Jo

"Arabella."

I chuckled, watching Dad chase Arabella around the patio.

"Please give me my shoes."

Lena giggled, resting her head on my chest.

"Nah, keep the old man moving, Ari," I yelled, making Dad stop in his tracks. He gripped his hips and tilted his head over.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're getting on up there, Pops," I said, shrugging.

He nodded, his eyes in thin slits. "I can probably run faster than you."

"Ah, but what's that stamina looking like?" I asked, grinning as I took a sip of my beer. "Adora?"

"Hm?" She pleasantly asked, walking outside.

"She is always dressed so perfectly," Lena sighed.

"What's the old dude's stamina looking like?"

Adora giggled, looking down.

"She knows it's unmatched," Dad said, "I need some damn water."

He reached down and grabbed his water bottle, earning a laugh from me as he chugged it.

"Here's your shoes, Daddy." Arabella dropped his shoes and smiled up at him.

"Better be glad you're cute, kiddo. I wouldn't have run that many laps around the pool if you weren't."

She shrugged. "Mommy, you look so pretty."

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said, "wanna come help Mommy cook?"

Dad's eyes went round. "I think not."

"Why not?" Adora asked, grabbing Ari's hand.

"Um, I like my kitchen," Dad deadpanned, "Arabella need not be around any cooking appliances."

Adora lifted an eyebrow, resting her hand on her hip.

"If Daddy says no, it's a no," Adora said, which took me by surprise.

"That's okay," Arabella said, picking up Dad's shoes again.

"Arabella," he groaned, letting out a heavy sigh.

Adora giggled and knelt down. "I have a gift for you."

"That's so sweet," I said, "but you-"

"Not you," she said, "Lena."

Lena sat upright, clapping her hands. "If this is what I think it is, I'll die."

Adora held a beautifully wrapped box out to her, grinning. "Open."

Lena carefully opened it, letting out a gasp. "It is what I thought it was!"

Lena pulled out Adora's book, hugging it close to her chest. "I was going to buy it, anyways."

"No," Adora said, shaking her head as she stood, "my gift to you."

"Feeling a little left out over here," I said, holding up my pointer finger.

Adora rubbed my shoulder. "You'll get your present, you know, at some point."

I looked up at her. "You don't even know what my present is."

"Don't call me out," she said, pointing at me, "I'm going to finish up dinner."

She walked into the house and Lena opened the book, leaning against me. "We should read this together. Make it our bonding time."

"Our current bonding time works, too," I said, "and it's less strenuous on the brain."

She giggled, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. "Reading will do your brain good."

"You know what else will do my brain good?"

"What?" She asked, pulling away from me. She rested her hand on my leg, her eyes locked on mine.

"Damn, I think you already know," I chuckled, earning a giggle from her.

"You should know, those weren't my bedroom eyes," she whispered, biting down on her bottom lip.

"Let me see them," I said, smiling as I pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

"We've still got dinner to attend, and you can't resist my bedroom eyes."

"I can be done in two, three minutes if need be," I said, shrugging.

"And what about me?" She asked, tilting her head over.

"I know how to get it out of you," I deadpanned.

She smiled, a twinkle in her eye. I chewed on my bottom lip as I anticipated her bedroom eyes.

She blinked a few times, looking at me from under her thick eyelashes. She bit down on her lip and I leaned my head back against my chair, shaking my head.

"Told you," she said, pressing a kiss to my neck, "I'm going to help Adora with dinner."

"Uh?" I asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"What?" She asked, resting her hand on my shoulder as she stood.

I lifted an eyebrow, nodding down to my groin.

"I just don't think I can make it in three minutes," she said, shrugging, "I like to make it last."

"You're a mean woman, Lena!"

~*~

Fred

"This," Alexis said, nodding, "this is amazing."

Adora's eyebrows knitted together, she smiled a tight smile. "D-do you want more?"

Alexis clicked her tongue, delicately wiping the corner of her mouth with her napkin. "Um," she began, her voice high pitched, "that-that'd be great. It's in the kitchen?"

Adora stood up. "I'll just bring you the dish, is that good?"

Alexis clapped her hands. "Perfect."

I bit back a chuckle, taking a sip of my wine.

"So," Dad cautiously dove into conversation, "h-how's wedding planning going?"

Adora placed the casserole dish in front of Alexis, earning a wide smile from her. "Thank you. You've always been the best cook."

Adora sat down, eyes round as she took a long sip of her wine.

"And it's going great," she responded, dumping a spoonful of whatever she was currently obsessed with on her plate, "I actually got three new clients just this month, which is a good month."

"That's awesome," Dad said, leaning back in his chair.

"Is Milo an absolute pain in the ass?" She asked.

He chuckled. "No. He's a huge help. A flirt, but a lot of help."

"Milo's so cute," Arabella exclaimed, "I love going to see Daddy at work and seeing Milo."

Alexis giggled, leaning forward in her seat. "Wanna know a secret?"

Arabella nodded, her eyes wide.

"He's an idiot," she whispered.

Arabella giggled, shaking her head. "He's a cute idiot."

I chuckled. "I've known him for forever. He's just an idiot."

Adora smiled. "I think Santiago's going to be sad to see him go."

Dad shrugged. "He's a big help."

"I think he reminds him of you, Fred," Adora said, taking another sip of her wine.

Alexis smiled, resting her chin in her palm. "Yes, your brother is a lot of the reason why Milo's such an idiot."

Ari laughed. "No one's as much of an idiot as Freddy."

"I second that," Jo muttered, chuckling.

"Okay, I'd appreciate it if my siblings didn't gang up on me."

Ari wrapped her arms around mine. "I'm just kidding. You're one of my favorite brothers."

"Ah, the best compliment I could possibly receive," I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Alexis, I have something for you," Adora said, "let me go grab it."

Dad watched as she stood, a smile on his face.

"Mm mm mm," he muttered, pulling his wine glass up to his lips as he watched her walk into the kitchen.

Alexis pouted her bottom lip out, sighing. "They're so cute."

Adora walked back into the dining area, holding the box out to Alexis.

"Who taught you how to wrap presents?" I asked.

She sat on Dad's leg. "Years of practice."

Alexis opened the present and her eyes lit up. "No way."

"Yes way," Adora said, giggling.

Alexis marveled the book, letting out a sigh. "I was going to be your first customer."

"Lena said the same," Adora said, grinning as she pressed a kiss to Dad's temple, "I hope you enjoy it."

"This will be my bubble bath read," Alexis said, "thank you so much."

Adora grabbed her hand, grinning.

"It is about Ari's bedtime," she said, "pass out hugs."

Arabella sighed. "I wanted to stay up with the grown ups."

"The grown ups are jet lagged," Dad said, "we'll have tomorrow with them."

Arabella smiled, standing up. "Okay. Goodnight everyone."

She passed out hugs and grabbed Adora's hand. Dad smiled as the two of them walked upstairs.

"I guess I'll be checking out, too," he said, "don't drink the whole bottle, please."

"You've got nothing to worry about," Jo said, "we're very tired."

"Very," Lena said, nodding.

"Since when is tired a code word for horny?" Alexis asked, giggling.

Lena matched her giggle. "Since today."

~*~

Lena

"Logan, why do you have to be so difficult?" I asked, gripping my hips.

"You asked me what backsplash I wanted," he quickly came to his defense, eyes round.

"And I've shown you how many? And you still can't pick one?"

"If I was one of your actual clients and you were acting this way towards me, I wouldn't come back."

"Thankfully, you're my brother," I deadpanned, looking down at the iPad on the counter, "come on, let's pick."

He picked up my left hand, lifting an eyebrow. "I think it gets bigger every time I see it."

I smiled. "It's beautiful. I can't wait for it to actually be complete with my band."

He let out a quiet sigh, leaning against the counter. "When are you going to put your foot down?"

I looked up at him, biting down on my bottom lip. "Logan, we're supposed to be picking out a backsplash."

"No, Lena," he said, "the only way you're going to speed the process up, which is obviously what you want, is to say something."

"Logan, he's busy," I said, coming to Jo's defense.

"I know he's busy, L," he said, "but if that man loves you like he says he does, which I know he does, he'll work around it."

"I just don't want to talk about it right now," I said, "is that too much to ask?"

He folded his arms over his chest. "I love Jo, but I'll be the first to call him out on his bullshit."

"Logan," I snapped, looking up at him, "I do not want to talk about it right now. I want to finish this damn kitchen that we've been working on for months."

He wrapped an arm around my neck. "Chill out, okay?"

I let out a sigh, resting my forehead against his chest. "I don't want to make it any more tense than it has been."

"Maybe that's what he needs," he said, gently rubbing my back, "he might need a wake up call."

I pulled away from him. "He's so stressed. This is the most relaxed I've seen him in so long, Logan."

He nodded. "He's a powerful man. He's used to being stressed."

I raked my hands through my hair, leaning my head back. "I miss him like this."

"Stay a little longer," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead, "you two need it."

"I might attempt to talk him into staying for a bit longer," I said, "I think he needs it."

"I can go watch over the penthouse," he suggested, grinning.

"You can go watch over Amanda, you mean," I muttered, smiling down at my iPad.

"Long distance is a bitch," he said.

"Yeah, tell me about it," I said. I let out a gasp, covering my mouth with my hand. "Marble."

"What?" He deadpanned.

I pulled up a picture of a marble backsplash, holding the iPad out to him. "With gold texture between the black. How you is that?"

He nodded, his bottom lip jutted out. "I like the way you think."

"And you can have black and gold appliances," I muttered, jotting my idea down, "thank God."

I smiled, folding my arms over my chest. "You, sir, will have a kitchen in the works in three weeks."

"Sounds like a plan." He held up a hand and I gave him a high-five, letting out a sigh.

"I think we deserve drinks," I said, resting my hands on my hips.

"For sure. You're buying, since you're rich, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Buy your own."

~*~

hi babes!

this update... was so long overdue lmfao. im so so sorry it's so late! i couldn't make up my mind on what i wanted to write, so i wrote this chapter in 4 hours🙃

how are you guys? i hope you're doing so well <3

you guys i was lowkey laughing at myself in the second section... Alexis eating like she's going to the chair bc she's preggers

ok i am not in a speaking mood today 😂 it's been a testing day. i love u guys though 🥰 i hope you have a wonderful day/rest of your day.

much love,
jay