a heavy sigh as Chase plucked the beer out of her hand and moved out of the way so that her brother could snatch her off his lap before she could make a run for it.
“Wait! No, it’s too soon!” Sloane gasped as she was thrown over her brother’s shoulder and carried over to the pool where the rest of her brothers waited, looking for a chance to grab her.
“They look forward to this every year,” an older woman with Sloane’s eyes said as she placed a plate overflowing with food on the table in front of him. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“This looks great. Thank you,” Chase said, smiling as he dug into the plate filled with all his favorites as they watched Tristan toss Sloane in the pool.
“My daughter tells me that you enjoy tormenting her,” Sloane’s mother said, sounding amused.
“I really do,” Chase said, only to groan when he took a bite of potato salad. “This is really good.”
“Thank you. It’s Sloane’s favorite,” her mother said with a warm smile as the woman in question climbed out of the pool with a mocking glare for her brother that ended with her laughing when he moved to grab her only to growl when she ducked out of his reach and
“What happened to your face?” came the question that drew Chase’s attention to a little boy who couldn’t be older than six, watching him with a curious look in his eye.
“Adam!” Sloane’s mother said, sounding horrified as Chase finished his bite of potato salad.
When he was done, he gestured toward Sloane. “She beat me.”
Frowning, the little boy followed his gaze and said, “Aunt Sloane?”
Nodding solemnly, Chase said, “I talked back,” making Sloane’s mother bite back a smile as she struggled not to laugh.
“I see,” Adam murmured, watching Sloane as she walked over to the table covered with food and helped herself to a cookie as she spoke to her brother, who was just as drenched as she was.
“You’re evil,” her mother said, sounding amused.
“Your daughter brings out the best in me,” Chase said with a wink as they watched Adam march up to Sloane.
With a glare, Adam stole the cookie out of her hand as he snapped, “You don’t deserve a cookie!” before he turned right back around and marched back to their table. “If she does it again, you just tell me and I’ll take care of it,” Adam said with a firm nod as he handed the cookie over to Chase.
“I will,” Chase said, grinning as he popped the cookie in his mouth, deciding that maybe coming here wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
A little while later, Sloane plopped down on his lap, tearing a grunt from him as she made a point to get comfortable while she soaked him all over again. “Is there a reason why my nephews are glaring at me?”
“Because they can sense evil,” Chase said as he wrapped his arms around her.
“That makes sense,” Sloane said, nodding as she helped herself to the slice of cake that her mother gave him.
“How many brothers are left?” he asked, stealing a bite of cake.
“Three,” she said, narrowing her eyes on her brothers, who were all watching her every move.
“I see,” Chase said, nodding as he took the plate from her and placed it on the table before he pushed away from the table.
“What are you doing?” she asked, frowning as he kept rolling back.
“Wishing you a happy birthday,” he murmured as he gave the wheelchair one last shove before wrapping one arm around her and headed toward the pool.
“What? Oh, my god! No, Chase!” Sloane said, laughing as he wrapped his other arm around her just as his wheelchair tipped over. “Happy birthday, Pookie.”
*-*-*-*
“I’m not drunk,” Sloane mumbled sleepily as Chase pulled her onto his lap before she fell on her adorable ass.
“No, no, of course, you’re not,” Chase said, chuckling when she cracked one eye open to glare up at him as her brother reached past them and opened the front door for him.
“Do you need help?” Tristan asked as Sloane curled up on Chase’s lap and laid her head against his chest with another mumbled, “I’m not drunk.”
“No, I’ve got the little drunk,” Chase said since she’d probably be passed out in a matter of minutes.
“Someone will drop your car off tomorrow morning. Until then, let me know if you have any problems. It was nice meeting you, Chase,” Tristan said, reaching over Sloane to shake his hand.