Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
It was a sweaty Colt wearing only a pair of basketball shorts and a mustache who opened the door for us, and I didn’t complain about the eye candy one bit. Wait—he could lose the stacks of toys he had in his arms. They were in the way.
“Why can’t you always walk around like this?” I asked.
“Same reason you can’t,” he replied, not missing a beat. “We’d stop traffic wherever we went.”
I chuckled. Always a charmer.
“Daddy, please don’t!” Kit yelled from somewhere in the house. “I’m gonna play with them, I swear!”
I lifted my brows, and Colt sighed and shook his head as he let us in.
“That’s not the deal, and you know it, Kit!” Colt responded. Then he turned around in the hallway and wrestled the toys into a big trash bag.
“Is there something wrong with them?” Lucian wondered.
“Not at all,” Colt said. “There’s somethin’ wrong with a brat who hides credit cards around the house, though.”
Ouch. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Thankfully, Noa had an angel named Cam on his shoulder who warned him not to go nuts.
Kit came storming out into the hallway and scowled at Colt. “They’re my toys, Daddy!” He spared us a quick glance and composed himself a little. “Hello, Sirs. Nice to see you.”
“You too, brat,” I said. “You keeping your Daddies on their toes?”
“He keeps us runnin’ to the nearest donation box,” Colt corrected. He tied the bag together and faced his boy. “You ain’t winnin’ this fight, baby boy. If you buy a new toy, we donate one from your stash. That’s the deal.”
Kit huffed and stalked away. “When do I ever win fights?” he muttered to himself.
I smirked.
“I take it he’s been shopping,” Lucian deduced.
Colt wore a don’t-get-me-started expression. “It’s those goddamn Squishmallows. They’ve taken over the whole house.”
Lucian and I exchanged a brief grin. I supposed we were technically to blame for the start of Cam’s and Noa’s collections, considering we’d bought them. On the other hand, Colt had crammed at least a dozen toys into that bag, so I was guessing Kit’s pile of stuffies was larger.
“Come on, Luke’s got coffee on the patio.” Colt nodded for us to follow.
I tightened my grip on my cane and followed Lucian through the living room, the dining area, and out onto the patio.
Their pool was still covered, much like the one at Mclean, but I reckoned it was time to remedy that after the cruise. The weather was getting warmer, and we were down to the final days of March.
Lucas was sitting at the table, in the sun, reading a book. He’d put Noa’s coloring book and charger there too.
“We have company, darlin’.” Colt dipped down and kissed Lucas’s cheek, waking him up from his book coma.
“Oh—sorry. Hey, guys. I was just…” He cleared his throat. “A bit distracted by a book Macklin recommended.”
Whatever books Macklin recommended kept Cam thoroughly distracted too.
Not to mention horny as fuck.
Colt smirked and sat down next to his man. “That’s my smut whore.”
I laughed.
Lucas did not. “Colt. Could you please be civilized sometimes?”
“Surely you’re not holding out hope for that trait to magically appear, Lucas.” Lucian was a gentleman and pulled out my chair so I could sit down easier. “But I know how you feel. This heathen makes my life interesting every day.” The bastard patted me on the head before he took his seat too.
“Pardon?” I cocked a brow. “How did this become an attack on me? And Colt, for that matter. Lucas is the one reading porn when they have guests over.”
While Lucas looked at me as if I’d just sold his ass to the devil, Colt cracked up and definitely sided with me.
“Sorry, my friend, you’re on your own,” Lucian told Lucas. “I need at least two strong drinks before I argue with a lawyer.”
“Since when?” I chuckled dryly.
Colt shook his head, down to chuckles, and grabbed the thermos to pour coffee. “Always great to have you here, buddies. You don’t by any chance have any good news to share on the brat prank?”
So that’s what he wanted to talk about.
“Not a damn thing.” I nodded in thanks and got my cup. “Noa’s been trying to throw me off with false trails. That’s all.”
“Hm.” Colt handed a cup to Lucian as well. “Those li’l shits can be crafty sometimes. Kit’s upped his game lately, and now I actually gotta make an effort.”
Lucas offered an indulgent smile and patted Colt’s hand. “Which you love, sweetheart. You’ve met your match in the hell-raising department.”
“Well, yeah, don’t get me wrong,” Colt said, “’course I love it, but I’m not always a brat-crime fightin’ genius. Not many know this about me, but I can get real comfortable.”
Literally everyone knew that about him.
I grinned into my coffee.
“Moving on from that shocking discovery,” Lucian drawled. “What do we know about their plans? Can someone summarize?”