“And why wouldn’t we?”
“Didn’t think you’d want to get your ass handed to you in front of the whole family.”
“And what makes you think I’m going to lose?”
Sean sips from his beer as Pierce sidles over to us.
“Who’s losing what tonight? Are we betting?”
I take the beer from the bartender. “Cheers.”
“I was just saying how nice it was that Simon came tonight when he’ll likely be losing.”
“Ouch, brother. Coming out with the trash talk.”
Sean shrugs a shoulder. “Someone will be winning a bottle of Peter’s new vodka. We have the night to ourselves and babysitting on the line.”
“Babysitting?”
Pierce nods. “Fuck, yeah. Loser has to watch the other’s kids for a whole month of nights out.”
“This is what your lives have come to?” I laugh.
They both look horrified at what I’ve said.
“Do you know how hard it is to find a good babysitter?” Sean asks. “Never know people’s true intentions.”
“You know you could just ask your mother-in-law. I’m sure she has a list of people who are trustworthy.”
“We’re not bothering her with that. She has a country to run.”
“Metaphorically,” Pierce interjects.
“Besides”—Sean waves down the bartender for another drink—“Ellie doesn’t like leaving the kids with strangers.”
“So babysitting it is.” Pierce makes a slashing motion over his throat. “You’re going down, bro.”
“In your dreams.” Sean tells him, making the same move.
Christ. These people really are competitive.
“What’s taking so long over here?” Layla sidles up to my side, slipping her arms around my waist.
“Just these two wanker cousins of yours.”
“What are they up to now?” Grabbing the glass from the bar, Layla sips on her champagne.
I turn, letting her step between my legs. My hand settles low on her hip.
“Fighting over who is going to win tonight. Apparently babysitting is on the line.”
Layla snorts out a laugh. “Is that what the world has come to? I’m pretty sure they used to bet that the other got to pick the next one’s tattoo.”
“Damn. That would’ve been good to see.”
Being here with Layla is easy. As worried as she was about tonight, she’s slipped into this new role effortlessly. I don’t know if she even realizes she’s doing it. The two of us move together like we’ve always been doing this.
If it’s going to be like this for the next few weeks, it’ll be the simplest thing I’ve ever done.
