Page 13 of Absinthe Minded

“I’ll use the one in the hall.” She walked to the door and turned. “You’re sure you can handle this?”

Hell no, I’m not sure. “We’ll be fine.”

She smiled and hurried to her room.

By the time I walked into the kitchen to dump the filthy clothes and diaper into the trash, all three kiddos had converged at the bar.

Chloe cocked her head. “Uncle Gabe, why were you and Aunt Maggie arguing?”

“Adults do that sometimes.”

Zach snickered. “Kids do it too. Mind your business, Chloe.”

She huffed. “Whatever, bonehead.”

The teen glowered at his sister.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “All right, munchkins. What’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“Jammie party!” Ryan pumped his fist like a three-year-old rock star. “Woot Woot Woot!”

Zach held up his hands. “Nothing personal, but I’ve got homework.”

Chloe motioned for me to come closer and lowered her voice. “Can we stay up past eight and have junk food?”

I glanced over my shoulder as if to make sure no one stood behind me. “It’s not a party without pizza and root beer.”

A grin split the girl’s face. “And ten o’clock bedtime?”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“I’m out. Yell if you need me.” Zach retreated to his room.

Maggie rushed into the living room in a whirlwind of pink. Her lips, her dress, even her toes were varying shades of girlie. She looked good. Too good.

“Wow, Aunt Maggie, you look pretty,” Chloe said.

“Pretty.” Ryan nodded.

My chest tightened. Maggie had surpassed pretty and gone straight to gorgeous. So much so, I had a sudden urge to tell her to stay home. Instead, I flashed her my signature grin. “Beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She blushed, and once again, my cock sat up and took notice.

I walked to the fridge in search of a beer.

She kissed Chloe and Ryan’s cheeks. “Are you guys okay with Gabe watching you? I’ll only be gone a couple of hours.”

Chloe nodded and glanced at me with big doe eyes. “We are going to have a pajama party.”

Maggie sighed, obviously rethinking her decision to leave. “I love pajama parties. Maybe I should stay?”

Yes. Stay. We’ll have a private party, sans the pajamas.I closed the distance between us and set my hand on the small of her back. Ushering her toward the door before I changed my mind, I whispered, “They already told me you don’t allow junk food and bedtime’s at eight o’clock. Nothing personal Mags…but your idea of a party sounds like a downer.”

Her eyes flashed, and she turned, likely to tell me what I could do with my downer, only to be silenced by the giggling behind me. “Fine, but make sure Ryan doesn’t drink too much, or he’ll soak through his nighttime Pull-Ups, and you’ll be the one stripping wet sheets in the morning.”

I winced. My first adventure with Ella’s diaper had scarred me. I didn’t want to contemplate how much piss a three-year old would produce.

She seemed to have enjoyed my reaction, because she flashed me her first real smile since I’d arrived. “I’ll be home by ten. Do you still have my cell phone number?”

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