“Do you still look like Quasimodo?”
I screeched. “No!”
Alec cracked up with laughter, and Damien looked at me with raised brows.
“He asked if I still looked like Quasimodo!”
Damien got that look someone gets on their face when they were trying desperately not to laugh.
“Laugh,” I snarled to Damien. “I dare ye’.”
“Leave my little brother alone, you bully.”
I refocused on Alec. “How am I the bully?”
“Because you’ve been so mean this week. Damien said he was tempted to smother you in your sleep.”
I couldn’t help but snort. “He loves me too much to smother me.”
Damien grinned as he played his game but clearly was listening to my conversation with his brother with one ear.
“Can we come over and see you?” Alec asked. “Keela is antsy to leave the house.”
“Yeah, I wanna see the baby.”
“Just the baby?”
“Yup,” I answered. “I don’t like you at all.”
“Lies.”
“Truths.”
After we hung up, Damien and I lounged on the settee with Barbara as he played his video game. When the doorbell rang forty minutes later, I stood and left the room to answer it. When I opened the door, I blinked. Alec and Keela had brought the rest of our gang with them. Well, everyone bar Aideen and Ryder who were at work.
“You realise our apartment isn’t as big as Kane and Aideen’s, right?”
Everyone snorted as they filed into the apartment. Ever since we all made up six months ago, the gang made more of an effort to come around to my apartment to see me and Damien, just so we didn’t have to be the ones travelling all the time. Jax and Georgie ended up in my arms, and winces were drawn from me when the kids poked at my fading bruises.
“Ah-ah,” Bronagh chastised them. “Lana has a booboo.”
“Booboo,” Jax repeated then made a kissy noise.
When I walked into the sitting room, he leaned in and dramatically kissed my face.
“I swear he does that on purpose because he knows I can see him do it.”
The men laughed while I rolled my eyes at Damien.
“Leave ‘im alone. He is kissin’ me booboo.”
“I’ll kiss your—”
“Shut up!”
“Both of you shut up.” Bronagh grunted. “Nobody on planet Earth is as uncomfortable as me right now so be quiet.”
I sat down next to Damien, and Jax climbed over onto his lap where he gently petted Barbara who was curled up at Damien’s side. That little traitor loved him way more than she loved me, and I was the feckin’ one who rescued her. Damien handed Jax a console controller that wasn’t switched on, so our nephew could ‘play’ the game on screen with his uncle.
“That’s so cute,” Branna said with a smile.
I looked at her and gazed at the twins who were both sleeping on her chest.
“How do they fall asleep so fast?”
“Ryder says they’re like Damien,” Branna answered. “Apparently, he can sleep on command.”
“Tell me about it.” I grunted. “His head touches the pillow, and he is out for the count.”
Damien grinned but didn’t comment.
“How come you aren’t at work?” I asked Alec.
“Paternity leave.”
I nodded, then said, “I’m sorry I made you cry.”
He scowled. “I didn’t cry. I told you all that dirt got in my eye and that was it.”
“Sure,” everyone said in unison and laughed.
“Either way,” I continued, “I’m sorry for bein’ a massive bitch to you all.”
“You were pretty mean,” Bronagh commented. “But considerin’ ye’ defended me when you were attacked for not wantin’ to become a prostitute, who can blame ye’?”
“I still can’t believe that happened!” Keela exclaimed. “Like, how does that happen in real life?”
“I don’t know.” I shivered. “But it was horrible.”
Bronagh agreed with a bob of her head.
“How is your mouth?”
I looked at Kane and said, “Much better. I can still feel the stitches with me tongue, but they’re dissolvin’, slowly but surely.”
“Have you had any tea yet?”
I shook my head to Branna’s question and nodded towards Damien. “He won’t let me.”
“Jesus,” Bronagh said. “No wonder ye’ were like a witch. Ye’ve had no tea this entire week!”
“She can have it once her wound is fully closed.” Damien sighed. “Another few days won’t hurt. It’d be like putting salt on the wound if she drank it now with how much sugar she uses.”
I piped down because that was the God’s honest truth. I loved sugar in my tea.
“I have a question.”
I looked at Alec.
“If you had to kiss one of the girls”—he grinned—“who would it be?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re a burden upon this world.”
“Stop ruining my life and answer the damn question.”
My lips twitched.
“Well, it’d have to be someone other than Bronagh since I already kissed ‘er—”
“What?” Alec cut me off.
Kane leaned in closer. “What?”
Nico choked on air. “W-what?”
I laughed. “What?”
“You kissed Bronagh?”
I jumped after Damien whispered in my ear.
“Y-yeah,” I stuttered, then cleared my throat. “Yeah, I did, but only when we were drunk forever ago because I thought me lips felt chapped, and she said they looked fine, and I said they felt chapped, so she kissed me and said it was all in me head because they felt soft to ‘er so … yeah.”