“Hey, Izzy. Why are you just standing here?”
I recognized the voice. It was Griffin Taylor, Aisling’s husband. He’d obviously just arrived, because while he held my gaze for a split-second, he immediately turned his attention to the little girl on the floor.
“There’s my baby.” He swooped into the room, not waiting for me to reply. Instead of bending down to give his daughter a warm greeting, though, he went immediately to his wife and planted a smacking kiss against her lips. “How was your spa day?”
Ah, that explained the fresh glow. Aisling and Jerry took the day off to be puffed and pampered on her father’s dime. They were talking about it over the breakfast table this morning. I’d completely forgotten.
Aisling accepted the kiss and gave Griffin an intimate hug. “Good. I really needed it. I also had a doctor’s appointment today.”
“I know.” Griffin sat next to her, his gaze never leaving her face as he brushed her dark hair from her forehead. “I was going to call and see how it went, but I got caught up in other stuff. What did the doctor say? Are you okay?”
Cormack shifted in his chair. “I didn’t know you had a doctor’s appointment with the baby this morning.”
“Not with Lily,” Aisling countered. “It was just me. Jerry sat with Lily while I was in the examination room.”
“And I was very entertaining,” Jerry offered. “She’s this close to smiling at her favorite uncle.” He held his index finger and thumb about an inch apart. “I’m definitely going to win this particular competition.”
Redmond rolled his eyes. “No way. I’m going to win. We all know it. I’m Aisling’s favorite brother. That means Lily picked up on it while in the womb. It’s already a done deal.”
“I’m Aisling’s favorite person,” Jerry countered. “I’m going to win.”
“I’m Aisling’s favorite person,” Griffin corrected, his eyes never leaving his wife’s face. “She’s going to smile at me first and I don’t want to hear another word about it. We’re not talking about Lily, we’re talking about my wife. I want to know what the doctor said.”
Cormack leaned forward, his gaze keen. “Is something wrong? Have you been keeping something from me?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Aisling offered hurriedly. “It was just a standard check-up.”
“That’s not what Griffin seems to think,” Redmond argued, turning from Lily and staring down his sister. “He’s obviously desperate for a report. That makes me think you’re lying and there is something going on.”
“Yeah, Ais,” Cillian prompted. “Spill. What’s going on? What did the doctor say?”
Aisling’s expression reflected annoyance. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”
“We’re glad that you’re fine,” Cormack insisted. “We want to know what you were worried about. Just because you’re a mother now doesn’t mean you’re not my little girl. What is going on?”
Aisling shot her husband a dark look. “I blame you for this.”
Griffin’s lips quirked. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t think about the can of worms I was opening. You can flog me later.”
Cormack extended a threatening finger in his son-in-law’s direction. “Don’t say gross things to my daughter. We’ve talked about this. You have a filthy mind and wandering hands. Both make me want to hurt you.”
“You wouldn’t have a granddaughter if it wasn’t for my filthy mind and wandering hands.”
“Stop.” Cormack held up his hand. “Not one more word out of you. I’ll ban you from the ice cream bar if you’re not careful.”
Griffin made a pathetic face. “That’s just mean.”
“And unnecessary,” Aisling added. “You guys are getting worked up about nothing. There really is nothing wrong.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Cormack countered, firm. “Tell me what’s going on. Why were you at the doctor’s office?” He looked genuinely apprehensive of her answer.
Aisling let loose a heavy sigh. She looked put upon, which made me laugh ... especially when I got a glimpse of why she was really at the doctor’s office this particular day. She was good at shuttering, especially since she figured out I could pick up on surface thoughts, but there was no hiding what was going through her mind at this exact moment.
“If you must know, I needed a pelvic exam,” Aisling announced, causing every single man in the room to cringe. “The doctor wanted to make sure I was fully healed so Griffin and I can start having sex again.”
Most daughters wouldn’t announce that in front of their siblings ... or father ... or friends. Aisling wasn’t a normal woman. She wanted to win as much as the next Grimlock, and she’d clearly just declared herself victorious in this evening’s Grimlock Gross-out Fest. She looked proud of herself.
“Oh, man!” Redmond rolled to his back and covered his eyes as Braden buried his face in his arms, which were perched on his knees. “I can’t believe you just told us that.”
“I can’t believe it either.” Cormack was stern. “You’re grounded for the rest of your life, young lady. I hope you’re happy. You’re going to give your brothers nightmares. What’s worse, you’re going to give me nightmares.”
“You can’t ground me.” Aisling was blasé. “I’m an adult.”
“Do you want to try me?”
She cocked her head to the side, considering. “You know what? Go ahead and ground me. Griffin and I will lock ourselves away in my old bedroom as punishment and you won’t have to see us for the rest of the night. You can continue your competition to see who makes Lily smile first and we’ll sit in the corner upstairs and think about what we’ve done.”
Griffin brightened considerably. “I love the way your mind works.”
“I can’t even.” Cormack glowered at his drink, which he’d reclaimed from the table. “Why can’t I have normal children?”
“Because then you wouldn’t be a true Grimlock,” Braden offered, his eyes finally moving to me. The smiles we shared were small and intimate. He clearly had plans for the evening, too. They would have to wait until after dinner, though. I was starving. Watching men come back from the dead apparently made me hungry. “I definitely think you should ban them both from the ice cream bar. That seems only fair.”
Cormack followed his son’s gaze and shook his head when his eyes landed on me. “I’m going to ban every single one of this family’s filthy minds from the ice cream bar if you’re not careful.”
That sounded like a travesty in the making. “What did I do?” I challenged. “I’ve been good all day ... and got knocked out. Given Grimlock Family Rules, doesn’t that mean I’m your favorite?”
Cormack’s lips curved. “You catch on quick.”
“I was always a good student.”
“The ice cream bar is open for everyone,” he announced. “Even all those with filthy minds can eat to their heart’s content. I ordered plenty of fixings because I figured we’d be having multiple ice cream bars a week now that the weather is looking up.”