ear.
Heath’s face goes an alarming shade of red and he closes his eyes, clamping his hand over his mouth.
Roly punches his shoulder. "It's not funny."
