Cian’s shoes squeak to halt as he freezes, his head comically twisting from me to his… “I’m sorry. May I ask? Are you brothers or brothers in law?”
“Ew.” Ayla offers, after she manages to hinge her jaw shut from my explanation. “That’s my brother. I love him and all, but…” There’s a lightness in the room that wasn’t there before. Ayla continues. “Sophia is not his.” She shoots a look at her brother. “She’s all mine. And her daddy’s.”
“I have my own, thank you very much. Two actually. Beat that.”
“Look what you started,” Liam says, hands still on his hips, his head shaking back and forth as if he’s watching bickering he’s seen more than once before. “Backing up to the last reasonable thing that was said in this room… Cian’s right. We’re smart—” He looks at me. “Some of us more than others.” To the room he adds, “There’s no reason we can’t brainstorm creative options before we meet with Sherman.”
We? Does he mean them we or us we?
Cian resumes his pacing. Ayla stands, passes Sophia to Liam before scurrying down the hall, muttering to the room at large, “Stupid bladder.”
Muscled, painted, burly Liam Murphy with a dainty baby tucked against his pec just caused my ovaries to explode. Boom.
I can’t say I wasn’t attracted to him before. Seriously, gray sweatpants on day one was enough, and things have only gotten stronger since, but graham crackers.
Cian is pacing again and, when Ayla passes by, he tags her hand. She stops and he pulls her into a hug. “I didn’t get to say hi earlier. How’re you doing?”
“I’m good.” She taps his shoulder. “Apparently I get to sleep in eighteen years, so that’s good news.” She slides back into her seat. “Where were we?”
“Brainstorming creative ideas to get Liam and me out of legal trouble. Nothing’s been offered yet.”
“Ayla, grab your notes app?” Cian asks.
“Why am I the secretary?”
“Fine. Hand me my phone then.” He extends his hand in demonstration.
“I didn’t say no, but assumptions should not be made of women.” The woman winks at me.
“As if we ever would,” Liam grumbles.
“Where were we?” Cian begins again. “Yes. Legal requirements for castle domain.”
“Doctrine,” Liam corrects.
Cian nods at his sister. “HOA terms, legal covenants, insurance limits. Both Liam’s and Lorien’s.”
Ayla, with a glint in her eye, asks, “What makes it castle doctrine? Is it the domicile itself or the person in it?”
Cian circles the furniture and grabs his phone as well.
Here I sit, watching family have each other’s backs, working on problems to protect a loved one. And I have no knowledge and no way to research. Not that having my phone would help in this situation. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
“This is interesting.” Cian says, looking up from his phone. “Castle doctrine only applies to lethal force. Li, you didn’t apply lethal force.”
Liam begins pacing, but his face looks at the baby sleeping in his arms. “So, the thing that didn’t work to begin with”— he takes a huge breath and lets it go slowly—“works even less than we wanted? That’s not better, Ci.”
“Sherman handles my shit. I’m no Columbo.”
“Columbo was a detective,” I throw out. I figure I get a voice since they’re discussing me at the same time.
“Matlock then.” His voice is less sure this time and rises in question.
“Also a detective,” Liam puts in. “And those are from the eighties. Seriously, you need to come into the twenty-twenties.”
“I’ll update my Netflix accordingly.”
“Ooh. I have a couple of great recommendations,” I offer.
