I snicker as Evan glares at them. But when my eyes land on Mrs. Adler, she isn’t concerned with her teasing children. She just looks happy as she gazes at Evan, so pleased, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.

The teasing is nonstop, and I love it. It’s so funny. Even through cleaning the kitchen, the siblings are all still picking at one another.

“It’s way worse when Owen is home,” Mr. Adler tells me. “They are ruthless when he’s here.”

“It’s a lot,” Mrs. Adler says, leaning against the counter. “I would apologize again, but this is how it is here.”

“There’s no need. I find it entertaining.”

“The first hour is funny, but hour nine hundred is annoying,” Mr. Adler says, and I laugh.

Mrs. Adler leans into him and asks me, “Are you eager to go home?”

“I am. I miss my family.”

“You said Nico was adopting you?” Mr. Adler asks, and I grin.

“He is. I’m very excited about it. He’s a great guy.”

Mr. Adler thinks for a second and then asks, “Aren’t you a legal adult?”

I smile. “I am. But I don’t have parents or a true family. It’s only been my sister and me. Plus, Nico is wonderful.”

They both share a smile before Mr. Adler asks, “Wait, didn’t he and Shelli date?”

Mrs. Adler gives him a wild look, and I laugh. “Really?”

“I think so,” she says softly. “But you didn’t hear that from us.”

Well, that’s interesting. Before I can take out my phone to text Aviva, Mr. Adler says, “I have to say, Evan seems a lot different.”

I follow their gaze to where Evan is sitting with the babies, kissing and loving on them. Mrs. Adler nods, her mouth turning up in a wide grin that reminds me of Evan’s smile. “A lot better.”

“So much better.” They both look at me. “I mean, from when I first met him. I think he smiles more.”

On cue, he looks up at us and smiles.

Mr. Adler nods. “You know what they say. Sometimes all you need is love.”

“Yeah, to be saved by love,” Mrs. Adler says softly, and I’m sure I am reading into their words, but nonetheless, I agree. I know that’s how I got through a lot of my trauma, with Aviva’s love. Then it took Nico’s love to heal my sister. I want to think I am one of the many reasons Evan is doing so well, but there is no reason to get ahead of myself. I mean, I know how I feel, not that I’ve said anything. But it’s serious, and I know it’s special.

I leave his parents and sit on the couch as he holds Fitz in his lap, rubbing his little head and somehow still playing with Zac. Zac sits beside him with his plush hockey stick, and Evan shows him how to hold it. Zac laughs happily as Evan makes funny faces and noises at him.

“You’re really good with kids.”

He shrugs. “The Assassins unit is huge, and there is always a baby or a kid somewhere at all the events. I enjoy playing with them and being around them. Owen is really good with kids too, probably ’cause he’s still a kid.”

I laugh. “Speaking of Owen, you talk about me to him?”

His lips quirk. “All the time.”

I lean into him as we share a smile, but then Fitz starts to cry. Evan picks him up, trying to comfort him until he tries to eat Evan’s face. “Shel, bring a boob! Fitzy’s hungry!”

“I’ve got two. I’m coming,” she calls through the house, and then on cue, Zac starts to cry.

“Pose, I think your kid wants a boob too,” he calls out, and his sisters come quickly to get their kiddos. I giggle as the kids are collected, and then Evan cleans up the toys. I ignore the pain that reminds me I’ll never be able to breastfeed, but then, I don’t even know if I’ll have kids.

“Do you want kids?”

Evan throws a bunch of toys into a box in the corner. “Yeah. I want a big family. You?”

“Me too.” He gives me a sly smile, but I don’t return it. “Just throwing this out here, but you know, with the gene I have—”

“We’d cross that bridge together,” he says simply, falling into the seat beside me as my heart vibrates in my chest. “Just as I have your back, together, we’d have our kids’. Just like my parents have mine and Aviva has yours.”

Why am I about to cry? I wrap my arms around his neck, burying my face against his chest. “Are you good?”

I agree very aggressively. “God yes, I’m having a blast.”

He laughs at my quick answer as he pulls back to look at me. His eyes search mine before he kisses my lips softly, sweetly. “I know my family is a lot.”

“They’re awesome.”

“They’re something, for sure,” he says, leaning into the couch. “My brothers-in-law have learned to just let us be. They used to try to defend their wives, but the girls shut that down.”

“That’s incredible,” I snicker, pushing away my tears.

“Yeah, now we make fun of them too. Which was a lot of fun when we’d get together for holidays. But now we have games against each other, us being IceCats and them as Assassins. Owen will deliberately hit Aiden, just to fuck with him.”

“I can’t with you guys,” I laugh, and he grins. “I was thinking I was jealous earlier. I wish Aviva could have been just my sister instead of my mom and my dad.”

He slides his hand into mine. “Yeah, that’s hard, but I think she did a great job. She needs a trophy. We buy them for my mom.”

I laugh. “I’ll look on Amazon.”

Tags: Toni Aleo Bellevue Bullies Romance
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