“Not in this life,” he replies and holds a forkful of eggs up for me to eat. “Here, no chicken siblings around to witness this.”
“You’re pretty good at this breakfast thing,” I say as I chew and hold a piece of bacon up for him to bite. “And I like you well enough to share my bacon.”
“How kind of you,” he says and takes a bite, then the whole piece, practically biting my fingers.
“Hey, you took all of it.”
“There’s more.”
My landline begins to ring, but I shake my head. “Ignore that.”
“Happily.” He smears strawberry jam on toast and holds it to my lips. “Here’s something sweet.”
I take a bite, sure to get the sugary jam on my lips, then lean in and kiss him, grinning when he licks my lips clean.
“You taste delicious,” he murmurs.
“It’s the jam.”
“That’s good too.”
My cell phone pings with several incoming texts.
“Seriously, ignore it. It’s my day off. If the shop is on fire, it’s just going to burn.”
His brows climb into his hairline.
“Really?”
“No, please pass me my phone.”
He chuckles and reaches behind him to fetch it for me. To my surprise, it’s not my employee, but several of my siblings.
Fear clutches my heart. What if it’s Mama?
“Is everything okay?” Simon asks, but I don’t answer until I open the text from Gabby.
You’re bringing Simon to Mom’s for dinner tomorrow.
“No,” I reply in relief. “I’m being told that you’re coming to Sunday dinner with the family tomorrow.”
I scowl at him.
“Hey, it’s not my fault,” he says with a laugh.
“You really don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” I toss my phone on the end of the bed and take another bite of toast, already dreading the fiasco that’s sure to happen at my mother’s.
“What’s the big deal? I’ve already met them all.”
“But not all at once,” I reply and flop back on the bed, covering my face with the pillow. “When we all get together, we can just be…horrible.”
“I doubt that.” He takes the pillow from my face and smiles down at me. “You’re adorable in the morning.”
“I’m serious, Simon. This isn’t funny. Do you know how many people we’ve run off in the past?”
“How many?”
“Lots. I lost count.” I take the pillow back and slam it on my face. “Mmph mpfff nrffft.”
“What?” he asks with a laugh and peeks under the pillow.
“This can’t end well.”
“I’m a tough guy,” he reminds me and sneaks his face under the pillow to kiss my cheek. “I can handle some questions.”
I stare at him for a moment and then break out in giggles, laughing until my stomach hurts and tears are rolling down my face.
“Oh my gosh,” I gasp. “You’re so cute.”
“I think you know how I feel about that word, love, but if you need a reminder, I’m happy to give you one.”
I laugh again and then sober, wipe my face clean, and cup his cheek in my hand.
“It was so nice knowing you.”
He raises a brow.
“Was?”
“After tomorrow, you may be running back to the airport.”
“Stop it. Your family is lovely, and like I said, I’ve already met them. Everything is going to be just fine.”
“Yeah.” I chew my lip and stare at the last piece of bacon, which is calling my name with evil glee. So I snatch it. “Just know that I warned you. And if you decide that you don’t want to go, I totally understand. We could go somewhere else like Iceland. Or Alaska.”
“Only cold places?” He peels the covers off of me and kisses my naked chest, just between my breasts. “What about Brazil?”
“Too many bugs,” I reply, then gasp when he nibbles my navel. “I’ve heard Montana is nice.”
He looks up at me and grins. “Those rumors are true. It’s even better when a certain beautiful woman is there as well.”
“Oh?” I bury my fingers in his hair as he kisses his way down to the promise land. “Tell me more.”
“Words are overrated, love. I’ll show you.”
“Is it just me, or is the way Simon says billiards the sexiest thing ever?” Callie asks later that night.
I’m sitting with Callie at her rooftop bar in The Odyssey enjoying a glass of wine while Declan and Simon are downstairs playing pool. We decided it would be good for us to get out of the house for the evening, and I’m glad we did. I love Callie, and this bar.