Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“I don’t think he’d see that as any kind of sacrifice.” Catie remained confused. “He knows his brothers have his back anytime. It’s just how they are. Like me and Ísa.” There wasn’t a ledger.
“Oh, I know. And I’m so proud my boys have that.” Alison rearranged a few of the salad bowls. “I just worry that because Danny’s so even-tempered and easygoing, we forgot to watch out for him as much as we should have during those years.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Catie hugged Alison, the scent of her warm and familiar. “Seriously, I’ve never seen any sign that he feels ignored or sidelined.”
Alison hugged her back. “Thank you, sweetheart. It does feel good to hear that… but there are things I wish I’d done differently regardless. I suppose parents always question themselves. One thing I do know about my boy—he never asks for anything, so I have to figure things out myself.”
After Alison left to fuss with her secret salad dressing in the kitchen, Catie glanced over at Danny. Alison was right in one sense: Danny was the most easygoing of the four brothers. The kind of kid who was so chilled out that it’d be easy to forget he had needs too.
Not that she thought Alison or Joseph had done that.
Catie had been in the stands at Danny’s first professional game—and so had they. Jake, too, had come, while Grandmother Esera babysat Esme for a couple of hours. No, she didn’t think Alison had any reason for guilt. But that she did showcased the difference in who she was as a mother compared to Jacqueline.
Probably not fair to make that comparison, but Catie couldn’t help it. The last time her mother had come to one of her childhood meets… was never. Not even when Catie had been up for a championship title.
So Catie was probably not the best person to understand Alison’s worries.
A muscled arm around her shoulders that made her stomach dip. “Why the frowny face?” Danny rubbed at the frown lines with one gentle finger. “You hangry?”
“If I am, you shouldn’t be anywhere near me,” she said, eyebrows lowered and teeth bared. “I can be dangerous when hangry.”
“I can handle you, princess.” A wall of heat next to her, he leaned over to grab a handful of potato chips out of a bowl without taking his arm from around her shoulders.
So she elbowed him.
“Ouch.” He scowled at her. “What was that for?”
“Don’t want the family to get suspicious of us being all cozy.”
Removing his arm, he rubbed at his side even though all she’d given him was a nudge. “I think I have bruises.”
She lifted her fingers to her shoulder. “Let me play my tiny violin for you.”
“I’m serious, Caitlin. I think I need it kissed better.”
Catching the glint in his eye, she felt her thighs tighten. “Behave,” she muttered.
“Make me.”
“Make you what?” Gabriel asked, having just walked over, a beer in one hand and Seraphina cradled in his other arm.
“She’s not a rugby ball, bro,” Danny said with a laugh. “Aren’t you supposed to have her up against your shoulder or something?”
“She’s fine. This is her favorite sleep spot.” The baby snored in lovable puffs, happy and content to be tucked into the crook of her daddy’s arm.
Leaning in, Catie touched her itty-bitty nose with a careful finger. “God, she is so tiny.” It was impossible to believe that Gabriel had sired this creature. “Must be Charlie’s genes.”
“She has my eyes,” Gabe said definitively. “Charlotte said so.”
Charlotte was also madly in love with Gabriel. It was adorable. In fact, the entire Bishop-Esera family was adorable. No wonder Danny couldn’t settle down—the couples in his family were a tough act to follow.
“Where is Charlie?” Catie asked. “I haven’t said hi to her yet.” In point of fact, she hadn’t spotted her at all.
“Having a nap in the guest room.” Gabriel’s smile creased his cheeks. “Baby Bishop decided to keep us both up all night. I managed to grab a couple of hours this morning, so I’m a little more functional, but Charlotte’s out like a light. I’ll go wake her before the cake cutting.”
Danny and Catie looked at each other.
Laughing at their shared dismay, Gabriel said, “Yeah, tiny humans are hard work, but damn, she’s got my heart.” Then big, strong, powerful Gabriel Bishop lifted his arm so he could bend down and kiss his daughter on the temple.
She smiled in her sleep, happy in the hold of a man who knew how to keep his promises.
Catie’s heart ached.
24
DANNY POKES THE SMALL DRAGON (OOOOH)
Danny walked up to the popular downtown bar an hour after things wrapped up at his parents, Catie at his side. Taking a deep breath, he told himself it would be fine. Catie had met his rugby mates plenty of times, but this would be her first time meeting his other close friends.