Chapter 23 #2
“Duncan wouldn’t do that,” Wyatt replied, then turned around to Phoebe again. “He’s basically the only one of us who’s got some manners.”
“Hey, I do too,” Chase countered.
I realized it was the first thing he’d said since I announced that Phoebe and I were an item.
“That’s debatable,” Hannah said. “You were a royal ass the first time I met you.”
Phoebe started to laugh as Chase groaned.
“Hannah,” he warned.
“Sorry.” Hannah grinned sheepishly. “A grump. Is that better?”
“We get the gist,” I assured them.
“Anyway,” Knox cut in, “Duncan does have manners. He wouldn’t make a fool of you in front of Phoebe.”
“Well,” Finn said, “when taken by surprise, sometimes he forgets all about his manners and is just as much of a Neanderthal as the rest of us. I’ll text him.”
“Thank you,” I answered sardonically.
“Who wants coffee?” Phoebe asked.
Everyone said they would like a cup, and Phoebe darted right to the coffee machine.
It took a while to get breakfast ready. Then, after putting all the food on the table, my family sat down and immediately started eating.
This reminded me so much of my childhood—we were especially loud and crazy during mealtimes.
I walked to Phoebe, kissing her shoulder. “Babe, are you okay?”
“Your family is not what I expected,” she commented quietly.
“Sorry about them.”
“What? No, don’t be sorry at all. I just thought… Well, it’s going to sound wrong, but I’ll say it anyway. I figured they’d look down on me.”
I tilted her chin up, looking at her. “Why the ever-loving fuck would they do that?”
“Because you’re the Sterlings. I was clueless about the family when I met you, but not anymore. I like that they’re all down-to-earth, even in the way they tease you. But still, we’re different.”
“‘Tease’ is a nice word.”
“Told you he’s not lying to us.” Finn’s voice filtered toward us.
Phoebe and I turned to look at the table at the same time. Every single person was staring at us.
“For fuck’s sake!” I exclaimed.
“We’re sorry. We’re sorry,” Mom apologized. “Boys, back to the food.”
Hannah was trying to control a fit of laughter.
“Sorry, man,” Chase said. “Knox was throwing around the idea that you might still be faking and that you’re using us as an audience to practice on.”
Phoebe started to laugh, as did I.
“But we get it now. We were barking up the wrong tree,” Wyatt admitted. “Either that or you’re very, very good at faking it.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t put that past him,” Finn announced.
“I wouldn’t think he’s capable of that,” Knox added.
“I’ll have you know that we were very convincing,” Phoebe stated, and I was astounded at the sass in her voice. Were my family’s antics rubbing off on her?
Knox was looking very smugly at me.
I brought my mouth to Phoebe’s ear. “That’s because I was so damn attracted to you that it’s a miracle I didn’t kiss the panties off you that first evening at the restaurant.”
“That would explain a thing or two.” She blushed as we brought a few cups of coffee to the table.
“You two aren’t getting any coffee,” I informed Knox and Finn.
“Why the hell not?” Finn blurted.
“Because you’ve pissed me off, and you’re already fired up with your BS. You don’t need more ammunition.”
As Phoebe and I made coffee for everyone except those two, Duncan, Riley, and Jeremy arrived. Duncan behaved well, introducing the three of them to Phoebe. Amusement was obvious in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything that would put Phoebe on the spot.
I owed him one. Even though she’d said she liked this group, it could quickly become too much for someone who wasn’t used to us.
After we all sat down at the table, Phoebe headed to the kitchen. She returned with two coffees, putting them in front of Knox and Finn.
“I like you two,” she said, smiling at me.
“Thank you, Phoebe. We like you too,” Knox replied.
“We’re very likable,” Finn said. “Duncan’s and Chase’s girls have taken a liking to us. In some cases, even before they took a liking to our brother.”
“Who?” Phoebe asked.
Hannah cleared her throat. “Yeah, that’s me.”
Chase raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“As we established before, you were a grump of the highest order when we first met. And the second time too. And your brothers seemed to have all of that humor you lacked,” Hannah explained.
“That’s not true,” Chase said as Wyatt, Knox, and Finn started to laugh.
I kissed Phoebe’s cheek. Mom was quieter than usual, watching us intently. I was certain she’d give me a piece of her mind after.
Dad leaned forward, whispering something in her ear, and Mom softened. At least I could count on him to have my back.
“Jeremy, your uncle tells me you’re going through a Spider-Man phase,” Phoebe said.
He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, and he said I can have a room here with Spider-Man.”
“That you can, buddy,” I assured him. “But I need you to go shopping with me. I don’t even know where to begin.”
Jeremy climbed on his chair, clapping his hands once. “Yes. Can we go today?”
Duncan turned to him. “We need to schedule that in advance, Jeremy,” he said patiently. “You can’t just expect people to do what you want whenever you want it.”
“But he asked,” Jeremy said.
“I have plans with Phoebe today.” I put my hand on her upper thigh. I was trying very hard not to think about the fact that she was commando.
She smiled up at me and said, “The three of us can go shopping if you want.”
I couldn’t believe that she’d suggested it.
Jeremy’s deafening yelp of joy filled the room. I chuckled as Duncan tried to quiet him a bit.
“Duncan, Riley, would that be okay with both of you?”
My brother didn’t reply right away. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn’t even know Phoebe. But after Riley whispered in his ear, he nodded.
“Sure,” Duncan said. “We’ll pick him up before dinner.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Phoebe said.
Jeremy got down from his chair, running right between us. He gave me a half hug, and I kissed the top of his head.
“You’re awesome, Uncle Griffin. Awesome.”
Knox and Finn were looking at me with suspicion. I knew they were onto me. They were Jeremy’s favorite uncles, but they didn’t have a Spider-Man room for him at their respective places because they each had a bachelor pad. Slowly but surely, I was buying my way onto my nephew’s favorites list.
And Phoebe’s too.