“Hey, brother. Do you think I look beautiful?” Madden asks, a pair of yellow clip-on earrings hanging from his ears. Emma is wearing similar ones in pink, plus a necklace, and Hallie has just one purple one on, plus a crown.
“Uh, no,” I say. “What are you doing?”
“We’re playing Pretty Pretty Princess,” Madden explains as if I’m a moron. I bought that game for Emma on her fifth birthday, and she hasn’t played in years, but somehow, she convinced her uncle to play.
I glance at Hallie, who is fighting back a full-blown laugh, before I turn to my brother.
“Why are you here?” I ask. “What are you doing here, in my house?”
“Hallie wanted to hang out with me. I am her favorite, after all,” he says, and despite knowing it’s my bed she’s sleeping in every night, a flash of jealousy flares. My brother knows it, a smirk spreading on his lips.
“She’s busy babysitting Emma. She doesn’t need to be babysitting you, too.”
My brother throws up his hands, offended. “Excuse me, she wasmyemployee first.”
Hallie throws one of the plastic rings at his head. “I work for your parents, Madden. Not you.”
“You do marketing, and that’s my side of the business, so you work for me.”
Hallie reaches for her phone, unlocking it while lifting a challenging eyebrow at Madden. “Want me to call your mom again? I’m sure she could iron out that small confusion real nice.”
Hallie gives him a look that both entertains me and, strangely enough, turns me on. Granted, everything she does turns me on these days, but that’s neither here nor there.
“Jesus, Hallie, why do you always resort to calling my mom?” Madden whines.
“Because you’re a little bitch who always folds once I do.”
Emma lets out a laugh, and I narrow my gaze on both of my girls.
”Hallie—“ I start, but she turns to Emma with a stern look.
“Remember what I said.”
Emma nods before filling in. “I can’t curse until I’m eighteen and I’m out of my dad’s house, even if it seems stupid and totally misogynistic that the world thinks it’s okay for boys to cursebut not girls,” she says, and Hallie smiles wide before nodding. When she turns to look at me, I can’t do anything but grin and shake my head at her.
“Anyway, we’re all going to The Mill tonight. Colton threatened to kidnap me since he can’t check on me next door anymore, and he whines about it to Adam, who whines about it to Wren, who told me she needed me to come. And when your sister calls, I come.”
“What does that have to do with me?” I ask, crossing my arms on my chest, even though I know anywhere Hallie goes, I’ll be going.
Hallie stands, looping an arm on my shoulder and leaning her head on me. I fight the urge to pull her in close and press my lips to hers, but just barely.
“You have to come, or else I’m going to be stuck with Madden and Nat arguing all night and Adam and Wren making out and Colton doting on me like I’m five.” I look down at her and know that what she’s saying is the truth: all of those will, in fact, happen. “Please? I’ll do anything,” she says, and my mind goes places that she clearly can follow. A grin spreads on her lips, and she winks at me. “Emma’s going to have a sleepover with your parents tonight, so you’ll have a night of peace if you agree.”
I know she doesn’t actually mean a night of peace, and the true promise she’s dangling before me is what has me nodding.
“Okay, fine,” I say, stepping back to get much-needed space. We’re in mixed company after all. “Are you okay with that?” I ask Emma.
“Yeah!” she says excitedly, nodding. “Grandma said we could watch movies and bake a cake.”
“We covered all the bases, so you can’t bail,” Madden says.
I look to Hallie for confirmation, and she shrugs.
“It’ll be fun.”
I kiss my peaceful night goodbye, but I don’t think I’ll miss it too much.
“All right. The Mill it is.”
