Love and Chaos: A Growing Pains Novel

by K. F. Breene

  This was his straight-guy routine? Cassie made a mental note to work on it.

  “Have to look good out in L.A.,” Peter deflected, gaze hitting the doorway.

  A woman in her late fifties bustled out with a big smile. Colored blond with high cheekbones and gracefully aged, this woman must’ve been a belle in her youth. Light eyes similar to Jace, she reached Peter, grabbed his face, and made him bend down for a kiss.

  Demetri jumped into the melee, phone out. “Photo bomb!”

  Nick ran around the car and stuck his face into the pose with a huge, gaping smile. “Photo bomb!”

  These people were insane.

  “Uncle Peter, Uncle Peter!” Two kids, one around five, one a smidge younger, ran down the steps grinning. A fashionable woman with a baby belly and long brown hair walked out after, a pleased smile on her beautiful face.

  “He’s here!” she yelled into the house.

  A different woman walked out of the house carrying a baby. A toddler hung on to her leg as they stopped on the porch. More figures moved toward the door inside the house, the shadows obscuring all but dim outlines.

  Cassie eased out of the car, handbag clutched tightly, as all the boys photo bombed the mom. The guys made a spectacle out of forced selfies, using a camera in Peter or each other’s faces as a huge joke they all found hilarious. And expected. Cassie’s grin was more on the terrified side, completely out of her element with all this family madness.

  Although, the immaturity was strangely endearing.

  “You must be Cassie.”

  It took a second for Cassie to recognize her name. She glanced to the porch where the woman holding the baby smiled at her. “Cassie, right?”

  “Oh. Yes.” She smiled, easing the death grip on her bag slightly. “Peter’s, uh, girlfriend.”

  Two more figures stepped out of the door, one with a huge expanse of shoulder, a sleeve of tattoos, and a handsome but stern face, and an older man wearing a collared shirt and khakis, salt and pepper hair, a trimmed mustache, and a straight back.

  Marcus had been dead wrong about redneck. Or else he had a different perception of that term than Cassie did. This man held himself with decorum and poise, his piercing eyes scanning the three boys and their mom before swiveling over to her. A look filled with intelligence assessed her with a certain affluence, a man probably in charge of employees and reigning over his family.

  She gulped—not for herself, but for Peter’s struggle. If this man was against the lifestyle Peter now lived, Cassie didn’t think it’d be an easy process to change his mind. He seemed kind of…fixed in his beliefs. He created and controlled his universe, and wouldn’t like someone coming in and messing with his sense of order.

  No good.

  “Yes. Cassie.” She nodded at the woman as she inched from the car.

  “Peter, why don’t you properly introduce your friend,” his father said with a firm and authoritative voice.

  Cassie was reminded of her own dad, pushy butthead that he was. She would have to make a conscious effort on this trip not to hate this man just for the similarity. Although it would be hard.

  “Oh. Yeah. Of course.” Peter stalked over with a straight back, his eyes hard and bearing squared.

  It took everything she had not to punch him in the stomach while laughing at the tough-guy farce.

  “Dad, Mom, everyone, this is Cassie McAdams. Cassie, that’s my brother Nick, and my other brother Demetri.”

  The two boys sailed in, sticking their heads next to Cassie with huge grins, selfie ready. “Let me take a selfie!” the brown-haired brother said in a valley-girl accent. The blond brother started to laugh, giving her a pat on the back to include her in the joke.

  “Boys, give Cassie a chance to settle in before you bombard her!” The mother bustled up with a welcoming smile.

  “My mom, Becky.” Peter waved at his approaching mother.

  “Oh my, look at you!” She turned to her husband with a downward turned mouth and widened eyes, the expression reserved for a pleasant surprise. “She is a vision, isn’t she? So pretty! And classy to boot.”

  Becky turned back and looked Cassie over. “I knew Peter would find a girl just as beautiful and tasteful as he is. Look! You two are so well put-together!”

  “He always did put a lot of focus on clothes,” Peter’s dad said.

  “He’s in the fashion industry, he has to look good.” Becky smiled at Cassie, stepping forward to hug her. “Welcome, my dear. So welcome. So glad to finally meet one of Peter’s girlfriends.”

  “Becky, you’re not supposed to mention other girls in front of the girlfriend,” the woman with the older pair of kids gently scolded.

  “That’s Jenn, Demetri’s wife. And Demetri is the fool running around photo bombing everyone,” Peter explained.

  Jenn nodded and smiled at the older of the photo bombers, a brown haired man with twenty extra pounds, slightly thinning hair, and the family inheritance of attractiveness. He was probably around thirty, his wife probably Cassie’s age of twenty-nine.

  “Nick, your accoster.” Peter pointed at the blond haired man.

  “Hi Cassie.” He waved and lounged against the car, phone still in hand.

  “His wife, Rachel.” Peter pointed at the dirty blond holding the baby, an adorable little thing with a pudgy face and hands reaching for her mother’s hair.

  “My dad, Roger.” The older man nodded in greeting.

  “My brother, Jace.”

  Cassie met the beautiful eyes of the man from the grocery store, her stomach doing flip flops. He barely nodded his head at her, his face completely impassive and unreadable.

  She ripped her eyes away from his handsome—but untouchable—face and smiled at everyone. “Hi.”

  “I meant to tell you that this place is a circus when we all get together,” Peter said in a low tone.

  “Oh, shush! Jason, come down here and help with the bags. Demetri and Nicholas, go move the boxes out of that back room and store them in the attic. Why you didn’t do it earlier is beyond me—now you have to rush!”

  “Waaaiiiittt for it…” Nick braced himself.

  A smile crept up Demetri’s face as his hands drifted out to the sides in a ready pose.

  “You guys, seriously—“ Peter reasoned, looking back and forth between his brothers and putting his hands out. He couldn’t hide the grin or delighted twinkle in his eyes, though. He thought this crazy welcome was just as much fun as his brother’s did. “She doesn’t have a big family. She’s not used to all this.”

  Demetri rushed forward from one side. Nick rushed forward from the other. Jace jogged down off the porch and around the car, covering way more ground than the easy lope belied. Nick and Demetri stuck their heads next to Cassie, goofy grins plastered on their faces, phones out in front. Jace pushed Peter forward behind them, getting in close as well, his thick arm coming around front with his phone.

  “Photo bomb!” they all said at different times, their fingers repeatedly tapping the picture of the camera on the face of their phones.

  “Boys, leave her alone!” Becky came in with a smile, shorter than all of them, pushing and shoving her sons out of the way. “Pack of animals. C’mon, get everything done. Dinner will only take an hour.”

  “Yes, Miss Ma’am,” Demetri said with a silly salute. Smiling big, he jogged around the car, spared a pat for his wife’s butt and a wink for his dad, and headed into the house.

  “Welcome, lady.” Nick nodded with a smile and followed his brother in.

  “Pop the trunk,” Jace said, standing next to Cassie, staring down at her with his completely focused eyes.

  “No, we’re not staying.” Peter waved Cassie away from the car. “We’re going to stay at the hotel this week. Save the rooms in the house for the kids.”

  “No, Peter!” Becky put her hands on her hips. “Didn’t Roger tell you? We finished the add-on. Nick, Jenn, and the kids are staying back there. Your father and I moved down to the new
ly finished master suite, so there’s plenty of room for you two.”

  “No, Mom, it’s okay. That’s a full house for a week. We’ll just stay at the hotel. I already made reservations.” Peter waved Jace away from the trunk, where he stood silently, waiting for the resolution.

  “You’ll stay here, Peter. Your mother has already arranged everything.” Roger turned back to the house, putting his hand out to let Rachel go first.

  Peter stared after his father, his body slumping. Jace stepped forward to clap a heavy hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Probably better—we don’t have many cabs coming out this way, and you won’t want to drive if you drink at all.”

  “C’mon, honey, let’s get you a glass of wine.” Becky ushered a crestfallen Peter ahead of her. “Jason will bring your things in. Cassie, Jason will get you comfortable—give you a moment of peace.”

  “Yes, sure. No problem.” Cassie blinked a few times as Peter was ushered away, not really sure what to do with herself in the wake of crazy.

  “We have a ping pong table.” The masculine rumble reminded her she wasn’t alone. Her gaze found the speaker, standing by the car, patiently waiting for her to finally open the trunk.

  “Um…” She shook her head in tiny movements. “Huh?”

  Jace crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps jutting out. “You’re not used to a big family, huh?”

  Cassie stared at him, trying to find gravity. “No. It’s pretty much just my brother and I. My parents are…not parental material.”

  “Everyone’s pretty friendly here. You’ll be fine.”

  “Uh huh.” She looked around, blinking in the setting sun and glancing out at the valley below. An orange haze had settled, glittering off of distant windows like stars. Trees burst with the colors of fall, plentiful and plush. “It really is beautiful up here. The countryside is so…majestic.”

  Jace followed her gaze, letting the silence linger, as comfortable as a fire in winter. After another breath of sweet smelling air tinged with manly sage smell she turned back to the trunk.

  “Okay, ready.” She clicked the button on her keychain and the trunk swung open.

  “You acclimate quickly, huh? Quick on your feet?” Jace still stared with an impassive expression.

  “You stare a lot, huh? Trying to work on your ESP?”

  Jace’s lips quirked. He gave a tiny shake of his head and turned to the trunk. “I’ll be expecting that lesson in ping pong.”

  “I don’t give lessons. I give spankings.”

  His lips quirked harder, one side almost pulling into a half smile. “That right? How does Peter deal with it? I didn’t think he was one for sports.”

  Crap.

  He wasn’t. Hated them, in fact. He did some weights to keep his body cut, but hated running or most cardio. If he did anything, it was yoga. Completely the opposite of Cassie.

  She reached into her bag of smack talking immediately. “He isn’t. Plus, I only destroy those with confidence problems.”

  “I don’t have a problem with my confidence.” He took out the groceries and set them on the ground to the side. He reached in for the largest suitcases.

  “You certainly do. Too much of it. I’ll help you shave that down a bit.”

  “Ah.” He shook his head again, that smile threatening. “Well, we’ll see what you can do.”

  Chapter 3

  Jace couldn’t help the buoyancy of his insides as he stood next to one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. He couldn’t believe his brother’s luck in finding her. White-blond hair fell down her face in a sheet, her delicate features lending her the beauty of a nymph. Her easy smiles and vivid blue eyes, sparkling with mirth and intelligence, had his heart hammering and palms sweaty. Absolutely gorgeous.

  And Peter’s. Taken by one of the best guys in the world. Jace wouldn’t have it any other way—Peter deserved someone good in his life. He deserved to be with someone that made him happy. Jace just wished Cassie’s charisma didn’t flirt with his senses, or her chaotic thoughts didn’t constantly have him leaning in to catch every word. She was all kinds of distracting!

  Ripping his gaze away from her face, he hefted two huge suitcases, eyeing the third smaller one. In addition, the wine and beer, a litter of books, electronic gadgets, and an exploding makeup bag all needed to be hauled in.

  “Staying awhile?”

  “Oh, uh…” She ducked closer, pushing his arm just enough to hint he was in the way. He nearly laughed with his immediate urge to step to the right.

  Pushed around by a girl. Since when?

  “So, those are Peter’s.” She pointed at the suitcases in his hands. “Mine is this one.” She clutched the smaller red suitcase and yanked. The beer rolled off to the side, clinking dangerously.

  “Here, I got it.” Jace dropped Peter’s suitcases, steadied the crate of beer, and took her suitcase by the strap. He pulled it out easily and set it down by the back of the car, careful to miss the flowers.

  “You shouldn’t put Peter’s suitcases on the ground. He’ll bitch.” She ducked back into the trunk and straightened her books.

  Jace chuckled because she was absolutely right. Which made Jace leave the suitcase right where it was. Peter was funny when he got riled up.

  Jace leaned against the trunk and stared down at that angelic face. Cripes, but she was a beauty. Perfect for Peter. Their style and poise matched perfectly. He had to admit, though, he’d liked her better in the grocery store, with her hair in a messy halo and without makeup. She didn’t need all the fancy clothes and those expensive but uncomfortable looking shoes. Jeans and a tee shirt, hair in a ponytail—that’s how she looked best.

  “I can feel you staring at the side of my head. Practicing death curses or something?” Those blue eyes glanced his way, so vivid they sucked a guy in and wouldn’t let him back away.

  He suppressed laughter. “Just wondering what’s taking so long.”

  “Well, caveman, I actually read, and I don’t like when my books get messed up.”

  He shifted, getting a look at her books, half expecting to see a dozen shirtless men with writhing women draped over them. Instead, dragons or spaceships or men with swords colored the covers. “Why don’t you get an e-reader?”

  “Because I like bookstores. And also, I go to the library a lot to write, so while I’m there I just pick up a book. Or three.”

  “What do you write?”

  She glanced at him with a furrowed brow as she zipped up her makeup bag. “For work. I write a life and leisure column.”

  “For which newspaper?”

  “For a magazine, actually, and I don’t want to say. I write under a pen name so my friends can’t make fun of me.”

  He put his hand on the edge of the car and leaned so he could watch her expressions. She gave away her thoughts on her face—he liked the honesty of it. “Why would they make fun of you? Don’t you know what you’re writing about?”

  “Yes. But sometimes…I embellish. Plus, I don’t go to their work and heckle them, why would I want them heckling me?”

  “Where’s your computer? I assume you’ll be writing about the trip?”

  She straightened up and faced him, a wave of irritation washing over her. He almost laughed again—he had no idea why riling her up was so much fun.

  “Ask many questions?” She stalked around the car, yanked the back door open, and pulled a computer bag from the back seat. “There. Happy? All accounted for.”

  “Thrilled. Are you ready to get this in the house, or what? Time’s a-wastin’.”

  “I swear I am going to—“ Her face set in a firm line of irritation. Those deep blue eyes sparkled, though, right before a smile threatened her lips.

  “What? Chase me with a ping-pong paddle? Throw darts at my head?”

  The smile broke free. “Anybody ever tell you how annoying you are?”

  “Yup. All the time. C’mon.” He reached down for the suitcases. After he straightened back up, she stepped close
r to him and pushed the wine, two books, and the makeup bag through his arms next to his body.

  “Whoa, wait—“ He shifted so he had a better hold on the wine as she grabbed the flowers and assessed him. “This isn’t the Titanic—we can come back down for a second load.”

  “I hate doing multiple trips. We can do this.”

  She put her purse over her shoulder and bent to her suitcase. That done, she grabbed the crate of beer and straightened up. And stared. Expectantly.

  “Ready?” He headed toward the house. At the door he stopped and half turned, starting to labor with the combined weight. “Hurry up.” He jerked his head to indicate she should cross in front.

  She stepped around him gracefully, her luggage scraping his, to go in through the door first.

  “Amazing—I figured you’d bitch that I was in the way. Or bossing you around. Or already in front so I should just go first…” He let the laughter ring through his voice.

  She hesitated at the foot of the stairs and glanced back. “Up here, right?”

  “Yeah. Second door on your left. Leave the beer down here. And take this wine. We don’t need to—“

  She’d already put her stuff down and turned to remove the bottle. She set them in a neat pile, her package of chocolate on top, before turning back to her stuff. “Okay, up we go. Why didn’t I bitch? Was that your question?”

  “You just don’t seem like the type of girl who likes someone telling her what to do.”

  Her laughter rang out, throaty and pleasant. At the top of the stairs she glanced at the doors to either side, her gaze lingering on the art on the walls. “You thought I was strong-willed, or thick headed? Who decorated?”

  “My mom. Just here, on the left.”

  “Marcus would go gaga over this house.” She opened the door slowly, peeking in as though a dragon waited inside.

  “Who’s Marcus?”

  “He’s Peter’s—“ Cassie froze, glancing back at Jace with round eyes. “Friend. Well, my friend, really. Mostly mine. But kind of ours, I guess. Both of ours. I met him through Sean. My brother.”