Love and Chaos: A Growing Pains Novel (8 page)

Michael, realizing he’d just
outed himself while trying to tell on his older brother, froze. And then turned tail and ran from the room.

“Did you give him chocolate?” Rachel demanded of Demetri.

“I’ve been in here the whole time, honey,” Demetri said in a sing-song voice. “I do not have an evil twin. Although, I wish I did.”

Cassie froze,
wide eyes finding Jace immediately. He met them and found himself out of his chair immediately. “I might’ve left some in my room. I’ll go look.”

Jace just had time to notice Peter’s gaze shift to his girlfriend before he was out of the kitchen and climbing the stairs, two at a time as Cassie had done earlier. Apparently, she didn’t live with nosey kids. This would teach her.

Her room was thankfully bare. And clean. He continued down the hall to his own room. Also bare and clean. He found Michael, John
, and Lesley, Nick’s three-year-old, hunkered down in the corner of Demetri’s room with Cassie’s opened box of chocolates and a huge mess. All three kids looked up with full mouths, chocolate smeared on faces, fingers, and clothes.

“Great.”

“He’s fine, he’s fine!” Becky
said after Jace had left, waving away Rachel’s concern as she bustled in and out of the dining room setting plates. “Jason is great with kids. Take a load off; he can handle it. Plus, maybe it’ll push him to make some of his own.”

“Was that your chocolate?” Peter muttered to Cassie quietly.

“Yep. I didn’t want to bring it down here in case it all got eaten tonight,” she murmured.

“Where’d you put it?”

“On the
queen sized
bed.” She sent him an agitated glance. She didn’t know what was worse—Jace taking the fall for her, or having to sleep in the same bed with Peter for a week. Sexually and touching-wise, it’d be fine. She knew this. But she hated people in her bed. She didn’t sleep well, ended up tossing and turning, and then pissed the other person off when she kept them up.

“They’re kids. You have to hide that stuff.” Peter took a sip of his wine.

Rachel asked about helping set the table. Jenn and Becky waved her to stay seated. Roger took over dancing the baby around the kitchen as Jenn helped with the table.

Nick leaned toward them.
“So big brother is covering, huh?” A wicked grin lit up his face. In an exaggerated whisper, he said, “I have better ears than you think I do.”

“Shut up, Nick,
” Peter said with a smirk.

Nick’s smile
burned brighter. To Cassie he said, “Jace used to always take the blame for something Pete did. He got in trouble by himself, he got in trouble ‘cause Demetri and I set him up, and he got in trouble for Peter. The guy was
always
in trouble.”

“And you didn’t feel bad
?” Cassie asked.

“Nope.” Nick leaned away with a smug smile. “Payback for that big fucker beating us up all the time.”

“Nicolas! Language!” Rachel leaned across the table and gave Nick a slap on the arm.

He laughed and touched his phone,
lifted it, and said, “Smile, this is going on the Internet.”

“Demetri, beat you
r brother senseless,” Rachel called, ducking behind the table with her hands in front of her face. “I look terrible, Nick! You are going to get it!”

“Nick, send me the worst one,” Demetri said.

“You guys!” Rachel laughed as she peeked up, waiting for the camera to harmlessly go back onto the table.

“Jace
used to always take Peter’s side because Peter was the smallest. Isn’t that right Demetri?” Nick asked with a beaming smile.

Demetri stopped stirring for a moment and turned toward the table. “What’s that?”

“Didn’t Jace always team up with Peter and it’d be them against us?”

“Still does. Wait until
whiffle ball.”

Nick turned back to Cassie. “Demetri and I
win now, obviously, because we’re all on equal footing.”

“Oh yeah?” Jace said as he entered the room, that challenging glint in his eyes. “You’re on equal footing
with me?”

He held up his arm and flexed his bicep, his mountainous muscle bulging out. Rachel’s eyes popped. She glanced across the kitchen to
Jenn, who was also looking. The two girls shared a moment before Rachel bent to her wine, trying to hide a smile.

“Don’t try to impress the ladies!” Nick hollered. “Just wait until you don’t have any free time to play with your weights.”

“Dinner time, you laggards. Get into the other room.” Becky shooed Jace out of the way with her dish cloth.

Nick bounded up, phone at the ready. Jace had him first, his own phone out and pointed at the other. “Photo bomb!” they yelled at the same time, snapping pictures of each other as they barreled into the other room.

“They act like they’re still going through puberty,” Peter said with a smile.

“How are you doing?” Cassie
murmured as they got up. Rachel exited the other direction to yell for her kids.

“Get Lesley, too,”
Jenn called, taking Emma from Roger.

“No, you go. Enjoy your dinner. I’ll hold her.” Roger kept hold of the baby and drifted into the dining room.

Peter sighed, his posture returning to normal for a moment of alone time. “Good. Fine. You’ve lifted all the pressure.”

“How long do they think we’ve been together?”

“Six months. Sorry, should’ve told you that. Not long enough to ask you to marry me, but long enough to be more of a set thing. They’ll hint, though, that you’re marriage material. Just know that that is coming. They’ll ask you about it. All the married people want to get the single people tied up.”

“C’mon you two,” Demetri called.

“Give them a minute,” came Becky’s hushed voice.

Peter rolled his eyes. “See? They like you, though. Think you’re a lady.”

“Joke’s on them.”

Peter smiled. “I told you that your loveliness would be perfect. I am never wrong, honey.”

“There’s the Peter I know and love.” She looped her arm through his as they slowly walked toward the crazy family, both enjoying a moment of quiet.

Before they reached the dining room, Peter said,
“It was Jace, wasn’t it? In the grocery store. You guys brought the same wine.”

“Yup.”

“You flirted with him? You think he’s hot?”

Taken aback, she
stopped in their meander and looked hard at her friend. Worry lined his features, his eyes round and haunted. “Are you jealous, or something? I mean, don’t worry—I’m not going to seduce the guy or anything. He’s got a woman. But, I mean, the guy is hot. Surely you must know that. All you guys are—all your brothers. And your dad definitely seems like he was a looker in his youth, and your mom is
still
pretty…”

He shook his head adamantly. “It’s not that. Sorry, I’m not in my element here. I want to relax and have fun with everyone else, like we always used to,
but I just feel like if I do, they’ll all
know.
Anyway, I was just wondering.
”

Cassie patted his arm as Rachel bustled through. “Hurry up, you guys. Dinner’s getting cold. C’mon Michael, John—where’s Lesley?”

Cassie saw a little head peek around the corner of the doorway. Rachel saw it, too, but had her boys by the hands with a harried look to her face.

“I’ll get her,” Cassie volunteered.

“Ah, godsend. C’mon you guys.” She gave her wily sons a jerk to stop them trying to break free and go running. “Peter, let’s go. Get a move on.”

“I’m not one of your kids,” he replied without conviction, swept into the other room.

Cassie hurried after the little girl, who’d taken off at the first sign someone would chase her. Cassie followed the girl into the next room only to realize she had disappeared. Slipping out of her too tall heels, Cassie stalked closer to the couch, hearing the loud breathing of a child. She ducked and slipped around the side, hiding as quietly as she could. Lesley peeked up, looking for her pursuer.

“
Rrrraaaaarrrr!” Cassie burst around the couch and captured the squealing little girl. “Time for dinner, you.”

Lesley
wrapped her arms around Cassie’s neck, content to be carried to the dining room. As they entered the kitchen, she heard Jenn’s voice floating across into the kitchen, saying, “Jason, can you help? The baby just spit up on your father and Nick is useless.”

“Hear that, Jace? I’m
useless.
Go do my fatherly duties,” answered Nick.

“Useless picture!” Jace shouted.

Cassie chuckled as Jace’s large form filled out the opposite doorway, his shoulders nearly taking up the whole of the opening. “Everything okay?” he asked in his customary rumble. “I’ve been sent to rescue you if it isn’t.”

“No problem.” She stopped in front of him. “Thanks for earlier. I probably should’ve owned up.”

“Nah.” He tickled Lesley’s neck, making the little girl erupt in delighted laughter. “But now you’re out of chocolate. What
will
you do?”

“Have a grumpy morning, most likely.
Don’t worry, I’ll take it out solely on you.”

“Oh, goodie.”

***

“Here are the rules,
” Cassie said as she put a finger in Peter’s face. They were in their shared bedroom after a night of way too much wine. His family was crazy for refilling glasses. She’d get three-quarters of the way down on her wine, turn to talk to someone, and it’d be full again when she reached for it. She would think it was a conspiracy, but everyone got the same treatment. Except for Peter, who wasn’t drinking. He was too afraid the gay would come out.

“You’re an idiot, you know?” she sidetracked. “They think you are metro. You can fly the real you under that guise.”

Peter shook his head. “I’d rather play the jock. Otherwise I can’t be sure what will come out of my mouth.”

“Okay, fine. Rules. Although, I don’t like fake you
nearly
as much as I love real you.”

Peter smil
ed and yanked her into a hug. “Aww, thanks.”

“Focus!”

“Sweetie, I’m not the drunk one. I can stand straight without swaying.”

Oh yeah.

She didn’t care.

“Do not cuddle me. I don’t like when people breathe on me. Also, I might forget who you are and cop a feel.”

He shrugged, a smile lighting his face. “Cop a few feels. I don’t mind.”

“God, you are such a guy.”

He gave a delighted laugh. “Okay, I won’t curl around you. What else?”

“Don’t snore. But I am allowed to snore.”

“No.” He shook his head as he unpacked enough outfits for a month. “I will absolutely elbow you.”

She stripped out of her pants and yanked off her shirt. “Don’t look—I’ll be half naked.”

“Don’t worry. You’re pecs aren’t hard enough.”

“
Ew. That gives me a gross image. And it
shouldn’t
because they are my boobs.” She stripped off her bra and threw it in the corner. Her pajamas consisted of a pair of boxers and a tank top. She climbed into bed before she realized she should pee.

“Dang it.” She threw the covers back
, half rolled out onto the floor, haphazardly got up, and stomped toward the door.

“You’re good with kids, huh? I didn’t know that about you.”
Peter stripped off his shirt.

She
slowed, leaning against the wall. “I love kids.
Love
kids. Definitely want some, just have to find a guy first.”

“You will, sweetie. You’ll find one.”

“Let’s not talk about that. This week is about you.”

He shook his head and put a suit into the closet. Why he needed a suit, she did not know, nor did she plan to ask. He might then tell her, and she d
idn’t care.

“Bathroom is…”

“Across the hall and down a pace.”

Nodding once, she tip toed out of the room, since the kids went down earlier and she didn’t want to wake them, and found the door in question, slightly ajar and dark within. She pushed in and came smack against a wall of man. Her hands brushed smooth skin on a muscly torso. The heat from his skin shocked into her neck and chest, saturating her body instantly. She closed her eyes and let a slow breath tumble from her mouth. She felt the brush of his arm as it reached beside her to flip a switch.

Light bathed a chest so damn
divine it made her mouth water. The sleeve of tattoos ended in tribal art on his shoulder, sneaking inward toward his perfectly sculpted pec.
Perfectly
sculpted.