“Actually, I’m good with that. So what bugs crawled into your granny panties?”
Her smile turned into a death glare. “I swear, Ezekiel Constantine Masterson, if you use that word to describe my delicates in public again, Iwillhurt you.”
She used the word “delicates” to describe her underwear. How angry could she be? “Spill, sis, or I just might announce it to the entire fam.”
“Listen, No Fun. Don’t fuck with me. Even your hottie of a boyfriend won’t be able to save you if you make me mad.” She took a long sip of her drink and didn’t seem to hate it as much as she said. “You couldn’t have waited a little longer to lock things down with Orion? It’s bad enough I’m the only sister. Now, I let my baby brother, who’s two hundred and fifty years younger than me, beat me to the steady partner parade.”
I snorted, deftly sidestepping her attempt at making me feel guilty. “Sorry, not sorry, Habibti. You go through men like I go through clients. Jax, Perseus, Hector haven’t settled down yet, either, and you don’t hear them whining. Besides, it’s not a competition. Although . . . if it were, I guess I won.”
She flicked the back of my head playfully. “Don’t gloat. It makes you look petty.”
Chuckling, I set down the pitcher of tea and turned to face my sister properly. “I recall a certain big sister telling me to go with it in the moment and hope for the best after the mission. Seems like she gives world-famous advice. Maybe you should talk to her.”
Brenda scowled theatrically. “Don’t make me regret helping you out when you were in crisis. Besides, I’ve got some news that’s going to put everything else into perspective.”
I lifted my eyebrows, intrigued despite myself. Brenda was rarely serious unless she had good reason to be. Inclining my head, I indicated she should continue.
“You know about my current assignment? The one where I’ve had to play mid-level manager at an insurance company for the last three-plus years?”
I might have laughed my ass off when she told me. “I’m not sure how you’ve managed to be a mere ‘mid-level’ manager for all this time.”
“Right? Or work at something so boring as insurance. The things we do for the cause. Well things are getting more interesting. I’ve been watching over one of Michael’s special projects. He’s an angel born to human parents.”
I waited for the punch line, but she didn’t elaborate. “You mean he has angel DNA in him from an unreported birth?”
“No, I mean he’s a full-on angel born to human parents with no angel DNA.”
My jaw dropped. By everything I’d been taught, that was impossible. “You’re shitting me.”
Brenda shook her head, suddenly sober. “Deadly serious, Habibi. His name is Nicholas Fenton. Uriel had been keeping an eye on him for years. Esrom Grant’s grandson Trevor has been‘guarding’ Nick since college. Three years ago, Uriel finally told Michael because young Nick got a new job working at?—”
Everything clicked. Brenda had scored herself a dream assignment. I tapped my fingers on my chin. “Some boring insurance company?”
“Such a good detective.” She tapped my nose like she had when I was a kid—a hundred and forty years ago. I growled at her, but she ignored me. “I invited him to the party so he can get comfortable with our family.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised. The whole, “you’ve got to have a party, Habibi,” bit had seemed a bit strong. But when Mom joined in, I didn’t think to look beyond my sister being herself. “So, my party is part of your assignment?”
“Our assignment,” she said, getting a glass from my cabinet. “Which is why I can finally give you the details. Now that you and Orion are living here, you’re the perfect duo to help keep him safe. Super hunk and the boy blunder.”
I tried so hard not to smile, but that made it harder, and I added a laugh because I sucked that bad at keeping a straight face. “I hate you. I so fucking hate you.”
“Language!” Mom slapped my shoulder. “And at your sister, no less.”
Naturally, that was the moment Mom and Dad picked to arrive. “But Mom, she called me a bad name.”
I put just enough whine into my voice that Brenda cringed. She glared at me, but I gave her my best “gotcha” face.
“Brenda. How many centuries will it take for you to stop picking on Ezekiel?” She swept past me and gave Brenda a big hug. “You look wonderful, dear. Other than an annoying baby brother, the current assignment agrees with you.”
Dad snuck up behind me and scooped me off my feet and tossed me over his shoulder like he had when I was a child.
“Dad? I think we stopped doing this about a century and a half ago.”
“I thought you also gave up running to your mother and whining around that time, too. I got confused.” He set me down and I gave him a hug.
I couldn’t argue. Dad always told me, “Act like a child, I’ll treat you like one.” Rather than try, I returned the fierce embrace. No matter how old we got, Dad continued to hug his kids. It was part of who he was, and I didn’t think I’d ever outgrow them.
Mom spun around, cocked her head to the right, and had that face that said I was about to be overly mothered. “Ezekiel, you look radiant!” She engulfed me in her arms. For someone so petite, she had surprising strength. “All grown up and with a love of your own. Who saw that coming? Not me. And with Orion.”
