Page 90 of Enticing

—Leo’s Secret Thoughts

“Ididn’t realize she’d be running already.” Hendrix laughs as I chase my baby girl across my parents’ backyard, while she squeals like it’s the greatest thing ever. Lucky for her, her daddy is the fastest player in the NHL for the second year in a row, and I catch her before she can fall flat on her face.

“Da Da.” She squishes my cheeks.

I toss her high in the air and catch her as she comes down, loving her big belly laughs.

“Dude. Don’t break your kid,” Henny warns.

“They bounce,” I tease. Addie would kill me if I ever tested that theory.

She never did agree to having the family party my sisters wanted to celebrate our marriage. She said she didn’t wanta belated wedding. And I don’t blame her. Our wedding was perfect for us. In a lot of ways, it’s where we started.

The first step in what got us here.

But she did agree to let my parents throw us a party to celebrate the adoption going through. And as of two days ago, Izzy and Lennox are officially Sinclairs.

Not that their last name ever mattered to me. They were always mine.

“You’re a lucky man, brother,” Henny points out, and I smile and scan the yard for Addie.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Lennox reaches for her favorite uncle, something that drives Nixon nuts. “Hey-hey,” she squeals again and throws herself at him, making Hen’s whole face light up like he just hit the jackpot.

We’re not sure if she’s trying to sayHennyor if Izzy has watchedMoanain front of her too many times, but either way, Lennox loves her Henny.

“Tag.” I smack his back. “You’re it.”

Nixon joins the two of us, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What did you do?” I ask, and that grin only grows.

“I asked Everly to grab me some Advil for Kenzie. I told her she had a headache.” He laughs, and Henny and I look at him funny. “You know where Mom keeps the meds, right?”

“Does she still keep them in her bathroom closet?” Henny asks.

“I think so,” I answer.

“Nixon!” Everly yells from the back door, and the whole party stops and stares at Nix.

Everly marches her pregnant ass toward us as Mom rushes to the backdoor behind her, and her hair is a mess.

“Gross, man. You fucking didn’t,” I laugh.

Henny fist-bumps Nix. “Oh yeah, he did. Good job.”

“I’m going to kick your ass from here to the Jersey shore, you shithead. You knew they were having sex, and you still sent me up there.”

“How could I have known?” Nix asks innocently. Nixon is a whole lot of things, but innocent isn’t one of them.

“I’ll get you back, you evil little cockroach,” she growls as Cross walks over.

“Remember what the doctor said about your blood pressure, Cinderella.” He runs his hand up and down her back. But my sister spins on him, like Linda Blair in the fuckingExorcist.

Did you just walk in on your mother on her knees in front of your father?” she snaps, and Hendrix, Nixon, and I fucking die, we laugh so hard.

“My dad’s been dead for a few years,” he tries to reason with his wife, and we all laugh harder.

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