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Carys looks at Coop like he’s stupid. “But this isn’t any girl. It’shisgirl.” She sighs with a dreamy look in her eyes, like she thinks this is some kind of fairytale. And that right there... thatmy girl, that’s what I keep thinking. She’s mine. She always was. I just have to get her to remember that. “Why aren’t you talking to her?”
“Other way around.” Cooper makes a motion with his hands, so I do the same, only I flip him the fuck off instead of making a turning motion.
Brothers are dicks.
“Mom... I need lunch money on my card,” my niece Lexy yells as she races into the kitchen and grabs her keys off the wall. “Hurry up, guys.”
She turns to look at us and lights up when she sees me. “Uncle Callen,” she squeals and throws her arms around my neck before the twins follow her down. Lincoln and Lochlan saunter in, in Christmas pajama bottoms with Cousin Eddie fromNational Lampoonall over them and Kroydon Hills football hoodies.
Oh, to be the big-shit senior in high school again.
Damn things were easier back then.
“Pajamas?” I ask as I hug both boys.
Lexie’s smile could light up the whole damn town when she looks at her brothers. “Last day of school before the holiday break. It’s always pajama day.”
She opens her puffer coat and shows me her red and white candy-cane leggings, and I keep my mouth shut. These kids have gotten so old. They chat with their parents for a hot second before all three rush through the door, and my head spins a little. “Man. You’ve got six months left before graduation. That’s nuts.”
“Enjoy all these firsts, Callen. One day, you’re holding a newborn. The next, they’re eighteen and looking at colleges. Trust us. It’s rough,” Cooper takes the seat between me and Carys. “Now, what are you going to do about getting Caitlin to talk to you?”
I shrug, fucking frustrated. With myself. With Caitlin. With the whole situation.
“I’m going to wait her out, I guess. We barely speak most days. Not that she’s really speaking to anyone besides her mom, Bellamy, and one or two friends. And I get it. I do. I hurt her. But how do you get the most stubborn woman you’ve ever met to forgive you when she won’t acknowledge you’re in the room?”
“Ask your sister.” Cooper tugs Carys closer. “I mean, if you want the most stubborn woman I know to tell you what would work for her.”
She smiles like he’s not wrong. “Okay... So she hasn’t forgiven Sam yet either, right?” Carys sounds like she’s watching a soap opera, not listening to my life. She’s enjoying it all a little too much.
“No. Not him or Maddox. Most days, she’s pissed at Rome and Lucky just for the hell of it. She’s always pissed at me.” I know I’m fucked up because when I think about the way she’ll walk by me without saying a word or making eye contact, I smile. She’s cute as hell when she’s pissed, but I’m pretty sureshe doesn’t want to hear that now. “Wanna give me some girl advice?”
She pauses with her mug halfway to her mouth. “Let me think on it.”
“What did you get her for Christmas?” Cooper asks, and I look away, fucking pissed I didn’t even think of that.
“Christmas is in four days, Callen.” Carys’s green eyes narrow, and she smacks the table in front of me as her oven beeps. “Please tell me you’re not that dense.”
“Think again,” Coop warns her, and I keep my mouth shut because he’s not wrong.
“I’m not even going to be home for Christmas, guys. We fly out to Arizona in two days and won’t be back until after midnight on the 25th. Christmas will be over,” I’m not sure why I’m bothering to defend myself—my sister obviously thinks I’m stupid. She’s probably right.
“She’s the mother of your unborn child, Callen. Have you seen the size of the Sinclair babies’ heads? She’s literally going to push a watermelon out of her vagina.” My face contorts as a mental picture flashes before my eyes, and I shiver.
“Nice visual, Carys,” I bitch as she pulls a tray of cookies out of the oven.
“Buy her a Christmas present and kiss her ass, Callen. You broke her heart. Ignoring each other isn’t going to fix it. You have to prove to her that you’re in this. That you only did it because you thought you had no choice.”
I finish my water and toss it in the trash, then drop a kiss on the top of Carys’s head. “I’m trying.”
“Words are weak, little brother. Try harder.” She points a red and green spatula at me. “You’ve got four months left before the baby is born, and they’re going to be over before you know it. Fix this before you miss this window and you’re both too exhausted from lack of sleep and diaper blowouts to even think aboutromance. Romance her.” She smacks my knuckles as I steal a cookie. “Now go and send the chat a pic as soon as you find out if I’m getting a niece or nephew.”
Cooper grips my shoulder. “And make sure Caitlin knows I’m five minutes away if she needs anything while you’re gone.”
“Thanks, man. Her dad still has Jude on her, but I’ll make sure she knows.”
“Hope the kid doesn’t talk as much as his mom,” Cooper smiles at Carys.
“Stop it, Cooper. Chloe doesn’t talk that much,” she defends her business partner and Jude’s mother.
