Chapter 24
“I call your bluff.” ~ Paisley
Paisley
I stop Eli halfway up the driveaway to Sophia’s mom’s house. “I need to preemptively apologize for everything that transpires here tonight.”
He grins. “What exactly do you think is going to transpire to require an apology?”
“My friends do not hold back.”
“Don’t worry.” He kisses my nose. “I went to high school with your friends. I know exactly how rowdy they can get.”
“I didn’t use the word rowdy.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Are you denying they can be rowdy? Because I remember the time they walked out of a home economics class with you and started a protest outside the window. You made such a racket the teacher had to stop the class.”
“Ms. Zimmerman should have met our demands.”
“You demanded the class be removed from the curriculum. She would have been out of a job. ”
“Home economics is a ridiculous class. And it has nothing to do with economics.”
“Admit it. The name bugs you more than learning how to cook or sew.”
“The name does not bother me more than being forced to carry around a fake baby for a week to prove I knew how to raise a child. If they were worried about sixteen year olds having children, they should have taught us how to use condoms.”
“They tried and you made cartoon animal balloons out of them.”
I huff. “It wasn’t my fault. Chloe dared me.”
“Sure, let’s blame it all on Chloe.”
“It is her fault,” I insist.
“Are you two coming inside?” Sophia shouts from the doorway. “The window isn’t big enough for all of us to spy on you from.”
Chloe joins her. “And we can’t hear what you’re saying.”
“You’ve been warned,” I murmur to Eli before walking to the house.
We gather in the living room with my friends and their partners.
“You know my friends – Sophia, Nova, Maya, and Chloe.”
Eli nods in greeting to them.
“And I believe you know Hudson and Caleb since they attended high school at the same time as we did.”
He shakes Caleb’s hand. “Thank you for your service.”
Caleb grimaces but Maya pinches his hip. “What do you say in response? ”
“Thank you for paying your taxes?”
She sighs. “I’ve done my best with him.”
I continue the introductions. “And you know Flynn.” I narrow my eyes. “Since the two of you colluded to build the brewery inside the distillery.”
“Colluded?” Eli chuckles. “We’re not Nazi war criminals.”
“No. You’re much too young.” I motion to Chloe’s husband. “And this is Lucas. He’s a police officer.”
Eli shakes his head. “I couldn’t believe it when my brothers told me the wild child married a cop.”
Lucas throws an arm around Chloe’s shoulders. “My wildcat couldn’t resist me. It’s why she showed up at my house in a raincoat with nothing underneath.”
Chloe leans into him. “You would have ripped the raincoat off of me if Natalia wasn’t there.”
“Who’s Natalia?” Eli asks.
“Our daughter.” My stomach warms at Chloe’s answer. She used to be afraid to have children but now she claims Lucas’s daughter as her own. I’ve enjoyed watching her grow into the woman I always knew she could be.
“This is everyone.” My brow wrinkles. “Oh wait. Where’s Weston?”
“Scarlett wasn’t feeling well and he didn’t want to leave her alone,” Sophia answers.
“Your brother has changed.”
Lucas snorts. “Tell me about it. Patrol with him used to be all about him hitting on women and now it’s all about Scarlett this, Scarlett that. ”
“It’s good you have two police officers in your friend group,” Eli says.
I smack him. “Why do we need police officers?”
“You know exactly why.”
The kitchen door swings open and Lily hurries into the living room while fixing her hair. Jack follows her with a grin on his face.
Sophia moans. “My parents have been making out in the kitchen again.”
“What’s wrong? Are you jealous? Do you want to go make out in the kitchen?” Flynn waggles his eyebrows at her.
“Is this him?” Lily asks and makes a beeline for Eli.
“This is Sophia’s mom,” I introduce. “She gave us a safe place to misbehave while we were growing up.”
“Good. You needed one since your mother didn’t keep you safe.”
“You’ve met Paisley’s mother, Eleanor?” Lily asks.
Eli scowls. “If you can call her a mother.”
Lily smiles. “He has my seal of approval. Although, I always assumed you’d be in a polyamorous relationship.”
I groan. “Lily.”
She bats her eyelashes. “What?”
“I’m Lily’s husband.” Jack offers his hand to Eli. “She’s as much as a troublemaker as these kids.”
Lily huffs. “I am not a troublemaker.”
“And you didn’t bring up how Paisley enjoyed watching orgy porn when she was young either.”
“I insinuated. You’re the one who brought it up. ”
My cheeks warm. “Can we stop discussing porn now? And, for the record, it isn’t as if I was watching porn constantly as a teenager.”
Eli shrugs. “I was.”
Chloe barks out a laugh. “He has my stamp of approval.”
Unlike Chloe, I don’t enjoy being the center of attention – especially when we’re discussing my watching porn as a teenager. I need to move this conversation on. “Are we going to play drunk poker or are we going to stand around all night?”
Chloe raises her hand. “I vote for standing around making fun of you all night.”
Eli squeezes my hand. “Paisley’s had enough teasing after a visit from her stepsisters.”
“The evil stepsisters came to your house?” Maya asks. “Why?”
“The oldest one, Wicked Regan, thinks she can steal me away from Paisley,” Eli answers.
Sophia shakes her head. “Those two always were delusional. Thinking they’re prettier than Paisley when they both need a boatload of make-up to hide all of their moles and hooked noses.”
As much as I appreciate my friends rallying around me, I don’t want to discuss my family. I want to spend the evening having a good time with my friends. Not dissecting everything my stepsisters said and did.
“I’m going to win poker tonight,” I announce.
Nova giggles. “You always win. ”
“Not tonight.” Eli rubs his hands together. “I’ve been playing poker with my brothers since they were old enough to hold cards.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “You’re on.”
Lily ushers us to the dining room where the poker table is set. She picks up a tray filled with whiskey shots and hands them out.
Maya holds up a hand. “No, thank you. I’m not drinking.”
I frown at her. “I told you it’s perfectly safe to consume one drink while you are trying to conceive.”
“Maybe I’m not trying anymore.”
Oh no. Is Caleb’s recovery backsliding? I thought he was on track since he’s been attending therapy.
“Why did you stop…” I trail off when I notice her smile. “You’re pregnant?”
She nods. “I wasn’t planning on telling anyone yet.”
I cringe. “I’m sorry.”
Caleb wraps an arm around her waist and draws her near. “There’s no reason to be sorry. Maya’s been feeling guilty for not telling everyone she’s pregnant. She wanted to wait until she’s in her second trimester but she felt bad about not telling everyone.”
“This is the best news ever.” Nova pushes Caleb out of the way to hug Maya. “Our babies are going to grow up together.”
Maya wipes at the tears leaking from her eyes. “It’s everything we ever wanted.”
Caleb growls. “No more crying.”
“I can’t help it, soldier. I’m just so happy.”
“Bunny,” he murmurs as he enfolds her in his arms and sways her from side to side.
“I’m happy, too.” Lily waves her hands in front of her face. “Another grandchild.”
“Don’t cry, sweet flower,” Jack murmurs before hauling her near.
She pushes him away. “We need to drink shots.”
“Hear! Hear!” Chloe and Sophia shout in unison.
Lily passes out the whiskey shots. “Lift your glasses. To smugglers, bootleggers, rumrunners.”
“And the mermaids who loved them!” We finish as one before downing the shots.
“I thought you didn’t believe in mermaids,” Eli says as he holds out a chair for me.
“It’s not a question of believing. Mermaids don’t exist.”
He shakes his head as he sits next to me. “And you call yourself a smuggler.”
“She is a smuggler,” Sophia says. “Remember the time she smuggled moonshine into the school assembly.”
Nova nods. “I remember. It was eleventh grade.”
“It was my first ever hangover,” Chloe says.
Maya groans. “I was sick to my stomach.”
Lily clicks her tongue. “All of you were sick. I had buckets set up all over the floor of the basement since none of you could aim to save your lives. I didn’t think I’d ever get rid of the smell in the basement.”
Maya clutches her stomach. “Don’t remind me. ”
Eli chuckles. “I didn’t figure Paisley would be the one of this group to sneak alcohol into school.”
“It was revenge,” I explain. “Darcy was home from college. She had a stash of moonshine she didn’t think anyone knew about. I stole it but she couldn’t accuse me since she’d have to admit to not being daddy’s perfect little princess.”
He growls. “I seriously hate your family.”
My stomach flips. No man has ever defended me to my family before. I’ve never had good luck with boyfriends and my family. The last boyfriend I introduced to my family dumped me for my sister.
Regan thought it would be easy to steal Eli from me. After all, all Darcy had to do was crook her finger and Ryan tripped over himself to get to her.
But Eli’s different. He’s not easily deterred. He doesn’t run away from my crazy friends. He doesn’t put up with my shitty family. He sticks around and holds my hand the entire time.
Maybe love isn’t so scary after all.