Page 230 of The Maxwell Brothers
“I’ll talk to Tate. He’s got as good a reason as I do to adapt it.”
I giggled. “Come on. Let's get out of bed, or we'll be late."
He pressed his fingers deeper into my skin. I knew what that possessive grip meant. He wasn't ready to let go without a fight, but I knew just how to disarm him. I went straight to his Adam's apple, kissing it lightly, moving up and down his neck. It was his sweet spot.
He instantly relaxed his grip on me, groaning, and I saw my chance to escape. I practically leaped out of bed.
He burst out laughing, pushing himself up on an elbow. "You're tricky this morning."
"Hey, I'm resourceful, and I knew if I didn't get us out, we'd just stay in bed for half the morning."
"That's completely true."
I walked to the bathroom, and he was right behind me. We brushed our teeth at the two sinks. I loved the ease and familiarity between us.
The second I was done, I reached for the shower, but Tyler pulled me toward him.
"I demand a morning kiss before the shower as payback for tricking me."
"Oh, I deserve that very,verycruel punishment.”
Grinning, he leaned in to me, speaking against my lips. “Not gonna fight me on it? Say we’ll be late?”
“I can make time for a kiss. But only one." I used a teasing tone, knowing he wouldn’t resist the challenge.
“We’ll see about that.”
Despite my best intentions, we arrived late at Declan’s house in the Gold Coast neighborhood. I’d seen it in pictures and also been here a couple times while it was under renovation. It was honestly breathtaking. Originally built in the early 1900s, Declan had renovated a lot, but it was worth it. The walnut entry staircase led up to a balcony slash porch made entirely of walnut as well. The windows on either side of the door had stained glass so one couldn’t see inside from the street.
The inside was even more impressive. There was a huge open space encompassing the entrance, living room, dining room, and kitchen. I especially loved the mahogany staircase leading to the upper level.
Everyone else was already here. Tate and Lexi were on the right side of the gorgeous living room, next to the gray couch. Tate was taking out books from a box, and Lexi was arranging them on floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves that had a ladder attached to them.
“Where’s Paisley?” Tyler asked.
“She decided to spend the day with our parents. Mom bribed her with pancakes,” Tate explained.
Travis and Luke were setting up the TV on the wall opposite the couch. Declan himself was sorting cutlery at the granite counter. The kitchen was amazing, like the rest of the furniture. The cabinets were black and looked incredibly sleek.
“What should we do?” I asked him.
“Tyler can start setting up the lamps. You can put the glasses in the red box in the cabinets.”
“Right away.” I moved carefully because the hardwood floor was littered with boxes and bubble wrap.
"Remind me again, is this supposed to be a housewarming party?" Travis asked while he and Luke seemed to be on a break.
Declan nodded. "Housewarming slash unpacking party. First comes unpacking, and then I’ll order food and drinks for everyone."
Luke burst out laughing. "So typical of you. Work first, fun later.”
"Hey, we volunteered, remember?" Tyler asked.
"Actually, no, I don't. But it could be that I just heard the part with drinks and completely ignored the part where we had to work," Luke said.
“Thanks for showing up,” Declan said.
"No problem."
