Always You (Adair Family 3)

“Why would we say no?” Lachlan frowned. “Of course, Regan can have it. Arro clearly just offered it.”

“And his wife would withhold sexual favors if he denied her little sister this request,” Robyn added.

Lachlan raised an eyebrow. “As if you could last a day without me.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Aye, why not?”

“Lachlan,” Thane warned.

“Fine.” Robyn held out a hand. “Shake on it. No sex until one of us breaks, and the person who breaks does all the cooking and grocery shopping for three months.”

“Lachlan—”

“Done.” Lachlan shook her hand.

Thane groaned. “You’re a right prat.”

Our eldest brother shrugged cockily. “I will not break first.”

“Does it matter when this deal means you’re not having any sex for the foreseeable future?”

Lachlan considered this and then glowered at his chuckling wife. “Funny, is it? You’ve got a stronger sex drive than me, woman.”

“Can we not discuss my daughter’s—” Mac choked on the thought, looking green. “Let’s change the subject.”

And so we did, but I noticed Robyn didn’t look so cocky anymore.

Note to self: never make a no-sex deal with Mac.

We talked more about Regan’s plans for the preschool, and then Thane called for takeout. The bulk of the evening was spent eating dinner and playing with the kids. After, the kids showered and Thane put them to bed.

It was late by the time Lachlan set up Brodan’s new film, connecting his laptop to Thane’s TV. We switched off the lights to make it more cinematic, and I rested against Mac’s chest as we lounged back to watch the movie.

Pride filled me at Brodan’s portrayal of a man who wakes up in what seems to be a dystopian outback with no recollection of how he got there. The film was about him piecing together his memories as he tried to survive the desert and find his way back to some manner of civilization. It was by far Brodan’s best piece of acting. So good, I almost forgot he was my brother.

As the credits rolled, a stunned silence fell over my family.

Then Lachlan said gruffly, “Well … he’s a talented son of a bitch.”

We all immediately started talking over each other in excitement as we discussed which bits we loved best, where he stunned us with his performance, when we forgot we were watching Brodan and just saw him as the character. We shot him texts to tell him how much we’d loved it, but I made a note to video-call him tomorrow so I could tell him to his face.

After that, we said our good-nights, and Mac led me out to his SUV, opening the passenger door and placing an unnecessary but welcome palm on my arse to help me in. He rounded the bonnet, hopped in, and once he was pulling out of the driveway, I commented, “They didn’t make it weird. Us.”

“Did you think they would?”

“I wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t weird. Not at all.”

Mac grinned in the dark of the car, the headlights beyond us illuminating his face. “Eilidh certainly put us in our place.”

I groaned, but smiled. “God, we must have been so obvious.”

His chuckle warmed me from the inside out.

But then he sliced through the amiable mood with, “Do you want kids, Arro?”

The abrupt question shocked me into silence for a few seconds. My heart raced as I fought through the fear of the outcome of this conversation and answered honestly, “Yes.” I swallowed hard. “Do you?”