Chapter 3
Chapter Three
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M adisyn
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W ithin a second, a beautiful woman with equally dark curly hair and brown eyes comes to the door. It’s her turn to stare at me like I’m some sort of rare species in the zoo.
Well, the boy said Uncle Tristan’s room, so I definitely have the right cabin.
“Oh wow,” the woman says, doing a double take. “Oh...Oh...Wow.” She places so much emphasis on the word wow, her entire beautiful face contorts.
She comes into the bedroom, approaching me slowly.
“I can’t believe this,” she says softly. “I can’t believe it actually happened.” Her voice gains traction. “I can’t believe I’m actually looking at you,” she then says in complete, excitable wonder.
“I’m sorry, I don’t—”
Understand what the heck you mean; I want to add on before she continues.
“Oh, they weren’t messing around, were they? You are stunning. Wow! Sorry, I can’t stop staring. You’re just so perfect. I thought it would never happen. Sneaky bastards. Wait, I’m so excited that I forgot my manners.”
She pulls off her gloves and drags me in for an enormous hug. I’m pretty much as stiff as a rod as I try to digest what the fuck is going on right now.
“I’m Tina. I’m their big sister.”
“Madisyn,” I say automatically. Why did I give her my real name? Because my senses don’t perceive her as a threat. Really? Am I rusty or something? She just said she was their big sister. I knew they had family, but I couldn’t find anything on them.
“Madisyn.” She tries my name on her lips. “Lovely. They’re my adopted brothers, by the way. And that little guy over there is my son, Parker,” she says, pointing to the kid still staring at me. “And you’re the girlfriend. The girlfriend,” she says in a sing-song voice, bouncing on her booted feet from side to side.
She thinks I’m one of their girlfriends. I think not.
I shake my head. “I’m not the—”
“No, no, you’re not. Sorry. You’re not just the girlfriend. You’re their girlfriend,” she adds.
Lady, that’s even worse, and the thought makes me freaking blush. Does she think I’m dating all three of them at the same time? Maybe it’s the altitude...
“I’m not—”
“Of course you are. Don’t be shy. I’m well aware of those reverse harems now. That’s what it’s called, did you know? Of course you do. You’re living it. Well, I’ve been following the girls from Leashed to Love—have you heard of them?”
I shake my head. What on earth is Leashed to Love? And reverse harem? What is going on?
“Oh, they’re amazing. They run a matchmaking company with their little doggies, and I’m hooked. And you know what the best thing is? They each found three loves of their lives. Three super-hot husbands. It’s freaking fantastic.
“Also, my adopted brothers have the same taste in women. So I kind of connected the dots,” she winks. “They’re very good at sharing too, which helps.” Another wink.
First, Tina doesn’t breathe. She talks nonstop. Second, I have no clue what she’s talking about.
“Come and meet everyone. They’re going to be blown away when they see you.” She links her arm with mine and doesn’t even notice that she’s pulling me along against my will. “Their collective. That’s what I’m going to call you.”
She drags me into the kitchen where at least four other adults are unpacking groceries—as if the cabin isn’t fully stocked enough. My mind spins. My heart is beating weirdly in my chest. Clearly, I had stepped through a portal into mayhem. Again, this should not be happening.
Am I going to have to kill them all?
Tina introduces me to their Uncle Klaus, a tall, wiry man with kind eyes, and his wife, Aunt Essie, who is a complete head shorter than her husband, her cheeks round and rosy, and there’s a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
Their cousin Melody comes up next. She’s blonde and beautiful, and her husband, Gerard, is a way too handsome, well-built Black man who seems to only have eyes for his wife. They have two children, toddler Hale and baby Keira.
After hugging me and welcoming me to the family, Melody hands me her six-month-old and a bottle before she hands her toddler to her husband for a change of clothes after he’d emptied his chocolate milk on his head. I witnessed this happen in real time.
“Kids, I don’t recommend them,” she conspires in a whisper, but it’s clear from the look on her face she loves her kids more than life itself.
I’m now completely paralyzed. There’s a baby in my hands.
“Oh, poor thing,” Aunt Essie teases and helps me get settled, then shows me how to feed the baby. What is happening to me right now?
“This is going to be epic,” Tina says as she pulls out an entire leg of lamb from a grocery bag while Melody is ready to start cutting up vegetables. Aunt Essie places a huge saucepan on the stove, and Uncle Klaus is gathering all the herbs and spices she’ll need.
I’m still a little stunned at the scene before me. I’ve never had a family—too busy stealing stuff for the mafia—but the rhythm with which they work together and laugh together makes my heart constrict.
Uncle Klaus talks to me about golf. Parker, Tina’s son, offers me his apple, which he’d bitten into already, and Gerard, back with a shiny clean Hale, asks me what I do. I murmur ‘administration.’ Do with that what you will.
“Where did this storm come from?” Melody asks, concerned, as she peers out of the ceiling-to-wall windows. “There wasn’t anything about it in the news.”
“Freak storm,” Uncle Klaus says. “Can’t trust the weather these days.” Everyone agrees with him.
“Guess we’re going to have to wait it out here,” Tina says a little too gleefully. “We can watch movies and play games. It’ll be so much fun.”
Not for me, it won’t.
“We haven’t seen them for over a month,” Tina says, washing her hands at the sink now and talking to me over her shoulder. I’m quietly petrified I’m going to drop the baby in my hands, so I don’t move a muscle.
“It’s too long,” she continues. “We usually meet for a big family dinner once a week, so instead, we brought them dinner here at the cabin. It’s the only way we’ll get to see them. And yes, billionaires are busy, but family first, right?” Tina says waiting for my agreement. What do I know? But I nod anyway.
I feel like Alice in What the Fuck Land. My brain honestly stopped working.
I have to get out of here. Time is ticking. I have under three hours to come up with a counter strategy now that my amazing, foolproof plan is currently being sabotaged by their family, who just want to spend time with them while enjoying a meal.
Ugh.