“You know it is fucking crazy, while Noah was away on his last business trip, I found myself on the phone with a wrong number for at least ten minutes because I was so desperate to communicate with another human that was over the age of six after being cooped up with the kids by myself for four days straight.” Jennie chugged down more than half of her wine before continuing, “These dinners are a damn lifesaver for mysanity.”
“Amen to that.” Alice raised herglass.
“So, Will.” My father cleared his throat. “You’re the goalie for theOtters?”
Crosby swallowed hard, finishing his bite of garlic bread. “Yessir.”
“Congratulations on making the playoffs,” Liam said while dishing more lasagna onto hisplate.
“Thank you. We are all very excitedaboutit.”
“I bet.” My dad was beaming from the head of the table. He loved any excuse to talk about sports. “What’s it like playing on a team withGavin?”
I was thankful my father was talking to Will without interrogating him about his damnintentions.
“Great. Gavin and I have been on the Otters together since our rookie season, and I couldn’t have asked for a bettercaptain.”
“Man, I remember when Gavin was a scrawny little punk kid. He hit a slap shot right through that front window,” Noah reminisced. “Remember,Dad?”
My father laughed. “How could I forget? Gideon brought that poor boy over here by the scruff of his neck, scared out of his wits. I felt terrible for thatlittleshit.”
“Wine, anyone?” Jennie asked before leaving the table to get another bottle of pinot grigio from the fridge. Jennie was already feeling no pain and was a total wildcard, but I knew my brothers knew better than to stray away from Dad’s lead when it came to talking to Will. Alice was too sweet and sheepish to meddle in anyone else’s affairs, and Janet was as stoic and coldasever.
“I’ll help you.” I shot up tofollowher.
Taking the unopened bottle, I grabbed the corkscrew from the drawer next tothesink.
“Holy hotness, Batman!” She slapped my arm right as I was getting thecorkfree.
“I know, right?” I filled our glasses. “What do you think of himsofar?”
“That I am so jealous because I didn’t play the field more when I was younger. You know your brother is the only man I have everbeenwith.”
I nodded. Every time she got drunk and saw a good-looking guy, she told me that same crap overandover.
“I mean, I am not trying to complain,” she continued, “but if I’d known men like that existed when I was in my late teens and early twenties, I might have taken a littlehiatus.”
I knew she was full of shit—Jennie was madly in love with my brother—but I let itslide.
“Let’s get back in there before we leave Will alone with Dad fortoolong.”
“Good idea.” She hooked her arm with mine and we made our way back to ourseats.
For the most part, dinner went by uneventfully. I was impressed that my brothers didn’t try to tell embarrassing storiesaboutme.
“Who’s ready for dessert? Coffee anyone?” Liam asked, helping me and Alice clear theplates.
Crosby reached out to grab the dishes out of my hands. “Let me getthose.”
“Really, Will, it’s fine. Go into the living roomwithDad.”
He wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “You cooked, so you deserve to relax alittlebit.”
My father came up next to us. “You’ll learn quickly, son, Jordan doesn’t back down. You might as well let go of those dishes before she starts playing tug of war with youforthem.”
“Fair enough.” He reluctantly let go, following me into the kitchen. “But I feel like I should be helping insomeway.”
The kitchen was getting too crowded for me to handle. “How about you take the tiramisu Alice brought into the dining room and dish it out there? That’ll give me some room to workinhere.”