He kept chucking.
"And funny, smart, sweet, and hot," I finished.
His hand squeezed mine hard as he burst out laughing.
And there it was.
I was on top.
"Is there something I can do, Cher?"
A bunch of people were stuffed in my kitchen with me, one of them being Rocky, who"d just asked that question.
It was time for cake.
But it was also a birthday party with fifteen kids and twice that many adults paying homage to my boy for being awesome (and turning eleven), so there was always something to do.
"Yeah, babe. Can you grab the ice cream?" I asked, unearthing R2-D2 from his flat, white box.
"Absolutely," she murmured, pushing her way to the fridge.
I felt a hand warm on the small of my back as I saw another hand offering me two boxes of candles, one box of blue, one black.
"Need a light?" Merry"s voice rumbled into my ear.
I twisted to look up to him. "Yeah, gorgeous. And can you grab the plates and forks and get everyone in the living room?"
His hand slid down to the top of my a.s.s, fingers curved around my hip, and gave a squeeze. "You got it."
He dropped the candles on the counter by the cake, dug in his jeans pocket, pulled out a lighter, and tossed that on the counter too. Then he bent and kissed my neck briefly before he took off.
"Everyone in the living room," he announced as he went. "Time for cake."
"My big brother...domesticated," Rocky remarked.
I looked to her to see she had a tub of ice cream in her hand and her eyes aimed where Merry was herding people out of the kitchen.
She turned to me and her smile was big.
"Looks good on him," she declared.
"Your brother always looks good," I replied.
Her big grin got bigger.
I dipped my head to her middle. "Congrats, by the way. Merry told me."
She balanced the tub of ice cream in one hand in order to put her other to her belly. "Thanks."
I turned to the cake and s.n.a.t.c.hed up the candles.
Rocky got close.
"You want some?" she asked.
"Want some what?" I asked back, shoving candles in the cake and feeling weird doing it. R2-D2 was also my favorite Star Wars character and shoving candles in his middle (even if that middle was pure frosting) felt like stabbing my favorite teddy bear.
She put the ice cream on the counter and took some candles from me, starting to help.
"Some kids," she explained.
Rocky and I weren"t tight like Vi and I, Feb and I, Frankie and I, or even Dusty and I were. We knew each other. We liked each other. But I was closer to Tanner.
But she was my man"s sister.
It was time.
"Yeah," I said softly.
"Cute baby girls with your brown eyes," she replied softly.
I looked to her. "Cute baby boys with his blue ones."
She smiled again.
This one wasn"t huge, but it said a whole lot more than both the others had and all it said was good.
"We need help in here?"
Rocky and I turned to the door to see Dave walking in.
"Yeah, Dad, go in the living room and pull the curtains so we have dark for the candles," Rocky ordered.
"Gotcha," Dave said. He gave me a grin and turned right back around.
"And make sure people have their cameras ready!" Rocky bossed right before he disappeared through the doorway.
He lifted a hand to indicate he"d heard and was gone.
"I"ll get a knife," she muttered. "Ice cream scoop?"
"That drawer there," I said, jerking my head.
I finished with the candles and grabbed the lighter to start lighting.
"Baby, ready?"
I twisted again and saw Merry had six packages of Star Wars plates held sandwiched in one of his big hands, a package of plastic forks in the other. The living room beyond him was dimmed. All was ready.
"Ethan in place?" I asked.
"Yeah," Merry answered.
I smiled. "Then yeah, honey. All ready."
He smiled back, turned, and stopped dead.
I stopped dead too.
This was because there was a loud banging on the door.
Very loud.
And from that loud, you could definitely read angry.
Very angry.
What the f.u.c.k?
Merry glanced my way, then tossed the plates and plastic silverware aside and prowled out.
With a quick look at a perplexed Rocky, I tossed the lighter aside and hurried after him.
I hit the kitchen doorway to see forty-seven people crammed into my not-very-big living room, a room draped in black-and-blue streamers; black, blue, and silver balloons bunched and stuck in corners and around the ceiling light; and black plastic Darth Vader head-shaped trays and white plastic Stormtrooper head-shaped trays filled with Chex Mix, M&M"s, honey-roasted peanuts, or Fritos littering every surface available.
And all of those people were silent as the angry knocks kept coming.
I also saw my son"s confused face turned to the door. Merry was struggling his way through bodies to get to it, but Colt was already there.
Colt opened it.
"Stop knocking," he bit out when the knocking didn"t stop because whoever was doing it was doing it on the storm door.
"I demand to see Cheryl!"
f.u.c.k.
Peggy.
I looked to Ethan, who no longer looked confused.
His face was pale and his eyes were on me.
"It"s cool. Everything"s cool," I said to the room at large but turned to the closest adult, who happened to be Dave. "Do me a big favor, Dave. Can you get my son in the kitchen?"
"Sure thing, honey," Dave muttered.
I pushed through bodies, eyes to the door where Merry now was with Colt.
But he was pushing through the storm.
And he was p.i.s.sed.
Colt was following him.
And he was p.i.s.sed too.
s.h.i.t, this was happening outside.
I looked back at Dave, who was halfway to my kid.
"And, uh...shut the blinds in the kitchen, would you?"
"Mom!" Ethan cried.
"Give me and Merry a second, baby," I requested.
Bad choice of words, especially with all these folks around.
"I"m not a baby!" he snapped.
I made it to the door and focused on him. "I need a second, kid. Merry and me need a second. You know we"ll give it to you when we know what"s going down. Just let us see the lay of the land first. Okay?"
Dave had his hand on Ethan"s shoulder. Feb was close too. Vi was pushing their way.
Ethan was glaring at me.
Then he bit out, "Fine."
"Go with Dave and Feb, you with me?" I asked.
"Whatever," he muttered, getting up from his seat on the floor by the coffee table, which had been cleared for cake placement, candle blowing, and ice cream scooping, the edges of the table and the floor around it littered with presents.
All ready for the good stuff.
f.u.c.king Peggy.
I set my teeth, gathered my wits, tamped down my fury as best I could, and stormed out of my house.
Merry and Colt had managed to get her halfway down the walk.
I didn"t know what was happening. I just saw through the two men"s bodies she had one arm gesticulating.
She also had her daughter in a stroller and her son on her hip.
And my son was right then being hustled into our kitchen just before he was supposed to get cake, ice cream, and spoiled rotten by people who loved him, all because Peggy was having whatever fit Peggy was currently having.