"The pet lizard," Adrian said proudly.
"I love it!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Garrett, we need to think up really awesome costumes."
"The only thing is, the bus in the show was yellow, but it transformed, so we need to have it transform," Josie said. "I'm trying to rope Liam and Platinum Provisions into thinking up something cool for us."
"Mace isn't doing a couples costume?" I asked.
"Adrian got first dibs," Josie said with a snort. "Plus there are times when I find Mace's OCD endearing and times when I don't. Also, what's the point of joining with a large family if you can't take advantage of it? My costume isn't just going to be a couple; there will be a dozen of us! Also, I don't think Mace wanted to be a lizard."
"I'm going to have a cool outfit and everything!" Adrian said, beaming.
"We should try to convince Hunter and Meg to do something together," I said.
"Way ahead of you," Archer replied. "Weston filled me in on Garrett's plan. Already filled out forms for them."
"Good," I told him firmly. "We have to take drastic measures. I'm not spending the rest of my life drinking out of a metal straw."
Garrett's family members looked at me.
"Wow, Garrett, you really found the perfect girl for you," Archer said.
"I know," he replied smugly, leaning down to kiss me.
"I don't see what the big deal is," Archer said. "It's just straws. Stick them in the dishwasher. The metal ones are better than the paper ones."
"Metal is just… you can't even clean it!" I said irately. "And the ones they had at the shake shop were bent, so you can't even get a brush in to clean the bend!"
"I'm getting a little teary-eyed, you're so perfect," Garrett said, nuzzling my neck.
"We could use actual straws," Remy suggested, pulling a piece of hay out of one of the leftover bales stored in the barn.
"I do not want to drink out of a piece of dirty hay," Garrett said with a scowl.
54
Garrett
Penny's presence had chased away the chill and damp of the fall, but as soon as she drove off, it crept back in. I went up to the large home office. Just because Sebastian had appreciated the Halloween parties didn't mean that he was going to be okay with us shoving him in a back corner and not having any space for his employees. I needed to solve that problem very soon.
However, I was having a difficult time concentrating on where the Thalian Biotech facility could go and what sort of jobs we would even offer for working-class people in the greater Harrogate area. All I could think about was Penny. We had clearly crossed a hurdle in our relationship and come out fine. I had no idea why my brothers seemed to have such a difficult time with women.
I should do something nice for her, I decided.
But what? Jewelry and flowers? That seemed too pedestrian. I was a billionaire. Though I spent all my time working or taking care of my younger brothers, I should still be able to come up with something better in the gift department than trinkets and chocolates. I needed something personal to show Penny that I knew her well and appreciated her unique qualities.
The door to the office burst open.
"Davy was looking for you," Remy said gruffly, setting my youngest brother down on the soft carpet.
"I'm working."
"No you aren’t," Blade said as he and Weston followed Remy in. "I didn't hear you typing."
"Maybe I was reading a spreadsheet," I retorted.
"Lemme see!" Weston said, rushing to my desk. He and Blade were Irish twins, born nine months apart. Their relationship was similar to Archer and Mace’s, meaning that individually they were morons, but put them together, and it was as if they forgot how to act like normal human beings.
"He's not!" he said before I closed the laptop. "He's shopping."
