Me: I’m kind of already here.
No message bubbles appear, and a few seconds later the front door to Rhyson’s stately home flings open. My twin brother stands in the entrance, grinning at me as I lean against my baby girl, the Audi convertible I bought a few years ago.
“Aren’t you polite this morning?” He steps back, gesturing for me to walk past him into the house. “You usually just barge in.”
He’s right. I have all his codes and keys, full access to his life. “That was before Kai moved in.” I pause in the doorway to give him a quick hug before walking through to the foyer. “If you didn’t like to screw your little wife all over this place at all times of the day, maybe I would risk showing up unannounced.”
He offers no apologies, only that cocky grin that used to strip women of their panties. Now he just uses it to tell me he’s a happily married man with one set of panties to worry about.
“Probably a good idea.” He tips his head toward the kitchen. “Come on. I’m eating breakfast.”
Sunshine brightens the room, the marble counters and modern state-of-the-art appliances—which Rhyson’s probably never touched—gleaming. His housekeeper has always taken good care of him, and now Kai cooks any time her schedule allows.
“Hungry? Coffee?” Rhyson glances at me, his eyes silvery under a sweep of dark hair. He’s my brother, but even I can appreciate that he’s a beautiful man.
Of course he is—we’re twins.
He and I tell Grip that all the time to make him roll his eyes and laugh. Speaking of Grip . . . I’m here for a reason, and I hope this goes well.
“No, I’m good.” I cast a disparaging look at the orange mash in the food processor on the counter. “Especially if that is breakfast.”
“That’s Aria’s baby food. Kai makes it herself.” Rhyson laughs and settles onto a bar stool at the counter, a croissant on the plate in front of him. “Today was sweet potato.”
I find myself smiling too as I take the stool beside him. “Where is my adorable niece?”
“You’re not gonna believe this.” Rhyson slants me a wry grin. “Don’t laugh.”
“I won’t.” Though I’m laughing a little inside already because he told me not to. I’m perverse that way.
“Kai took her to church.” He gives me a don’t say a word look.
Rhyson would be an atheist if he cared enough to actually declare himself something, and the irony of him marrying the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher is not lost on any of us.
“Kai took Aria to church?” A half-laugh, half-breath leaves my lips. “Did she go with Aunt Ruthie?”
Kai’s Aunt Ruthie lives with them and helps out with Aria since Kai’s schedule can get crazy. One of the first things Aunt Ruthie did when she relocated from Glory Falls, Georgia, was find a church here in LA. I can’t pretend to understand why this is urgent for anyone, but apparently it’s a thing for church people.
“No, that’s just it.” Rhyson takes a sip of coffee and shrugs. “She doesn’t like Aunt Ruthie’s church, so she’s looking for the ‘right’ one. She wants Aria to grow up in a progressive church, an oxymoron if I ever heard one.”
“So Aria will grow up believing in arcs and angels?” The smile I give him holds genuine curiosity. “Are you okay with that?”
Rhyson tips his head to the left, actually considering it.
“I trust Kai. She won’t go overboard or get Aria into anything crazy.” He shrugs and goes back to his croissant. “Besides, that’s how Kai was raised, and it didn’t screw her up too badly.”
“That’s definitely true. You married up, brother.”
As I knew he would, Rhyson almost spits out the coffee mid-sip, his expression incredulous.
“Oh, now I married up, but not too long ago you swore Kai was a conniving gold digger.” Rhyson narrows teasing eyes at me. “Excel- lent judge of character, by the way.”
“In my defense, I was looking out for you.” I smile brightly, ignoring just how wrong I was about my now sister-in-law. “It all worked out beautifully.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Rhyson offers a quick smile before
turning eyes the exact shape and color of mine in my direction. “But you didn?
?t drag your ass over here on a Sunday morning to celebrate my marriage.”