Chapter Sixteen

Leo

“When are Marco, Royal, and the kids coming in?” Meg asked, leaning forward with that familiar gleam of curiosity in her eyes.

I glanced at her, trying not to laugh. She already knew the answer—she and Royal were thick as thieves, as close as I was with Marco. But Meg liked to ask questions she already had answers to. She liked to stir things up, keep the conversation rolling. “They’ll be here in a couple of days,” I said casually, pretending not to notice the way she perked up.

Meg nodded, acting like the news was fresh. “That’ll be nice.”

I smirked. “You can relay that information back to my sister when you get back to the clubhouse. Save her the trouble of asking a million times.”

That earned me a chuckle from Meg, but I wasn’t wrong. Fayth was always ahead of the game when it came to news about Marco and Royal. She was probably already counting down the hours till their arrival.

“Fayth already knows,” Meg admitted with a grin. “She said she’ll be knocking on the door before they even land.”

King, who was sitting next to her, shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Babe,” he sighed, looking at her like a man who had long since accepted his fate but wasn’t above calling her out.

“What?” Meg asked, feigning innocence.

“Can’t you keep your nose out of shit just one time?” he asked, his voice low but filled with affection. King had been with Meg long enough to know better than to expect her to stay out of anything that didn’t concern her directly.

Meg reared back, putting on a show of being offended. “Where’s the fun in that?”

The room burst into laughter, and I couldn’t help but shake my head. That was Meg for you. It was one of the reasons everyone loved her, even if she drove King up the wall most days.

We were all gathered in the kitchen, and it was a full house tonight. Princeton, Kitty, Larry, and Clyde were perched at the kitchen island, shoveling food into their mouths like they hadn’t eaten in a week. Don, Jack, and Sig were leaning against the opposite side of the island, talking between bites. Around the table sat Murphy, Tatum, King, Meg, Creed, Jada, Pie, Bristol, and Brynn—who was right next to me, close enough that our arms brushed every now and then. Baby Duke sat in his highchair by Larry, making a mess of his dinner but looking completely content to do so.

It was the kind of night that didn’t happen often. The house was rarely this full. For a long time, it was just me, Creed, Murphy, Princeton, Apollo, and Bristol.

Now, it seemed odd if there weren’t at least ten people wandering around the large house.

But even as I sat there, feeling the warmth of the room and the steady hum of conversation, I couldn’t fully relax. Not with everything hanging over our heads—especially Candace. Tomorrow would bring another round of stress, but for now, we were here, pretending like everything was fine. And maybe for a few more hours, it could be.

Meg leaned over, nudging King with her elbow. “You should learn to appreciate how well-informed I am,” she said with a grin. “I keep you in the loop.”

“I appreciate you just fine,” King grumbled, but the smile tugging at his lips gave him away.

“Sure you do.” Meg rolled her eyes playfully, then turned to Brynn. “How about you, Brynn? You ready for the madness to really kick off when Royal and Marco show up?”

Brynn gave a small, tired smile. “I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. At this point, what’s a few more people, right?”

Murphy snorted from across the table. “A few more people? More like a whirlwind. You’ve never met chaos until you’ve seen Duke and Kane playing together. Once little Murphy is born, they’re going to take over.”

“I think they’re going with Jacob, not Murphy,” Meg laughed.

“I still think Leo is a good name,” I chimed in.

“Need I remind you again that Kane has your name as his middle name? You can’t have every kid named after you,” Princeton pointed out. “Next thing you know, Kitty is going to get pregnant, and you’re going to expect us to name them Leo, whether it’s a boy or girl.”

“It’s true,” Creed chimed in. “You think this house is full now? Wait until they get here.”

Meg waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, please. It’s all in good fun. Besides, Royal keeps the boys under wraps well enough.”

“I’ll give you that,” Bristol said with a grin. “She plays bad cop, and I get to be good cop.”

“Exactly!” Meg exclaimed, pointing at Bristol. “They’re like me—a little tornado of energy, keeping everyone on their toes.”

King muttered something under his breath, but I caught the words “too many tornadoes” and chuckled. Meg, of course, heard him too.

“Watch it, Lo,” she warned, narrowing her eyes at him. “You know you love my tornado.”

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Yeah, I do. But don’t go starting trouble when Royal shows up. She’s probably ready to pop that baby out any day now. I think they have enough on their plates already.”

Meg grinned, clearly not making any promises.

The room fell into a comfortable rhythm again, the chatter and laughter flowing easily as the evening wore on. Brynn leaned into me slightly, her shoulder brushing against mine. I could feel warmth coming off her.

“You okay?” I asked quietly, leaning down so only she could hear me.

She glanced up at me, her eyes soft but filled with a kind of exhaustion I knew all too well. “I’m fine. Just trying to keep up with everything.”

I nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. “Yeah. Me too.” Having everyone here was a lot to keep up with, and I’m sure it was even harder for Brynn, who just met half of the people in the room.

Her lips curved into a small, grateful smile, and the tension eased between us. Even in the middle of all this chaos, just being near her made things feel a little more manageable.

Across the table, Pie and Bristol were deep in conversation, talking about some recipe or another, while Jada and Creed were teasing Tatum about something she’d said earlier. I let myself settle into the moment, appreciating the brief respite even as I knew it wouldn’t last.

“You ever get tired of all this?” Brynn asked suddenly, her voice soft and thoughtful.

I turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “All this?” I repeated, glancing around the crowded kitchen.

She laughed softly. “Yeah, the constant action, the people always coming and going. Doesn’t it get exhausting? On a normal day back in South Carolina, I only see Sig. Clyde, Don, and Jack seem to blend into the background.”

I thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “Sometimes. But it’s part of the deal, you know? This is my family. We take the chaos with the quiet moments. Not like there’s ever much quiet, but... I wouldn’t trade it.”

Brynn looked at me for a moment, her eyes searching mine. “Yeah. I get that,” she said softly. “It’s just so different from how things used to be. When we were together before…” Her voice trailed off, like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to go down that road.

I didn’t blame her. The past was messy for both of us.

“I think if we both weren’t different from twenty years ago, something would be wrong with us,” I said, keeping my tone light but honest. “We’ve both been through a lot. I think we turned out fine, even if we might’ve taken the hard road to some things.”

Brynn smiled at that, a light laugh escaping her lips. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. The hard road might’ve sucked, but here we are.”

I patted her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “And besides, it’s not like this every day. Most of the time, it’s just me and the guys. Well, and also their girlfriends now, but they tend to keep to themselves. For the most part.” I chuckled, realizing how much had changed. It wasn’t just me and the crew anymore—there were relationships, families growing around us. The chaos felt bigger, but also more meaningful.

Brynn flipped her hand over, and before I knew it, her fingers were laced through mine. The simple gesture sent warmth through me, a quiet reminder of everything that had been left unsaid between us. I raised her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, then let our joined hands rest in my lap. Her touch grounded me, and for the first time in a while, I felt like the noise around me didn’t matter as much.

We sat there for a moment, the room bustling with life around us, but it felt like we were in our own little bubble. Neither of us needed to say anything more, at least not right now. There’d be time for that, time to unravel everything we hadn’t talked about yet. But tonight, this was enough. The quiet touch of her hand in mine, the warmth of her presence next to me—it made the chaos of everything else feel distant, at least for a while.

Eventually, Brynn leaned her head against my shoulder, sighing softly. “I forgot what this felt like,” she murmured. “Just… being here. With you.”

I didn’t say anything, just let her words settle. Because I hadn’t forgotten. Not really.