“Dad, we had a sleepover at Uncle Xander’s last night!” Aiden exclaims.
“Yeah, I heard about that. What I don’t know is how you had a sleepover because Xander and Ella were at the restaurant with me last night.”
“That would be my doing, Zio,” I hear from a voice behind me.
I turn around and see my nephew, Kale, who stands almost as tall as me. He’s one of the two that belong to Xander and his late wife, Daisy. All my nieces and nephews call me Zio because of him. He couldn’t pronounce uncle when he was younger and would get so frustrated, so I taught him Zio, which is Italian for uncle.
“I actually had all of them at the house last night,” Kale says proudly.
“You had that many kids at the house with no adult supervision?” I’m in shock.
“Did you forget that he, Reed, Jasmine, Calla, Lily, and Zinnia are all eighteen?” my brother Xander reminds me from behind.
We have quite the family. Our dad, Antonio, is an only child. Nonna had a lot of medical issues come up after Papa was born and had to have a hysterectomy. Our mom, Bella, is also an only child. They decided that if God was going to bless them with a big family, they were just going to let it happen. Four boys later—Trent, Xander, Jaxson and I—they decided they had enough testosterone and our papa had a vasectomy. All of us boys, believe it or not, has a set of twins. With Momma and Nonna’s faith being as strong as it is and being that they are best friends with the Big Guy in the Sky, HE answered their prayers for a big family, through us boys. As crazy as it can be some days, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. My family is so close to each other and knowing that if you ever needed anything, someone would be right there, is the best feeling in the world.
Kale and I are standing and talking when I spot Cal walking up to us holding hands with a kid that doesn’t look much older than my boys. I have never seen this guy before, but there is a hint of familiarity to him. As they approach us, I greet Cal and ask, “Who is this?”
Cal’s eyes light up as he makes introductions. “Buddy, this is Liam and his nephew, Kale.” He looks at us and says, “Guys, this is my nephew, Garrett.”
That explains the familiarity. “You’re Mia’s son. It’s nice to officially meet you. She speaks very highly of you,” I tell him.
Garrett shakes my hand. “I am Mia’s son. Stay away from my mom or else!” Garrett threatens.
I hold my hands up in surrender. “Whoa! Your mom, Mia, is just a friend of mine. Your Aunt Brie introduced us last night. Everyone that knows you, speaks very highly of you. I just meant that it was nice to finally meet you after hearing so much about you from a lot of my friends,” I explain calmly.
“Oh. Sorry. I thought you were out to hurt my mom, like Chris did.” Garrett speaks apologetically.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Do you know how many people would line up to kick my butt if I did something that stupid?” I’m in shock that this ten-year-old refers to his father by his first name, but after what I’ve been told, it shouldn’t surprise me.
Garrett chuckles. “I like you. You make a good point, but I am still keeping a close eye on you,” Garrett threatens.
“Why don’t you find Aiden and Cooper, see what they’re up to.” Cal comes to my rescue.
Garrett takes off running to find my boys. “That’s really cool that he’s so protective of his mom, but calling his father by his first name?”
Cal responds, “Chris was notorious for not being there for them. He’d occasionally grace them with his presence but wasn’t actively involved. Couldn’t be bothered to spend time with them. His video games were more important to him than quality time with his kids. He couldn’t sit and put Legos together with Garrett or do tea party Tuesday with Arianna, but he always found time for those damn video games.”
“How is a video game more important than spending time with his kids?” I ask.
“Nothing is more important than Tea Party Tuesdays.”
“Wait, tea parties are only for Tuesdays?” I ask.
Cal shakes his head no as he chuckles. “Tea party Tuesday is like an un-birthday party. It gets declared, any day of the week, at any time too! As far as Garrett calling Chris by his first name, he was calling him some very inappropriate names there for the longest time.”
“Like what?”
“Asshole, asshat, douche canoe—”
“He’s ten!”
“The sad excuse for a man taking off on them, really did a number on Garrett. Mia has been having one hell of a time with him since Chris took off.”
“Can you blame him? My God! He’s supposed to be able to go fishing and go to baseball games with the man, and he can’t be bothered.”
Cal places his hand on my shoulder. “I get it. I feel the same way. Maybe even more because she’s my sister. Chris also did a number on Mia’s self-esteem. She thinks so little of herself right now. Promise me something though. If you want to talk about what a dipshit Chris is, that’s fine with me, but please don’t bring it up in front of Garrett or Arianna. Mia will not tolerate it. She wants her kids to make up their own minds about their father when they’re old enough, and she doesn’t want to be the cause of it.”
“Just when I think that woman couldn’t be any more perfect, you tell me that,” I say softly, not meaning to say it out loud.
“Sounds like someone may like my little sister,” Cal says, sounding almost teasingly.
“Even if I did, she’s your sister and that breaks bro code.”
“You like my sister like that?”
“I just met her yesterday. It’s not possible to know yet.”
Cal laughs. “Now I know why you’re single, bro. Seriously, true love hits you like a cast-iron skillet to the back of the head. You can’t control it. The girl just captures your heart and runs away with it.”
“Did you not hear me when I said even if I did like her that she is your sister and that breaks serious bro code?”
“You think I’d say no to you two dating?”
“It’s not a line you cross.”
“Why not?” Cal asks. “I trust you with her heart more than anyone else I know. Besides, I have no right to say anything; I fell in love with my little sister’s best friend.”
I chuckle. “Mia mentioned that last night. We also have the fact that I am her boss.”
“Technically, you are Anton’s boss who’s her boss so you’re the boss’s boss,” Cal jokes. He lets out a breath and says, “It’s going to take nothing short of a miracle for Mia to let her guard down, but if the look on your face is any indication of anything, you might just be the one to do it.”
“Are you handing out relationship advice again?” Brie questions Cal playfully as she approaches us.
“Yes, he is, but oddly enough, he’s almost good at it,” I retort.
Brie laughs. “Well he does have me, so he can’t be half bad, right?”
“How are you?” I ask her, changing the subject.
“Surprisingly enough, I wasn’t hungover this morning.”
“Where’s Mia?” I ask, looking around trying to see if I can find her.