She rolled her eyes. “I’m not a piece of property, Roman Anderson.”
Alex chuckled and held his fist out to her. “Mrs. Anderson.”
She slammed hers into his and corrected. “Rimmel.”
Alex nodded and then held his fist out to Ivy.
She did the same. “Ivy.”
“That one is mine,” B declared.
“Bonehead,” Ivy mumbled, then introduced Trent and Drew around.
Rimmel stepped toward Liam and smiled. “We watched you in the last winter Olympics. You did amazing!”
Liam smiled. “Thanks.”
Another brisk wind cut through, and Rim backed up against me with a shiver. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I hunched in a little bit to block as much of the wind from her as I could.
“Let’s load up,” Liam announced, motioning toward his truck and the yellow Hummer parked beside it. “We’ll take you to your cabin.”
# # #
The “cabin” was more like a large ski chalet built into the snow-covered mountain. I could tell even as we pulled up the views were fucking amazing. Not only that, but the house was practically on the slopes, which made for easy access to skiing and the lifts.
“This place is beautiful!” Rimmel exclaimed, her face nearly plastered against the window as she gazed out.
Liam chuckled. “It’s one of our best properties.”
“Thank you so much for letting us stay here!” Rim said, and I half smiled.
Luxury wasn’t exactly lacking in our life. It hadn’t been since I signed with the Maryland Knights a few years ago. It didn’t matter, though. My girl was grateful and even impressed by everything. Something I found very refreshing and endearing.
“We’ll treat this home like it’s ours.”
From the other side of her, Trent groaned. “Does that mean you’re going to give us a list of house rules?”
I stifled a laugh.
Rimmel nodded. “No feet on the coffee table!”
From the front seat, Drew sighed. “Rules on vacation.”
Liam put the truck in park and turned to glance at me. “Guess we know who rules your family.”
I made a sound. “It sure as hell ain’t me.”
“Oh!” Rim exclaimed, ignoring all of us. “Is that your wife?”
All of us gazed to the wide front door, which was now standing open with a blond woman in the center. As I looked, another woman, who was taller with darker hair, stepped up beside her.
“Yeah, that’s Bells,” Liam replied, affection in his voice. “And Sabrina, Alex’s wife.”
Rimmel climbed over my lap and pushed open the door. “Whoa, smalls! Where d’ya think you’re going?”
“I’m surrounded by men. Finally, Ivy and I will have some backup!”
I laughed, palming her waist. “Hold your horses before you fall.”
Rim squirmed around, but I held tight. Drew jumped out of the cab and came around to give me a hand. Reaching in, he hauled her out and set her on her feet.
“Ivy!” Rim called toward the Hummer nearby. “Look! We have backup!”
Ivy gave a shout of relief, and both women went off toward the house.
“They act like we’re hard to deal with,” B muttered, coming to stand beside me.
“We’re a delight,” I added.
“They’re the ones that are hard to deal with,” Alex concurred, watching them exclaim and hug each other at the door.
They acted like they’d known each other for years. It was pretty amusing.
Liam made a sound of agreement. “I met Sabrina when I hauled her out of Alex’s Hummer... She was trying to hotwire it.”
Drew guffawed.
“Yeah, well, Bells showed up here after eight years of nothing with no money, wearing stolen shoes,” Alex told us.
“Those damn shoes.” Liam snarled.
“Kinda makes me glad I’m gay,” Trent quipped.
Braeden cackled. “This from the guy who has to travel with a bag of fries or his other half gets cranky.”
Drew gave him the finger.
We all burst out laughing.
The girls’ laughter drifted down to where we stood, and I watched them go in the house and shut the door.
“Good thing we work out,” B said, slapping me in the chest. “Clearly, we’re gonna have to haul in their shit.”
“Bells has been cooking all morning. Hope you guys are hungry,” Liam told us.
“That means you better like his wife’s cooking and not insult her.” Alex clarified, but I also noted the hint of warning in his tone.
Clearly, he was just as protective over Liam’s wife as B was over mine. I liked the family dynamic they had going on here. It reminded me of what we had.
Inside, the four women were in the kitchen, giggling, and some mouthwatering smells wafted through the entire open-concept main floor. Overhead were soaring wooden beams and a stone fireplace I was pretty sure Rim could stand inside.
The luggage only made it as far as the front door because the second we smelled the food, we went toward it and the good times officially began.
Rimmel
It was Sunday.
You know what that means, right?
Pancakes.
It started as a group of college friends meeting at a diner every Sunday, and now it was a tradition in our family that I planned to hold tight to forever. I loved our lazy Sunday mornings when the kitchen was filled with all of us, the kids running around and the scent of sweet pancakes and coffee filling the entire downstairs.
Growing up, I didn’t have a large family... so having it now was something I would never, ever take for granted.
I was searching through the kitchen for everything I needed when someone grabbed me from behind.
“Ah!” I fell back into a warm, solid chest as arms locked around me, offering balance.
I gazed up, trying to scowl, knowing full well I was failing. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
Romeo’s blond brow arched over a twinkling blue eye. “You trying to give a man a complex by sneaking out of our bed at the crack of dawn?”
I snorted. “The sun’s been up for hours.”
“That’s not an answer,” he intoned.
Straightening, I turned so we were facing. “Oh please, your head is way too big to be getting any kind of complex from me.”
He moved lithely, like the star athlete he was, and the next thing I knew, I was draped over his shoulder and his large palm covered my butt.
“Romeo!” I gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you back to bed.”
“It’s pancake Sunday!” I refuted, smacking him on the back.
“Damn pancakes,” he muttered.
I stopped smacking him and grinned. “Are you jealous?”
My butt hit the countertop when he pulled me down, his hands anchored at my waist. “I think I might be, smalls. What are you going to do about this?”
“Hmm...” I pretended to consider.
Romeo waited patiently, which made me smile. How, after all this time, he still managed to give me butterflies, I would never know. Slowly, I reached out, tucking my hands beneath the waistband of his gray sweatpants.
He flinched, his muscles tightening. “Your hands are freezing!”
“I’m trying to warm them up,” I quipped, curling my fingers against the tight, warm flesh of his butt.
He moved closer, and my hands slid a little deeper. Sighing, I lifted my chin to meet his stare. With a satisfied grunt, Romeo slid the glasses perched on my nose up onto my head. We met halfway, lips fusing like Velcro but rubbing together like silk.
My upper body melted into his, hands dragging over his bare butt around to his hips and then gently pushing lower to the center of his body.
Keeping his upper half firmly against mine, he shifted his hips, allowing more room for my fingers and hand to explore while our tongues danced in perfect rhythm.
His f
ingers tangled in my hair at the base of my neck, the heavy pad of his thumb pressing near my pulse point, almost as if he were measuring just how fast he could get my heart to beat.
Time stood still, and all thoughts of pancakes quickly vanished because when my husband touched me, he ruled me completely.
The sound of someone coming into the kitchen behind us barely registered until Romeo smiled against my lips.
“Brothers do not need to see this,” Braeden cracked. “I mean, it’s indecent!”
I pulled back, shyly tucking my head against Romeo. Romeo chuckled, wrapping his arm around me, offering even more shelter while I struggled to come back to reality.
“Don’t look, blondie. You’ll be corrupted!”
Ivy made a sound and then laughed. “Braeden James, leave them alone.”
I felt Romeo glance over his shoulder. “What are you even doing down here?”
“It’s pancake Sunday,” Ivy said like it was obvious.
Poking Romeo in the side, I said, “See!”
“What is it with the women in this house and pancakes?”
As if on cue, Drew trudged in the room with a large yawn. “I’m starving!”
“Guess it just ain’t the women.” B snickered.
“Close enough,” Romeo cracked.
“Did you just call me a woman?” Drew demanded, surly.
“If you piss him off before his coffee, I’m not going to calm him down for you,” Trent announced, stepping close to the counter to look for a mug in the overhead cabinet.
I lifted my head and peeked up at him.
He glanced at me and winked. “Hey, sis. You want some coffee?”
I nodded.
Romeo lowered his face next to my ear. “You might want to move your hands, baby.”
I glanced down and gasped, realizing my hands were still down the front of his sweats and one of them was curled, unashamed, around his... you know.
Pushing my face back into his chest, I vibrated with the force of his silent laugh. Swiftly, I pulled my hands free and put them in my lap.
Romeo lifted me off the counter, placing me on my feet. Before stepping away, he pulled me in for a tight hug and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
Trent plopped a mug nearby, along with a bottle of creamer, and tugged on my hair.
“Thank you,” I told him.
Toward the front of the house, the front door opened and someone called out, “Yo!”
“Yo!” Romeo returned. “In the kitchen!”
“We brought the kids,” Bellamy called out. “I hope that’s okay.”
Ivy and I both smiled and rushed from the kitchen. We met in the great room, near the giant leather sofa. Bellamy was carrying one little boy who seemed to be around the same age as London, and she was holding the hand of another one walking along beside her.
I smiled, even though my chest squeezed a little as I thought about my own babies back at home.
“Who is this?” I asked, smiling.
“This is Shaw,” Bellamy answered, gesturing to the boy at her side. He had Liam’s coloring and an ornery smile. “And this is Noah.” She went on, gesturing to the boy in her arms. He too favored his father.
Ivy and I fawned over them until Sabrina and Alex came in, carrying the most gorgeous set of twins I’d ever seen.
“I knew you said they were twins.” Ivy gasped. “But I wasn’t prepared for how identical they are!”
I nodded, smiling. “Hi.” I waved. “What’s your name?”
The little boy in Sabrina’s arms ducked his face into her shoulder.
Alex made a sound. “Bro, that’s no way to greet a lady.”
I laughed.
“This is Daniel,” Alex said, motioning to the son he was carrying. “And that one over there is Donovan.”
The twins were a little younger than Noah and were a mix of their parents. They both had dark hair, piercing eyes, and a mouth shaped like a bow.
“We wanted to introduce you before we took them to hang out with their grandparents for the day,” Sabrina explained.
“Do you like pancakes?” Ivy asked Shaw.
He nodded.
Ivy held out her hand, and Shaw surrendered his. “Want to come help me make some?”
Ivy led him off toward the kitchen with a smile, and Liam chuckled. “He likes blondes.”
I laughed.
Donovan, still in Alex’s arms, leaned toward me and held out his arms. Surprised, I glanced at Alex to make sure it was okay. After he nodded, I reached out and took the baby.
“Hi,” I said, feeling a little wave of homesickness wash over me. Donovan smiled and went for my glasses.
“Oh, no, no,” Sabrina said, coming forward to help.
I waved her back. “It’s fine. London is fascinated with them, too.”
“I shoulda known,” Romeo said, coming into the room. “My wife, the baby and animal magnet.”
“Speaking of,” Liam said suddenly, jogging to the front door and pulling it open.
He whistled, and a few seconds later, a giant St. Bernard bounded into the house, sliding across the floor. His giant paws left wet, snowy prints over the floor as he ran.
“Romeo told me what a huge fan of animals you are, so we thought you might like to meet Charlie.”
“He’s gigantic!” I squealed, excited. Donovan imitated the sound I made, and I laughed.
“Charlie,” I called out.
Alex appeared and took his son out of my arms, and I dropped to my knees, holding out my hand for the dog.
Charlie bounded over and plopped down in front of me. When I reached out, his drooly mouth slapped against my fingers, soaking them.
“Oh, Charlie.” Bellamy sighed at his mess.
I laughed. “It’s okay!” I assured her and started scratching behind his ears.
“That dog is bigger than you are, smalls.”
“I love him!” I said, throwing my arms around his neck. His tail beat against the wood floor excitedly.
“Oh, hells no!” Braeden deadpanned, coming into the room.
“Rome, you better get your girl. She’s gonna be thinking that thing’s coming home with us!”
“Oh no.” Bellamy gasped. “Charlie is mine.”
Liam muttered something beneath his breath about how she stole his dog from him, and I snickered.
Pushing me back onto my haunches, Charlie licked my cheek, slobbering up my glasses. The snicker turned into a full-on laugh, and I wiped at my face.
“I mean it, Rome. Hells no,” B declared.
I turned around and stared at my husband and brother. Romeo caught my eye and winked.
“Come on,” I told the dog, using him as a balance to stand up. “We have bacon.”
“Oh, he loves bacon!” Bellamy agreed.
Liam and Alex groaned.
Pulling the glasses off my face, I went over to Braeden, lifted the hem of his shirt, and used it to clean the slobber from the lenses.
“What in fresh hell are you doing, tutor girl?”
I blinked up at him, his face slightly out of focus but close enough I could see how appalled he was.
“I can’t see. You don’t mind me using your shirt, do you?” I asked, then batted my eyes. “If I can’t see, I might trip and fall.”
“Girl, you gonna fall no matter what you do.”
I sighed dramatically and started to pull away.
“You can use my shirt, Rim,” Trent called out.
Braeden grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. “You know I don’t care, sis. Clean them up.”
I beamed at Braeden. “You’re a good brother, B.”
Romeo chuckled and slapped B on the back on his way to the kitchen. “Dude, she played you so hard.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered.
Once the glasses were clean and back on my face, I turned toward everyone left in the living room. “It’s pancake Sunday. That means lots of food and family breakfast. C’mon, there’s plenty for everyo
ne!”
“Are you sure?” Bellamy hesitated.
“We don’t want to impose,” Sabrina added.
“We’ll eat,” Liam and Alex said at the same time.
Bellamy rolled her eyes.
I smiled. “Of course I’m sure. This week we’re all family!”
Charlie walked along beside me, and I stroked his thick, soft fur as we went. When we stepped in the kitchen, Drew glanced over at me with my new friend and burst out laughing. “He’s bigger than you are, Rim.”
I snatched a piece of freshly made bacon off the counter, and the dog ate it in one bite.
Afterward, I turned to help Ivy with breakfast, but my feet got tangled and I pitched to the side.
All the guys started forward, but it was Charlie who stopped me. I guess it was to my advantage that he was nearly as big as me.
“Good boy!” Bellamy said, and the dog wagged his tail and went to her side. She gave him more bacon.
“He’s gonna get the shits,” Alex warned. Liam made a sound of agreement.
Bellamy glanced at me and shook her head. “No, he’s not.”
I giggled.
Sabrina and Bellamy helped Ivy and me in the kitchen while all the guys went into the great room to start a fire and talk about sports. The four boys ran around between us all, and the dog drooled on everything.
It was pretty much like every other pancake Sunday, except our kids were missing.
Partway through cooking, Ivy sidled up beside me and bumped my hip with hers. “You missing them, too?”
I nodded.
She put her arm around my shoulders, and we leaned into each other. “We’ll call them after breakfast,” she suggested.
I nodded.
“But then we have to have some fun.”
“Deal.” I agreed.
Liam
“Who’s ready to hit the mountain?” I asked, gazing around the giant wooden table as we finished up the giant pancake spread all the girls filled the table with.
Pancake Sunday was definitely a tradition I could get behind. It had me thinking we might need to start something like that within our own fam.
Bells would love that shit. Any excuse to cook and feed people was right up her alley.
As if she knew I was thinking about her, the palm of her hand slid over my thigh, inching dangerously close to my goods. I glanced over at her and smiled wolfishly. Pink spots bloomed on her cheeks, her head ducked, and long strands of blond hair fell, hiding it.
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