I giggled and then stopped short when I entered my kitchen and found three guilty-looking men staring back at me, cookie crumbs on their faces. I rushed over to my tray of cookies and saw they’d demolished a quarter of them. “You turds! Those weren’t for you!”
Ian cleared his throat and stood up, wiping his mouth. “Stress eating?”
Rose laughed from behind me. “You know what? Youaretoo busy for my stuff. You’re surrounded by children.”
Adam still had a cookie in his mouth. “Hey!”
I jabbed a finger at the three of them. “You’re making more. All three of you. While I watch whatever stupid game is on.”
Jayden shook his head and his finger at me. “First of all, the game isn’t stupid. It’s going to be a good game. We’re undefeated, Angel. Going to the Superbowl and everything. Second of all, Ian grabbed them for us. I’m a victim of circumstance.Ian’scircumstance. If anything, make him bake and I’ll watch the game with you.”
Rose poked me in the side and whispered at me. “Angel?”
I slapped her finger away and rushed into the garage to grab a candle for her. I was gone for not even ten seconds, but when I got back, another of my cookies was being eaten by my sister. “Hey!”
Rose shrugged. “Ian’s fault. At least that’s what I heard.”
I shoved the candle at her and shooed her away. “Go home to your fiancé. Tell him I say hello.”
“Tell him I said hello, too. I’ve missed him every time he’s stopped by your folks’ place.” Jayden stood up and rested his hand on my hip as he leaned past me to get another cookie. “Last one. I swear.”
Rose’s eyes focused in on his hand, and she grinned at me the same way she’d grinned at me the time she’d caught me pouring Mom’s favorite wine down the sink. “Oh, I’ll tell Anthony plenty. We’ve got lots to talk about.”
“You’re welcome for the candle.”
She popped it open and inhaled. “Holy crap, that smells good.”
Adam looked at the label and winked at me. “Violet’s got good taste.”
“I hate the favors I was going to use. Hate. Them. If I paid a fee for the fast turnaround, do you think you could make these my favors?” She took another deep inhale and sighed. “And a set for around my house. It’ll be the scent of my marriage to Anthony!”
I blinked back tears and nodded quickly. My voice broke when I tried to speak, and I laughed as I lost the battle and started crying. “Sorry! Sorry. This is silly. I don’t know why I’m crying. I think I’m getting my period.”
If Rose hadn’t been suspicious before, she definitely was after all three of my men moved to comfort me. She raised her eyebrows and smiled as she looked at the four of us. “Okay, we’re going to need to discuss this situation, but right now, just give me a hug. I love you.”
Demon growled from his position between us, and Rose yelped a second later. I looked down and saw that she was holding her boob. I laughed harder than I probably should have before handing Demon to Ian. “He doesn’t have teeth! Was it bad?”
She narrowed her eyes at Ian. “I blame you. Fix your dog. And be good to my sister.Anddo me the biggest favor by making sure she gets two hundred candles made before Christmas night.”
I gasped. “Two hundred? You don’t know two hundred people! Who’s coming to this wedding?”
“Mom did the guest list.” She shrugged. “Okay, I’m going. Send Mom the bill. No discounts.”
I walked with her to the door and hugged her again. “Thank you, Rose. You don’t know what it means to me that you want to support me.”
“After the new year, what do you think about having a twin weekend?” She glanced over my shoulder and wagged her brows. “I have a feeling you could use a break from all that… football… by then.”
I groaned and watched her get in her car before I shut the door and turned back to my cookie thieves. Finding them all watching me, I rolled my eyes. “In the kitchen, all of you. You’re going to learn how to bake tonight. And none of you are allowed to touch me until you’ve replaced the cookies you ate.”
Ian growled and took a step towards me. “Seems like our sweet baby finally got her claws.”
Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “Seems like she’s using them on us.”
Jayden came at me fast, tossing me over his shoulder while patting my ass. “Seems like she’s begging to get this ass swatted.”
I laughed wildly and slapped his ass the best I could. “Seems like you three are going to need to listen to me!”
“Into the bedroom with her!” Ian bit his lip to stop a laugh when I leaned up to glare at him. “I’m sure a little playtime will cure her of this bad mood.”