Page 29 of Shiny Things

“And lived to talk about it?”

I snorted. “She really isn’t that bad.”

“I know. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. So maybe this is a good thing. What were you doing over there?”

“Working. Gia picked up a few larger gigs and we needed a bigger kitchen. Mine just wouldn’t cut it.”

“You could have used mine.”

“Maybe, but then we wouldn’t have had an extra set of hands.”

“You mean Mom actually helped?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Damn. You got to see a side of her she rarely shows anyone, even us.” He laughed. “When we were kids she cooked all the time, but as we got older, and there were more of us, she hired a cook to do all of that. For a while, none of us could even remember those days well. They seemed like a dream. Then she started cooking again and it was super weird but brought back so many memories, especially for me and Ryan. Whereas Gia and Dean could hardly remember her like that.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to remember my mom,” I admitted. “She died when I was thirteen. Andrew and Dad raised me after that.”

“They both work for the fire department, right?”

“Yup, and I catch shit regularly for not joining them.”

“Why don’t you then?”

I shrugged. “Probably because it’s so expected of me. Besides, I love working with your sister.”

He laughed. “Well, if anyone can understand that, it’s me. Until lately, I’ve rebuked everything my family has ever suggested for me. Though understand, I used the term suggested loosely. More like demanded, which only made me stubbornly refuse all the more.”

“So why now? Why did you finally agree to take your place among proper society and live up to the Davenport name?”

“For you.”

“Wh-what?” I stuttered.

“For you. I realized if you were going to take me seriously, then I needed to step up and make myself deserving of that. So I agreed and ended up not entirely hating it. I have no regrets.”

“But why would you think you’d need to do that for me?”

“Most people see me as a screwup, a playboy, the Peter Pan of the Congress, unwilling to fully grow up. Which is a lie. I’ve always worked hard, and I’ve supported myself since I was eighteen years old. I only ever touched my trust fund to buy the apartment, and I’ll get that money back if you’d rather live in a house, especially once we start having kids.”

“You want kids?”

For some reason that surprised me.

“Sure. A whole flock of them. I love kids. How about you?”

I shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m the youngest and haven't had a mother figure in my life in a long time. Dad always worked crazy hours at the station, so a lot of the time it was just me and Andrew growing up. I’ve never been around kids much.”

“We’re going to have to fix that. Maybe Gia and David will hurry up and give us a niece or nephew for you to practice with.”

Us?

Babies?

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