After Cameron gets everything cleaned up, he removes the noodles from the stove and strains them, tossing them into the sauce.
“All right, I think that’s enough balloons. I feel like I’m going to pass out,” Brennan sighs, smacking the balloon he had just finished blowing up away from him.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” Tristan wonders, looking around.
I grin. “Oh, I definitely think she will like it.”
That response earns me a smile from him, and I cling to the expression.
“Can I go get her now?” Elena asks. How she drawls out the wordnowsuggests she’s already asked multiple times.
Brennan rolls his eyes. “All right, go get her.”
She hops off the counter rapidly, sprinting out of the room as fast as her little feet will carry her.
Cameron turns off the burner and reaches into the fridge to grab another beer. After popping off the top, he carries his beer and the pan of Alfredo into the dining room, placing the pasta on the pot holder.
Brennan, Tristan, and I follow him, pulling out the chairs as we settle into our usual spots.
“How was school today?” I ask Tristan while we wait for the girls to return downstairs.
He shrugs. “I played with a snake I found at recess.”
Brennan and I frown simultaneously. I’m unsure why we are both staring at him like this; his fascination with reptiles is not surprising in the slightest. We’ve caught him playing with lizards in the rock beds outside multiple times when he wanted to avoid us, at least before Taryn arrived.
Brennan peers at him. “What did you do with it?”
I reach for my water, bringing it to my lips.
Tristan’s eyes widen as if he is reluctant to share. He fiddles with his napkin. “I put it on a girl in my class who was sitting and reading on the bench. Then she got me in trouble.”
That. That I was not expecting.
Brennan’s eyes widen, and I choke mid-swallow, the water caught in my throat.
“And why would you do that?” Brennan questions.
Another shrug. “I was bored, and she’s annoying.”
I smirk. “You probably just put gasoline on the fire.”
Tristan looks up at me from across the table, one of his blue-green eyes twitching. “What does that mean?”
Brennan laughs. “It means you just started a war. She might be more annoying now.”
Tristan crosses his arms, rolling his eyes.
“Come on. Come On!”
“Okay, okay.” Taryn chuckles at Elena, the approaching sound causing the hair on my arms to stand on end.
We all turn our heads, watching as they descend the stairs. When Taryn sees everything, a lovely blush colors her cheeks, creeping up the slope of her neck and across the curve of her breasts. Her genuine smile quickens my breath.
“Oh, you guys. This is too much!” she says, tilting her head.
When they enter the dining room, Elena grabs the chair and pulls it out for her.
Taryn didn’t even mention that today is her birthday. I remembered it from the application she submitted for the teaching position. I seem to recall everything I read about her. When I informed my brothers, they came up with this plan. Judging by how she is brightly beaming, I can tell she is stunned.
