2. Noah #3
Then there’s Emma, who looks like she belongs on every fashion magazine cover.
A natural redhead, with a perfect physique and piercing green eyes.
Her hair always holds a glossy, vibrant look, most likely from all the expensive products she puts in it.
She’s the fashion icon of our group, with her expensive designer clothes and a limitless bank account.
But we’ve come to find that she actually has a soft spot for vintage clothes, and is one of the most humble and giving people we know.
Even the boys are in a different league, all tall with delicious muscles you want to lick like an ice cream cone. Hell, even their babies are adorable.
That only leaves me. The tall skinny girl, who changes her hair to a ridiculous color every month, with multiple piercings and tattoos.
The badass, as I’ve been called. Because apparently putting dirty, perverted men who think the world belongs to them in their place makes me a bad bitch.
I guess they have a point, since most women would just let it slide or ignore it.
But I can’t. I’ve let too much go ignored in my life to keep letting it happen.
I’ll never be that girl again.
The front door opens, letting us know of a new arrival, and Greyson stops in his tracks when he finds us all standing in the kitchen, drinking from his wine collection. Apparently during my moment of observation, two more glasses were taken out for Morgan and Brey.
“You okay, Ford?” Cecilia watches him skeptically.
“Yup, it just hit me how strange it is to come home and find a group of women in my kitchen, where none of them are my girlfriend or daughter.” We all giggle at his comment.
He’s right; it must be weird coming home to find a bunch of people inside when no one was actually home to have them over. But that’s just how we are—we’re family and all their homes are our homes too.
“Oh, come on, Grey. With all the stories I’ve heard from Aubrey, you should be used to finding random women in your home.” I wink at him teasingly.
From what I’ve been told, Greyson used to be a pretty big womanizer, with different women in his bed every night. Although that all changed when he found out he had a six-month-old daughter with one of his conquests.
Due to situations out of his control, he gained custody of the beautiful Gracie and hired Emma to watch over her whenever he had other obligations, even though they claimed not to like each other very much.
Which is exactly when Aubrey and I moved in together and I came into the picture.
From there things escalated between them, and now Emma is, in every sense of the word, Gracie’s mother.
“Yes, well, that’s in the past,” he answers while glaring at his sister just as Sam reappears at the bottom of the stairs holding a miniature version of Aubrey.
Literally, a copy and paste. “Ah! Much better.” He takes Gracie in his arms and kisses her chubby cheeks.
“Hey, Buttercup. Daddy missed you so much.”
He comes deeper into the kitchen, heading for the fridge, but stops when he spies the bottle on the counter. Frowning, he picks it up, then sets it back down and looks at me with wide, angry eyes. If I didn’t know Greyson, I’d probably be intimidated by that look.
“Veronica…” he growls through gritted teeth. “Do you realize how expensive what you’re drinking is?” His voice is low and predatory.
I pick up my glass, taking a sip while maintaining eye contact over the rim. “Yup, thirty thousand dollars’ worth of good wine. If you have a problem with that, you can talk to your girlfriend. She’ll explain to you why I have every right to be drinking it right now.” I smile brightly.
I can see the irritation flicking off him as his nostrils flare. I’m pretty sure I even saw his eye twitch. A small giggle escapes Cecilia’s lips, and she quickly covers her mouth when he turns his angered gaze at her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers in a tiny guilty voice. She clears her throat, and her face suddenly changes to compassion. “How’s Maddison…?”
His whole demeanor changes at the question, a gloomy cloud settling above his head. “Not good. They aren’t sure she’ll make it through the month…” He bites the inside of his cheeks as he sniffs and looks down at his daughter, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he tries to hold his emotions in.
Maddison is a little girl they met during Charity Day that the team hosted, who suffers from some kind of terminal cancer.
Emma and Greyson immediately fell in love with the little angel and have been doing everything possible to help her father during these hard times.
It’s crazy how quickly someone can become important in your life.
“Oh God… poor thing…” Cecilia’s eyes water as she places her fingertips to her lips. “If there’s anything we can do, anything at all, let us know.”
“Yes, please do. Any of us. We’re all here for you and her family,” Morgan adds tenderly.
Sam rejoins our group with Dante, who tries to pass a small plastic puck between his legs. “I already offered Emma to work more hours if it can help. So don’t feel bad if you two want to spend more time at the hospital, I’ll be happy to take care of the little princess longer.”
“There isn’t really much more we can do but be there for her and her father. But I appreciate all the help. Thank you,” Greyson says before taking a deep breath and continuing his path to the fridge.
“So, what’s the big reason behind you raiding my wine collection?” he asks as he takes a water bottle out and uncaps it while still holding his daughter against his hip.
“Oh, you know, just the fact that Cecilia got me a new job. Except she failed to mention that it was for Noah and Gabe.”
He snorts, almost spitting out his sip of water. “Oh, you’re so fu…dged,” he finishes while looking at his daughter, holding back what he really wanted to say.
Yup, he’s right again.
I’m so fucked.