“Good morning,” Vin greeted.
Evan grunted as he reached for a mug in the cabinet above.
Vin waited, watching in amusement as Evan poured two cups of the strong brew, passing one over to him before drinking deeply. Half the mug was empty by the time Evan sighed and looked over at him. “Morning.”
His laugh filled the room. “Long night?”
“Good night,” Evan replied with a smirk.
“I heard.” Vin did not want to talk about hearing Nix’s screams and begging for half the night.
“Sorry.” Evan shrugged his shoulder. “I don’t have many visitors here so I never had the rooms soundproofed.”
“It might be a good idea for the future,” Vin suggested.
“I’ll call a contractor after the holidays,” Evan said. “Especially if Nix keeps inviting his family.”
“The boys are close,” Vin allowed.
Evan nodded, then drained the rest of his coffee. He poured himself a refill before he darted his gaze around nervously.
Vin was barely half through with his own coffee and had no idea what was going on. “Problem?” he questioned.
“Not really,” Evan replied. “But have you spent much time with Gem?”
“No. A few hours. He calls Aries a lot,” Vin shared.
“He calls Nix a lot too, but I mostly know him by reputation,” Evan told him.
Ah, and Evan and Nix’s relationship was pretty new. “I’d say he’s reasonable with a healthy dose of overprotectiveness for his brothers.”
Evan glared at him from over the rim of his mug.
Vin chuckled. “It’ll be fine, man. The one you really need to worry about is their mom. She’s a cross between Aries and Nix with a dash of bossy affection. I swear that woman has never heard the word no in her life. She even adopted Robbs and calls him after games now.”
“Robbs?” Evan choked on his coffee. “Our friend Robbs? The short-tempered and snarky hellhound?”
“That’s the one. They met when she came to check on Aries after the hit that sent him through the glass.”
Evan winced. “It’s a miracle he wasn’t seriously injured.”
The growl escaped before Vin could control it. “Yeah.”
“But he’s fine? No lasting aftereffects?”
“He wasn’t down long. Thankfully, with his shifter genes, Aries bounced back. His mom and dad still came and checked on him.”
“And adopted Robbs.” Evan laughed.
“It’s what she does,” Vin said. “She texted me this morning to let me know that their connecting flight is delayed.”
That brought a frown to Evan’s face. “Nix will be disappointed. He was looking forward to spending time with her.”
“I asked if it would be easier for them to cancel their trip, but she wouldn’t hear it. She, and I quote, informed me that she would be spending Christmas Day with her boys, all five of her boys, if they had to drive. They should be here after dinner tonight. The boys will have all Christmas Day with her.”
Evan paled. “Five.”
Lifting his mug into a toast, Vin grinned. “Welcome to the family, man.”
