Chad groaned at that. Even Anthony shook his head, thensaid, “Brother, far be it from me to tell you what’s right or wrong. I think you already know. And I think your priorities should change now.”
It was a cold day in hell indeed when Anthony made such a remark. I would’ve expected it from Xander, Chad, and even Zachary, but not him. Although, Anthony had changed some since he met his better half. Being in relationships had changed all of my brothers, for the better.
But right now they were pissing me off.
“I’m not hitting on Piper, you douchebags. She was flexible enough to come to the penthouse yesterday because I bailed on our meeting. I couldn’t go because Charlotte was fussy. I thought I’d find a way to listen to her pitch while watching my daughter, but I couldn’t because Charlotte wasn’t having it. I told Piper to come here tonight because I was meeting you all anyway. Everyone satisfied with my explanation?” I finished sardonically.
Xander narrowed his eyes. “So, you weren’t hitting on her just now?”
“No,” I said in an exasperated tone, then cleared my throat. “But I was fighting all my instincts to keep from doing so.” I turned to Chad. “I was planning to ask you for some tips on your celibacy thing. How did you even come up with the idea?”
My brothers started to laugh. Not Chad, though.
He looked at us seriously. “I tried to put myself in Bella’s shoes. What would she think if I kept introducing her to women I went out with for just a short time?”
I shook my head. “That’s not who I am. I wouldn’t introduce anyone. And anyway, Charlotte is a newborn.”
“Kids grow up faster than you think, and they see and hear more than you realize.”
Anthony put a hand on my shoulder. “Brother, I respect you. We all do. When you put your mind to something, you succeed. But you could never be celibate.”
The truth was, I didn’t think I could either.
“It was just a thought,” I admitted.
“Look, we don’t want to interfere,” Zachary said in his trademark calm voice. “Just be aware that things are different now.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I’m responsible for Charlotte. I own that. I’d never do anything to make her unhappy or feel unsafe. But this is my tenth day of being a father. So, how about you all cut me some slack?”
Zachary looked as if he wanted to do the opposite but then said, “Sure. Let’s all order some drinks.”
A few of them sat on the other empty chairs, but Anthony remained standing next to me.
“How are you coping?” he asked.
“I’m running on pure will, considering how much I sleep.”
“How’s the nanny search going?” Chad asked.
“The agency you gave me promised to send someone by next week. How the hell did you manage without a nanny with Bella?”
“Bella was much older when Sarah and I divorced, remember? She wasn’t a newborn. She was going to day care, so it all worked out. We did have nannies, just not permanent ones. And with Simone, we had a nanny early on because Scarlett didn’t want to give up being a chef.”
I nodded. “Right.”
“Isabeau and Celine were very involved with Bella, but not with Simone. They’re…”
“Older,” I finished for him, and all my brothers laughed.
“Let’s all forget this conversation happened, or somehow Isabeau and Celine will know we talked about them and that we called them old,” Anthony said.
I started to laugh too. “That’s true.”
“Anything you need, let me know,” Chad said.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” More than he knew. I’d always been close to my family, but I’d never truly needed their help before. Right now, I was very grateful that everyone had rallied around me.
“So, back to Piper,” Xander said.
