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“So one of the guys was Slade. Do you remember him from school?” she said.

“The real tall, skinny guy.” I wrinkled my nose. “People were always giving him shit, calling him beanpole.”

“Right, so.” She reached for a drink and I slapped her hand away. I needed the goss and it felt like she was stringing this shit out needlessly. “He’s not so skinny anymore, and one of the other firies is as chatty as he is hot, and the other one is all big and silent and brooding, and we all know how hot that is, right?”

I grinned.

“Right.”

“So… One thing led to another?—”

“What thing? What another? You are skipping over some very important details here, Mills.”

“Girls, are you in here?” Heather’s voice floated up the hallway, and we both stiffened like we were still teenagers, getting caught doing something we shouldn’t.

“Anyhoo, they’re coming tonight, so if you see some hot firefighters and can work out a way to help them see the light when it comes to poly relationships, that’d be awesome.”

Millie spoke so fast I couldn’t reply before Heather breezed in the door.

“Darlings!” She held her arms out wide and we couldn’t help but rush forward and give her a hug. “This place looks amazing, but I need a tour.”

I shot my best friend a dark look behind her mother’s back, promising silently that we would be discussing this further.

“Let me show you the house, Heather,” I said.

“Mum.” I stopped then and turned around to see Millie’s mother staring at me with suspiciously shiny eyes. “I mean, if you’ve gotten those boys of mine to settle down, then maybe you could call me…” Her nerve faltered and she waved a hand. “Oh, don’t worry about it.”

“Come and take a look at the house we bought, Mum,” I said, the word feeling weird, awesome, and just right all at the same time in my mouth.

“I knew I’d make you a McDonald,” Millie said, linking arms with me. “Now, show me the house before my brothers ruin it with their boy germs.”

Hours later the backyard was full, of our friends, of the guys from work. The beer was flowing and Brock was cooking up a storm on the new barbeque. I slid in behind him, earning myself a slow smile as he turned the sausages over.

“Your mum loves the house,” I told him, “and I love you, so I figured I better keep you hydrated. I also love sausages…” I grabbed a fork, ready to spike one and snatch it away.

“They’re yours,” he said, pointing the tongs at a pile on a plate. Not burned, but cooked through.”

“Just the way I like them?” I was ready to grab bread and sauce, then make myself a sausage sanga, when someone called my name.

“There she is!”

I dropped the sausage to find Nadia and Frankie standing there. It was my future sister-in-law that called out. She waved madly and then rushed forward, enfolding me in a hug.

“You came!” I pulled back to look at her, then my brother. “And you brought a present? You didn’t need to do that.”

“About that.” Frankie dumped the wrapped box into my arms. “We’ve got more than one.”

“What…?”

My voice trailed away as I caught his uncomfortable expression, his eyes going to Nadia. She smiled gently and nodded.

“You might not want it, so we kept it outside,” he continued.

“Why wouldn’t I…?”

I found out for myself, walking outside and finding my dad standing by Frankie’s car. For the first time in my life, my father looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting around at every sound. He visibly brightened when we walked up, though. I got a smile, but it quickly faded when I didn’t rush forward, and there was a good reason for that.

Your parent shouldn’t send your pulse racing, right? The people you’re supposed to trust the most in the world shouldn’t have you feeling a vicious adrenalin spike rushing through your body. Dad had sent me one message since we’d kicked Mum out of the party telling me he’d got her home and that she wouldn’t bother us anymore. I hadn’t replied, didn’t know what to say in the face of it, and so I just ignored the text.