Her laughter echoed in the hall before she joined the kids and played their movie a little louder. But not before I heard Gavin ask Gage, “Is Daddy’s butt playing a trumpet?”
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
The walls in this house were too fucking thin. I would never live this down.
It took another hour for my stomach to begin to settle. Just as I thought I was done, it started up again. With a vengeance.
I wanted to punch the wall, but managed to keep my temper in check. How the fuck did this happen? Nylah wasn’t experiencing any of these symptoms. She seemed to be fine.
Just as I thought about it, a text chirped from my phone. I warily grabbed it, looking to see if it was Nylah.
Nope. It was Chrome.
How’s your belly, motherfucker?
Fuck me. He knew my favorite was chocolate fudge brownies. How the hell did he convince Nina to give them to me?
I sent back one response. A fucking skull and crossbones.
Laugh emojis filled my screen as he sent them to me.
My fucking brother.
I was going to kick his ass!
Chapter 5 Rael
It took a day or two to feel better and during that time, I plotted my revenge. I didn’t know how or when it would happen, but I would find a way to get my brother back for that prank. I tried to ignore the fact that I had it coming. If I thought about it, I’d done far worse to him in the last six months than he’d ever done to me.
Maybe I should just let himthinkI was going to do something crazy and watch him squirm. It would be fun.
As the date grew closer for the wedding, I couldn’t help grinning as I entered the house through the garage, finding my family in the kitchen as they gathered for lunch. Nylah kept the boys to a schedule, and both were busy munching on peanut butter and apple slices, grapes, cheese cubes, and little sandwiches she called pinwheels with ham, cream cheese, and green onions. My boys ate every bite, which shocked the shit outta me because I wouldn’t have eaten raw onion at their age for all the candy in the world.
I paused as I entered, noticing her expression. She seemed upset or distracted. “What’s bothering you, kitten? I can practically see the wheels churning in your head,” I joked.
Nylah was perched on the edge of her chair, facing our little Gia as she watched her pick up plain Cheerios and mashed banana and clumsily shove her breakfast in her open mouth. But when she wasn’t ensuring our nine-month-old baby wasn’t in danger of choking, she kept glancing around the kitchen with a frown. “It’s just this setup. I don’t know.”
“What about it? Something you want changed?”
I will rip out all the cabinets and rearrange the whole kitchen, my Berserker announced.
I didn’t think it was necessary.
“Actually, yeah. The deep freezer is in the garage, and the backup fridge is on the back porch. I have to take Gia with me every time I need something. And you know I have to gate off the boys. It’s not a great flow.”
Never thought about it. “Well, I’m happy to move things around. Just tell me where you want them.”
She described the layout, and I nodded. “I can get it done tomorrow. That work?”
“Yes. I’m going shopping with Cameron, so we’ll have to figure out childcare for the kids.”
I remembered. “You’re picking out a dress.”
“I want something special.”
“You’ll find it.” She could show up in a potato sack, and I’d be happy. “Don’t worry about the twins and Gia. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.” Her shoulders relaxed, and she smiled. “How was church?”
