“Too many bugs,” I reply, then gasp when he nibbles my navel. “I’ve heard Montana is nice.”

He looks up at me and grins. “Those rumors are true. It’s even better when a certain beautiful woman is there as well.”

“Oh?” I bury my fingers in his hair as he kisses his way down to the promise land. “Tell me more.”

“Words are overrated, love. I’ll show you.”

***

“Is it just me, or is the way Simon says billiards the sexiest thing ever?” Callie asks later that night.

I’m sitting with Callie at her rooftop bar in The Odyssey enjoying a glass of wine while Declan and Simon are downstairs playing pool. We decided it would be good for us to get out of the house for the evening, and I’m glad we did. I love Callie, and this bar.

“Oh, just about everything he says is the sexiest thing ever,” I reply and lean my elbow on the back of the red couch, looking into the gas fire in the middle of the table in front of us. “And the sex might be the end of me.”

“Really?” Callie grins and holds her glass out to clink mine. “Do tell.”

“We can’t keep our hands off of each other,” I reply and then laugh. “This, of course, is not a bad problem to have. But we came out tonight to hang with you guys just to take a break.”

“How do you find the time to do anything else?” Callie asks and crosses her long legs. She’s in a short denim skirt with fishnet stockings, a black tank, and sleeveless denim jacket. Her blonde hair is hanging in curls. Her ink is bright and bold, just like her makeup and deep red lipstick.

Callie is a fucking knockout.

“Don’t tell me you and Declan didn’t fuck like rabbits when you were first together.”

“Of course we did,” she replies with a satisfied smile. “We still do. That better never change.”

“I’m sure it ebbs and flows, right? I mean, how in the world can people have this much sex for their whole lives?”

“Your parents didn’t have six kids just because they enjoyed conversation,” Callie reminds me. I wrinkle my nose.

“Ew.”

“So, the sex is good. And I’m glad. But is that all it is?” Her voice is casual as she takes a sip of her martini.

“I don’t think so,” I reply softly. “I thought so in the beginning, but now, I think there’s more to it.”

“That’s great.” Callie squeezes my shoulder.

“I don’t know if it’s great,” I reply. “I mean, how in the world do we make this work?”

“One day at a time, friend. That’s how we all make it work.”

I nod and sip my drink, thinking that Callie might be one of the smartest people I know.

Chapter Seventeen

~Charly~

When Simon and I pull up to Mama’s house the next day, I can tell that we’re the last to arrive.

“Sure, they all choose today to be early,” I mutter and stay in my seat when Simon cuts the engine. “We really should have driven separately so you can make a break for it when it all gets to be too much.”

“Stop fretting, love,” Simon says and kisses the back of my hand. “I’m not worried about this in the least.”

“That’s because you haven’t seen this shit show in action.” I turn my gaze to his, memorizing his face. “Remember me fondly.”

“Oh good lord.” He rolls his eyes and opens his door. “Come on, drama queen.”

“He calls me a drama queen now,” I mutter to myself, “but I give it twenty minutes before he’s high-tailing it down the road.”

“I can hear you, you know,” he says when he joins me on the sidewalk.

“I won’t hold it against you if you turn to me at any point in the next two hours and say, you’re so not worth this.”

He cups my face, and right here in front of God and everyone, lays a kiss on me that would make the gods weep. “Yes, you are. Let’s go.”

He takes my hand as we walk up to the front door. Before I can reach for the knob, Sam flings the door open.

“We all saw that,” he informs us, and tosses his baseball up in the air, catching it easily in his mitt. “Just sayin’.”

“Thanks.” I ruffle his hair. “If Maman catches you throwing that ball in the house, you’ll be dead meat.”

“She won’t.”

“I saw it,” Mama says and gives Sam the stink eye. “You know what happens to little boys who throw their ball in my house?”

“They don’t get dessert,” Sam says, hanging his head. “It was an accident.”

“Right.” Mama kisses his head and smiles at us. “Go throw that ball around outside. And take your uncles with you.”

Sam runs back toward the kitchen as Mama enfolds me in a big hug. She’s petite. My sisters and I all got our frames from our mom. And I notice that as she gets older, she’s more fragile, which makes me a little sad.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she says and then kisses my cheek.

“And you, young man, need to come down here. You’re too tall for me.” Simon leans down to kiss her cheek. “Welcome.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Boudreaux.”

“Come on back, you two. As soon as you came to the door, everyone ran back to the kitchen. They were spying on you, of course. Not me, I was busy slaving over the stove.”

My parents’ house is large, but no mansion. Daddy always taught us that just because we were wealthy, didn’t mean we lived lavishly. Mama usually had a housekeeper because with a family our size, it would have been difficult for her to keep up with all of us. But she’s always enjoyed cooking herself.