“Shhh!” I hissed, clapping a hand over her mouth and looking around anxiously.
She poked my hand with her tongue until I released her. “What?”
“Not so loud. My brothers might hear you.”
“Do they have the house bugged?”
“Maybe,” I whispered back. I started searching the appliances. “I wouldn’t put it past Garrett to wiretap my house.”
“This seems crazy,” Avery said, trailing me as she frosted another cupcake.
“You don’t know my brothers,” I told her as I checked the smoke alarm. “They can’t let anything go. Once a Svensson gets an idea, we pursue our goal with single-minded intensity. Great for business but not so good if you’re trying to pull off a fake marriage.”
I was checking the fridge when the doorbell rang.
“What the—my brothers know not to bother me.” I stalked over to the door and shoved it open. There in the doorway were two dozen of my young brothers, from Davy, the youngest, who smiled up at me and waved, to the surly teenagers who seemed about as annoyed as I was that they were at my condo.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded of a grinning Archer and Parker.
“We’re your family. We can’t come visit?” Archer said as the kids raced into my condo.
“Be careful,” Avery said to them.
“If they get hurt, they’ll learn,” I growled.
Billy and Otis raced down the hall to my bedroom. My little brothers were suddenly everywhere, touching all of my stuff, looking at the knickknacks Avery had put on display. I didn’t know who to try and corral first. There was a reason I did not allow any of my brothers in my space. Archer sprawled out on the couch, enjoying the chaos.
“Don’t they have school?” I growled.
“It’s spring break,” Parker reminded me.
“Don’t you two have work?”
“Who, Archer?” Parker scoffed. “Work? Never.”
“A swing! A swing!” several of the little ones shrieked, jumping on the hammock chair.
“Stop roughhousing. You’re going to bring the whole building down,” I said, striding over to pull them off of the swinging chair.
By the time I reached it, Arlo had pushed Nate out of the chair. He hit the floor with acrack. Avery winced, but Nate jumped back up and went after Arlo, fists swinging. I yelled at them, breaking them apart.
“Who wants grilled cheese and cupcakes?” Avery called over the din.
“Me! Me!”
“I need helpers though.”
The promise of food was enough to keep my little brothers at bay. They gathered around Avery like hungry puppies.
“Did Garrett put you up to this?” I snapped at Parker.
“He’s still in the doghouse,” Archer said with a snort as three of my little brothers ran back into the room, jumping up and down excitedly. “Garrett has him doing his bidding to get back in the family’s good graces.”
“We saw…we saw…” my little brothers panted. “Avery does live here! She has her clothes in his closet, and her toothbrush is out.”
“Shush,” Archer whispered. “This was supposed to be between us. You guys really cannot keep a secret.”
“You literally have our little brothers spying on me?” I grabbed Davy, the youngest, and took his chubby little face in my hands. “What else did Garrett ask you?”
