Everyone in the family had scratches on their arms from Philly standing too close and turning her head. Even the wooden headboard of Phillyâs twin bed suffered from deep grooves because she slept with the crown.
âMay I be excused now?â asked Kimber.
âAre you finished with your tea?â Nate asked with a lopsided grin. He leaned forward to peer into his oldest nieceâs cup, which she angled toward him with another eye roll.
âYou didnât finish your cookies.â Philly pointed out the stack of burnt premade desserts the woman in the grocery store had promised would be easy to make.
Nate cleared his throat and nodded his head toward the cookies. Kimberâs mouth widened with disbelief.
âThis is beyond punishment,â Kimber mumbled. âThis is cruel and unusual.â
Burning the cookies had totally been his fault. His mind had been elsewhereâin Atlanta and on the sexy producer whoâd fled the minute she had the chance. Of course, finding her wouldnât be hard. He knew Natalia Ruiz personally and if he didnât his media connections at MET would have come in handy.
Nateâs mind breezed over Amelia once again. Tomorrow would make a week since being with her and she still hadnât gotten out of his system. The original plan in Atlanta had been to distract her at the bar, buy her a drink or something in order for Stephen to speak with a potential client. Taking her to bed the same nightâwell, those were the perks of being a great wingman.
A set of keys jingled at the front door and automatically Phillyâs face lit up with excitement. A deep âahaâ came from Stephen Reyes at the bar separating the dining room and kitchen. He entered; the front door slammed shut and moments later in walked the future Mrs. Stephen Reyes, Lexi Pendergrass, who shook her head in preparation at the banter.
âI expected you to teach them how to gamble,â said Stephen, standing at the bar and staring into the breakfast nook in a two-piece gray suit with a gray-and-blue paisley tie loosened at the throat, âbut a tea party?â
âCâmon, bruh, you know when a five-year-old asks you to play tea party, you damn well better play tea party.â
âOooh,â Kimber and Philly chorused.
âGo ahead and put your cash in the swear jar,â ordered Lexi.
For a split second Nate scowled in Lexiâs direction as she pulled Phillyâs chair away from the table. Thanks to the rule Lexi had installed in her pageant dress shop, the swear jar had now made its way to the marble kitchen counter. Nate stood and stepped over his mini chair. Stephen followed him into the kitchen as if to make sure Nate extracted a dollar for the jar. So far they had enough money to take a trip down to Puerto Rico.
âI expected more from you,â Stephen pretended to scold.
âReally?â Nate raised a brow. âYou expected more even after asking me for a favor last week?â Albeit, Stephen never asked Nate to go such the distance.
Screwing the top back on the jar he replaced it back on the counter before reaching into the fridge for a cold beer. Lexi appeared in the doorway with Philly on her hip and let out a low whistle. âDo I even want to know?â
âNo,â Stephen and Nate chorused.
âSounds like my cue to leave.â Kimber pushed away from the small table. âUncle Stephen?â
Stephen made an elaborate show of ignoring his niece and keeping his focus straight ahead on Nate, who bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Kimber had Stephen wrapped around her finger.
Sucking her teeth, Kimber remembered. â TÃo Stephen?â
âYes, darling?â
Nate refused to be putty in Kimberâs hand and wasnât remotely fooled by the sugary tone in her voice. He gave her the props for having the nerve to sweet-talk Stephen after all the scheming sheâd done this summer. Recently,