Page 27 of Luck Be a Genie

And then all of the uncertainty, the stress and fear, disappeared in an instant, because she came forward and wrapped her arms around my waist, laying her head on my chest.

“Good morning,” she whispered. “Is that your brother on the phone?”

Without a speck of remorse, I tossed the phone on the bed, and wrapped my arms around her, breathing her in. It felt so good to hold her.

My heart settled, and I could finally breathe easily again.

“Nick!” she said with a laugh, protesting me tossing my brother on the bed.

“I missed you,” I murmured, nuzzling her hair. It smelled like sunshine with just a hint of citrus.

“I missed you too,” she said shyly. And I thought, for the rest of my life, I wanted to have her in my arms. I wanted to wake up next to her. I wanted her face to be the first thing I saw each morning and the last thing I saw each night. And I wanted every moment in between.

I could hear my brother’s growl from the phone that had somehow gotten buried under the covers on my messy bed. “Nick, so help me...”

Lucky started laughing at the ridiculousness of the moment, and I smiled.

I loved her laugh.

She pushed me away. “Talk to your brother. His voice sounds different. Is it not Callum?”

Reluctantly, I fished the phone out of my covers. “It’s Declan. He’s one of the twins.”

She looked at me owlishly and blinked adorably for a moment. She didn’t look fully awake quite yet. I thought maybe she’d come right into my room the moment she’d woken up, which made my chest flood with warmth.

She’d immediately sought me out.

I guess I hadn’t screwed up too badly last night. Either that, or she was just very forgiving, which I already knew about her.

“Two of your brothers are twins?”

“Yep. Would you feel comfortable talking with him?” I asked. “He had a question for us, but I’d prefer if you field it.” I kissed her forehead. “Whatever you want is okay with me. And please don’t be afraid to shut my brothers down. It’s good for their egos.” I rolled my eyes, and she laughed, taking the phone hesitantly from me.

“Hello?”

“Hey. Lucky, right?”

“Yes. And you’re Declan? I didn’t know two of Nick’s brothers were twins. That’s so cool!”

I could hear Declan’s sigh. “Kian needs a mental institution.” And then Kian’s “Hey!” in the background.

Lucky laughed. “You guys had something you wanted to do with Nick today? That’s totally fine. I can just laze around the pools today. I was planning on taking it easy, and giving my body one more day before I try to do anything really active.”

I wrapped my arms around Lucky again, and she moved closer to me, resting her forehead against my chest while she continued talking with my brother.

“Why would you need to take it easy? Did something happen to you?”

“Nick didn’t tell you?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure how much you know about us, but I’m not the brother the others go to for life advice, or to chat.” Declan’s voice sounded grouchy, as it normally did, but I frowned when I caught an undercurrent of hurt as well.

My other brothers and I had just always assumed Declan didn’t want to talk, and so we’d left him alone. But I winced as it dawned on me for the first time that Kian had never done that. He talked with Declan all the time about stuff. I’d mistakenly thought it was just a twin thing.

“Sorry bro,” I said, knowing he would hear me. We hadn’t meant to make him feel left out or hurt him.

Declan got quiet for a moment. “It’s okay,” he finally said quietly. “Anyway, Lucky, you were saying?”

“Oh, I just tackled someone and got a minor concussion. It’s not a big deal,” Lucky deflected. “But I’ve had to take it easy for a few days. Anyway, I’d love to meet you all when you come see Nick!”