Max headed straight over to her, kissed the top of her head and pulled her into his chest. He muttered something just for her and her arms went round his neck.
I saw Seph watching them and the usual cheeriness he wore faded away.
“I’m so glad you showered straight after.” Payton was in the kitchen area, Owen next to her, unpacking dishes of food. There wasn’t just enough here for today, there was enough for pretty much the week.
“You can’t question my personal hygiene, Payton Callaghan. Not after how many days was it you went without washing your hair?” Owen teased.
“You counted?” She smacked his arse and they both laughed.
Noise came from every corner, more so as Marie and Grant, the father of all seven Callaghan siblings, came in, bringing small presents for Teddy and Eliza. I stayed seated, watching the interactions, seeing Max hug his dad, Marie fuss over Payton and Seph. That they were twins wasn’t that obvious until they were standing next to each other, then their eyes and their mouths gave it away completely.
“I’ll start the barbecue.” Max was halfway out of the door before he’d finished his sentence, Killian and Jackson following him with a box full of whatever he was going to cook on it.
Victoria shook her head. “I will never understand it.”
“That’s because you’re a historian,” Seph said. “You need a psychology degree to understand Max.”
“Quite possibly.” She topped her glass up. “Tell me you’ve had your suit fitted?”
Seph wriggled his eyebrows at her. “I’ve had my suit fitted.”
“Are you lying?”
“Nope. I had it fitted on Tuesday. Scared the shit out of the girl doing the measuring so you might get a complaint.” Seph was already nearing the end of his first bottle of beer.
“What did you do, Joseph? I thought you’d grown out of hiding behind corners and jumping on people.” Marie sat down next to us.
Seph laughed. “Yeah, I have grown out of that.”
“Are you going to tell us or shall I just send her a bunch of flowers and a bottle of something to erase the pain with?” Victoria frowned at him.
Seph shrugged. “I was getting changed after the fitting – completely changed. I nipped out of the cubicle because I figured no one was there and…” He gestured wildly around his crotch area. “She saw everything.”
“What did she do?”
“Froze for about ten seconds, apologised and then legged it out of there. I’m taking her out for a meal on Tuesday. I think she wants to see it again.” His grin was disgustingly broad and stupid.
Marie cursed quietly. “Where did I go wrong with you?”
Payton shook her head. “I blame Max. Remember that arsehole phase he went through when he was about nineteen?”
“But he grew out of it. Joseph’s in his thirties and he’s still delving into the arsehole phase far too often.” She sighed. Then cracked him round the back of the head. “Fecking eejit. You’re a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
Seph rubbed his head. “I think she was in awe rather than shocked.”
“If I was close enough, I’d hit you too.” Payton didn’t sound too pissed off. “How are the wedding plans, Vic?”
Victoria smiled and this time it was genuine. “Good. Small Christmas wedding. Keeping it simple. So far, everything has gone to plan – just waiting for something to go wrong.”
“It won’t,” I reassured her. “You haven’t complicated anything. It will be fine.”
“How about your wedding plans?” Her eyes twinkled. The Callaghans only pretended not to know that my wedding was fake.
I’d tried not to think about Liam all week. We’d exchanged a few messages, spoken once, all about either the building or the wedding. There had been no reference to the other night or what either of us had said about our childhoods. But that didn’t mean that when I was lying in bed, alone, I hadn’t thought about him.
Because I had.
I’d remembered how his hands had felt as he grabbed my hips, and what his words had made me feel when he whispered them to me, dirty words that became tender, rough hands that held me softly afterwards.
