Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
He smirked and sat down at the counter. “I guess I’m late for breakfast, huh?”
“Nooooo! Say it isn’t so!” Jude’s voice boomed from the second-floor balcony, and both Remy and I looked up to find him leaning against the banister that looked over the living room and toward the big windows facing the lake. “There’s no way I missed breakfast.”
“It’s noon, Jude,” I deadpanned.
After the guys didn’t make it home from their impromptu high school reunion until after midnight, and Wes and I engaged in a wild night of sex, I honestly had been surprised that we were both up and raring to go at seven this morning. Hell, even Lexi slept in until almost nine. Which, truthfully, worked out pretty well since my husband convinced me to enjoy a little morning romp in the shower.
“Okay, it’s noon…but what does that have to do with anything?” Jude retorted.
“It means you missed breakfast.”
“Fuck.”
“Jude,” I chastised. “Language.”
“I swear, every day, you’re more and more like Mom.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s probably because every day, you grow more and more annoying and give me no choice.”
He laughed at that, and eventually, footsteps echoed off the walls as he made his way downstairs.
A moment later, Jude stood in the kitchen with Rem and me.
“Tell me you saved me something from breakfast.”
I shook my head. “I saved you exactly nothing, but…I did save bacon and pancakes for Remy, Flynn, and Ty.”
My eldest brother chuckled. “How’s it feel to be liked the least by your baby sister?”
Jude didn’t even bother with a response. Instead, he flashed his infamous puppy-dog eyes and irresistible smile my way. “You don’t like me, Winnie?”
“Oh, shut up. Don’t even start that shit with me.”
“What shit?”
“That shit.” I nodded toward his suspect face.
Immediately, he held both hands up in the air. “But I’m not doing anything.”
I scoffed. “You know exactly what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work.”
“But, Win, that would mean you’re the only woman in the world this doesn’t work on.”
“God, you’re such an ass,” Remy commented on a laugh.
And I snorted, picked up a dish towel, and threw it directly at Jude’s head.
He dodged it with a quiet chuckle, but not once did he drop the look.
Most men couldn’t pull off that look. Hell, most men couldn’t pull off half the shit Jude could. There was just something about my charming-as-hell, fun-loving, carefree, always-having-a-good-time brother that made it impossible to be mad at him. Jude was the youngest out of my brothers, and sometimes it felt like God made him the most lovable of them just to mess with the rest of us.
Plus, it didn’t help that he had the looks of a young Brad Pitt and the personality of Ryan Reynolds. Most women didn’t know how to resist that irrepressible and very dangerous combo.
And honestly, I guessed it explained why my brother always had a revolving door of willing women. Never one to settle down or commit to one relationship, even at thirty-six, the tiger was still sporting his playboy stripes.
“So…the pancakes and bacon, sis?” Jude questioned and held both hands together as if he were praying. “Can I please have some? It would truly make my day to enjoy a stack of your delicious breakfast treats. You know I’ve always said you make the best pancakes out of anyone in the family.”
“You’re so full of it,” I muttered and grabbed the Tupperware I’d used to save my brothers’ breakfast. “Everyone knows Aunt Paula makes the best pancakes, and none of us can forget that fact because you’re always blabbering on and on about it.”
He grinned. “Okay, fine, second-best pancakes.”
“Sometimes, I honestly think it would be better for everyone if you just kept your mouth shut.” I rolled my eyes and popped open the container of food.
Remy cracked up over that one while he started a fresh pot of coffee, and Jude sat down on one of the kitchen stools with a sly grin on his lips.
“You know, Win, even though you can be a serious hard-ass most of the time, you’re my favorite sister.”
“I’m your only sister.”
He flashed a wink in my direction. “Doesn’t change the fact that you’re my fave.”
By the time I’d managed to plate Jude’s and Remy’s breakfast, Flynn and Ty had made their way into the kitchen.
Though, Flynn, the oldest right behind Remy, didn’t hesitate to step up to the counter and help me get everyone’s breakfast reheated in the microwave. Which was to be expected. He’d always been the most responsible, the sweetest, and quietest out of my brothers.
Ty, on the other hand, was more like Jude than anyone else. He sat down and waited for me to hand him his plate of food.
“You know, I’m going to feel really bad about whatever women end up marrying you two,” I said as I slid plates of pancakes and bacon toward all four of my brothers.