“And you’re all standing behind that?” Mom’s face flooded with irritation when everyone – including Braden – nodded. She stomped toward the door. “Fine. Have it your way. Believe it or not, I’m trying to protect you. I might not be part of the business, but I’m still a member of this family.”
“For now,” I said.
Mom huffed out a heavy sigh. “Forever, Aisling. I’m still your mother.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re part of the family,” I said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a mask to wash off and then I’m tired. I’m sure you know your way out.”
“Did you just dismiss me?” Mom’s eyes flashed.
“No, I’m doing that,” Dad said. “Leave. The next time you show up at this house, you sure as hell better knock.”
I FOUND Dad standing by one of the front windows watching the action in the courtyard thirty minutes later. He seemed lost in thought and I wasn’t keen to disturb him. He’d been a good sport the entire night. He deserved some downtime. I turned to leave him to whatever plagued his troubled mind, but he stopped me before I could exit the room.
“Do you have something on your mind, Aisling?”
I was sheepish when I shuffled across the floor and stood next to him. “How did you know?”
“All of my children have a certain … presence,” he replied. “I’ve learned to read all of you without looking. Your presence is purple – like your eyes … and, well, a storm – and I can feel you when you’re in a room.”
“That’s kind of creepy.”
“Well, I guess I’m creepy,” Dad said, shifting a sidelong look in my direction. “I thought you were in bed.”
“I grabbed bottles of water and I’m on my way up now,” I supplied. “I wanted to check on you before going up.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “You’re my father. You have a certain presence, too. Sometimes I like to feel it.”
The corners of Dad’s mouth tipped up. “You’re unbelievably sweet when you want to be. It’s a rare occurrence, don’t get me wrong, but you’re definitely my favorite child today.”
I considered leaving it at that, but there was another question pressing on me and I needed an answer. “Can I ask you something?”
Dad nodded.
“Are you considering keeping Serena?”
The question seemed to take him by surprise. “Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “You all seem to really like her. Heck, my brothers seem to like her better than me. She’s already in on the big secret and everything. You seem happy having a younger kid to dote on.”
“I’ve already raised my children, Aisling,” Dad said. “Yes, some of them refuse to move out of the house, but I don’t want to be responsible for a younger child again. I’ve had my fill of that.
“As for the rest, your brothers are very good at making people feel safe,” he continued. “They don’t like Serena more than they like you. They love you without question. You’re the only princess in the house, and it will stay that way.”
His words warmed me – and made me feel ashamed for being jealous. “Braden doesn’t love me.”
“Braden loves you. He’s just so … confused. I worried you would be confused because of your mother’s return, but you seem to have your head on straight. Braden is another story.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
Dad sighed as he rubbed his forehead. “I can’t do anything about it but love and watch him. I don’t trust your mother. I do trust your brother to do the right thing. You saw him tonight. He was on your mother’s side yet he didn’t betray Serena and reveal her presence. That has to count for something.”
“Do you think Mom has something to do with the Grimleys going missing?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“Did you really mean it when you said I was the only princess in the house?”
Dad smirked. “Yes.”
“Can we have an omelet bar for breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to come to the townhouse and help me move tomorrow even though you don’t want to?”
“Yes.”
Now it was my turn to smile. “Are you going to give me whatever I want because I’m your favorite today?”
“Yes.”
I rolled up to the balls of my feet and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad I’m your only princess.”
“So am I.”
18
Eighteen
“Morning.”
Griffin’s breath was warm against my neck when I woke the next day. When I was a kid, I hated the sleigh bed my mother bought for me. I thought it was too big and overbearing, and I always felt small and frightened when left alone. For some reason, sharing it with Griffin made the bed seem smaller – and that’s not just because we tend to sleep on top of one another.
“Good morning,” I murmured, stretching my arms and legs before rolling to face him. “How did you sleep?”
“Hard. How did you sleep?”
“I was out the second my head hit the pillow,” I replied. “I feel much better this morning.”
“That’s good,” Griffin said, his voice low and gravelly. “You look good. That blue mask made your skin shine.”
I snickered. “Yours, too. Thank you for doing that, by the way. Everyone seemed to have a good time.”
“Why wouldn’t I do it?”
“I don’t know. Most men might find that weird.”
“I’m not most men.”
“I’ve noticed.” I pressed my lips to his and took a moment to bask in his morning warmth. I didn’t get nearly enough time to enjoy the feeling before the door flew open and Jerry and Serena bounded inside.
“What the hell?” Griffin made a face as he rolled to his back. “Do you guys knock?”
Serena was taken aback. “I said we should knock but Jerry told me that Aisling has sensitive ears and is allergic to knocking.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle even as Griffin groaned. “Just for the record, no one is allergic to knocking,” I said. “When in doubt, don’t believe Jerry when he wants you to do something that goes against your better instincts.”
“Okay,” Serena said, her blond hair standing up in about eight different directions. “Jerry and Aidan said we can’t go downstairs for breakfast until you guys are up.”
“They did, huh?” For some reason, in the bright light of day, Serena’s presence didn’t bother me at all. I felt guilty for my jealousy of the night before. It wasn’t her fault that she was here. I knew she’d rather have her own family than spend time with mine any day of the week. My brothers were trying to do the right thing by her, not the wrong thing by me. My disillusionment was of my own making. “Why did they say that?”
Serena shrugged. “I have no idea … but I’m starving.”
“Good grief,” Griffin grumbled. “You’re a bottomless pit. I thought this one could put away food. She’s got nothing on you.” He patted my behind to let me know he was kidding.
“Get up,” Jerry ordered. “You’re sleeping the day away. I’m starving.”
I remembered my talk with my father the previous night. “And we’re getting an omelet bar.”
“We are?” Griffin was intrigued. “How do you know that?”
“My dad promised it to me before I came up last night.”
“Then I guess we should get moving,” Griffin said, struggling to a sitting position. He was bare-chested and I didn’t miss Serena’s eyes as they roamed his sculpted muscles. “I think I might be starving, too.”
Serena giggled as she stared at him. “Your hair is messy but you still look hot.”
“He has a gift,” I said. “You guys get out of here, and shut the door when you go. We’ll be downstairs in ten minutes.”
“You’d better be,” Jerry said, dragging Serena toward the door. “If you’re not, I’m coming back in. I don’t care what you’re doing. You’ve been w
arned … and I have on my stern face, so I mean business.”
“Duly noted.”
“Wait, I’m not done looking,” Serena argued, laughing as Jerry chased her out of the room.
I waited until the door was shut to turn my full attention to Griffin. “She’s doing a good job of pretending to be happy, but that won’t last forever. Once we have confirmation on the rest of her family … .”
“I know,” Griffin said, pushing my hair behind my ear so he could kiss the tender spot on my neck. “We’ll do what we can for her.”
“What are you doing?” I asked, my skin humming as his hands got bolder. “I thought you were starving.”
“I am, but I’m also keen to play a little game with you,” Griffin said. “It’s moving day, after all. We should treat it like a holiday.”
That was an interesting suggestion. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Griffin’s smile was wolfish. “Have I ever taught you how to play sheet hockey? Since you like games so much, I thought it might be a nice fit. I promise you’ll feel like a real winner when we’re done.”
“Sold,” I said, grabbing the covers and jerking them over our heads. “You’d better get moving, though. Jerry wasn’t kidding about coming back in ten minutes.”
“Oh, nothing can stop me now, baby. Not even Jerry.”
“MOVE TO your left.”
“You move to your left.”
“You move to your left and I’ll move to my right.”
Moving is stressful under any circumstances, but when you add four siblings, one flamboyant roommate, one control freak father, one smitten orphan and one bossy cop you pretty much have a recipe for mayhem.
After confirming that the gargoyles were gone – and watching my father converse with two armed men in the courtyard before returning to the house – everyone enjoyed a lazy breakfast and then packed up to head to the townhouses. Given the recent circumstances, Dad said that the home office was bringing in freelancers to help with the workload. Everything was supposed to be back to normal the next day – or at least as close to normal as our lives get since my mother’s return.
That meant we had the day to ourselves, and everyone wanted to help with the big move. Okay, Braden didn’t want to help, but he also didn’t want to be left behind. We split up into four vehicles and headed west after breakfast. Now, an hour later, the only thing moving fast was the insults.
“You’re such a pansy, Braden,” Redmond chided as he struggled to hold up his end of the dresser. “Lift with your legs. We’re never going to make this turn if you don’t put some effort into it.”
“I am lifting with my legs,” Braden shot back. “You’re not getting a good enough angle on your end so we can move this thing out. It’s never going to work the way you’re trying to do it.”
“Wow. It’s like watching a really boring home improvement show,” I intoned, moving between Dad and Serena as I watched my brothers struggle with the dresser. “Why don’t they just flip it on its end and slide it out that way?”
“They will,” Dad said, chuckling. “Redmond wants to be right first, though. Once he realizes that’s impossible, he’ll keep doing what he’s doing for another five minutes because he won’t be able to bear the fact that Braden is right. Then they’ll flip it on its end.”
“Boys are stupid,” I muttered.
“So are girls sometimes,” Dad said, flicking my ear. “I couldn’t help but notice that your idea of packing was throwing all of your underwear in a box and then trying to make your brothers carry it. You’re very cruel when you want to be.”
“Yes, but it keeps me young.”
Serena was delighted by the interplay – and the fact that my brothers were wearing tight T-shirts and flexing whenever they caught her looking at them. They seemed to enjoy her attention, and anything to keep her mind off real problems for an afternoon was worth the extra effort as far as they were concerned.
“What are they doing now?” Griffin asked, appearing in the doorway with Aidan by his side. “That’s the last piece of furniture and then we only have a few boxes left.”
“They’re trying to decide who gets to use the communal brain for the day,” I offered.
“I heard that,” Redmond said. “I know what I’m doing. Braden is the one screwing up things.”
“No, I know what I’m doing,” Braden countered. “Redmond is just being a butthead.”
“I think it’s a big brother’s job to be a butthead,” Redmond said. “It’s a little brother’s job to do what the butthead says.”
Even I found that funny. “Can you two buttheads hurry up? I think Griffin wants to spend some alone time with me once everything is moved.”
Griffin snorted. “I think you want to spend some alone time with me,” he said. “I saw the way you were looking at me when I flexed my muscles while lifting the box with your underwear. It’s funny that none of your brothers wanted to touch it.”
“That’s because we didn’t want cooties,” Cillian said, poking his head in the doorway. “Why don’t you guys just flip that on its end and wriggle it through? It will be a lot easier.”
“Oh, I was wrong,” I intoned. “Cillian has ownership of the communal brain today.”
“Ha, ha.” Cillian poked my cheek. “I’m going to take the rest of the boxes over with Griffin and Aidan and then I’m going to go. I want to do some research on the seal and I need time to look through my books.”
“Okay. Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome.” Cillian’s smile was genuine. “You don’t ask me to do manual labor very often, so I don’t mind. If you move again, though, you’re on your own.”
“If you move again, you’re doing it without me, too,” Griffin added.
“Perish the thought,” I teased, earning a quick kiss for the flirty grin from my boyfriend and an exaggerated eye roll from my father. “Don’t look at me that way, Dad. This is a very exciting time for us.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Dad said. “I’m actually very happy for you.”
“You said that with a straight face.”
“I wasn’t telling a joke,” Dad said. “I always want you to be happy, Aisling. I think the handsy cop makes you happy. I’m willing to put up with the flirting and groping to keep that smile on your face.”
“Because I’m a princess?”
Dad smirked. “Yes.”
“Got it!” Redmond was triumphant as he wriggled the dresser through the doorway. It was on its end – just as Cillian suggested – but Redmond puffed out his chest as if the idea belonged to him. “I told you it would work.”
“You might’ve been right about that communal brain thing,” Dad grumbled. “Sometimes I don’t want to claim any of them as my sons.”
“WHEW! The bathroom is completely unpacked and all of my stuff is arranged in the cupboard,” I announced, walking into the bedroom to join Griffin as he put away our clothes in the dresser. “I’m spent. Can we be done?”
“The living room and kitchen are still disaster areas.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
Griffin tilted his head and smiled. “Give me a kiss and you can be done.”
“Finally something I want to do,” I said, hopping to his side and smacking a loud smooch against his cheek. “Better?”
“Absolutely.”
“Are you almost done?” I asked.
“Yup. Just one more drawer. It’s your underwear, so you could do it and save me the embarrassment.”
“Why are you embarrassed by my underwear?” I asked, taking the box from him. “I thought that was my brothers’ job.”
“I’m not embarrassed, I’m just tired,” Griffin said, flopping onto the bed and heaving a weary sigh. “How was Serena when you sent her back with your dad?”
“She was fine,” I said, opening the drawer and tossing my panties and bras into the same pile. I was in no mood for sorting. Jerry could do that when
on a spring-cleaning tear in a few months. “She likes my dad and brothers.”
“She does,” Griffin said. “She’s infatuated with you, though.”
“She is not,” I scoffed. “Did you see the way she was looking at you when she saw you shirtless this morning? I’m the last thing on her mind with all of the hot guys wandering around.”
“I think that’s true to a certain extent,” Griffin clarified. “I think having multiple crushes on multiple men is something to distract her from a very grim reality. What you seem to have missed whenever you two are in the same room, however, is that she can’t take her eyes off of you.”
“Do you think she’s gay?”
Griffin snorted. “Obviously not. That’s not why she’s infatuated with you. She wants to flirt with your brothers … and even me to some extent. She wants to be you, though.”
“Why?” I was flummoxed. “All she’s seen me do is watch as she killed a wraith and then run from gargoyles.”
“I think you sell yourself short sometimes,” Griffin said. “You’re brave, opinionated, loyal, and you say whatever comes to your mind. You have a smoking hot boyfriend, a best friend that most women would die for, and you’re unbelievably strong.”
I pressed my lips together as I tried to swallow the odd lump in my throat. “I … um … .”
“You’re also terrible with a compliment,” Griffin said, snagging me around the waist and pulling me to the bed. “Aisling, I love you dearly. I’ve always thought all of those things about you. It’s okay to accept what I’m saying as a compliment and enjoy it.”
“Thank you.” My voice was barely a whisper.
“You’re freaking adorable sometimes,” Griffin muttered, kissing my cheek. “That’s why Serena wants to be you. You have a heart of gold and a tongue of acid.”
I giggled as he wrestled me down and straddled my torso to keep me still. “What are you doing?”
“Serena is safe with your father and we’re spending our first official night in our new home,” Griffin said. “I want to celebrate.”
“How?”
“I was thinking you could give me a massage.”
Grim Expectations (Aisling Grimlock Book 5) Page 16