Page 128 of Daddies' Holiday Toy

Our mugs hit the counter almost in unison, the clink of ceramic muffled by the pounding of our feet as we march toward the door to interrupt whatever intruder could be dumb enough to try and break in.

The moment the door swings open, Liam and I stop dead in our tracks.

And so does Margaret.

She stands frozen in the doorway like she’s walked straight into a nightmare.

Her hair is pulled back in a loose knot at the top of her head, a few strands slipping free.

The purse slung over her shoulder slowly drops down to the crook of her elbow.

I see the exact second she processes what she’s looking at.

The fact that Liam and I are both barefoot, bare-chested, looking every bit like men who just rolled out of her daughter’s bed…and standing right here in her apartment doorway.

Her mouth opens.

The scream rips out of her before I can even think to move and put my hand over her mouth.

The sound is not just from shock, it’s layered with betrayal, outrage, and utter disbelief.

It’s every protective instinct she’s ever had for Holly detonating in a single, ear-splitting sound.

Liam swears under his breath and moves to grab her. But before he can, quick footsteps run down the hallway.

Holly appears with a robe half done up around her naked body, Reece slowly trailing behind her with a pair of sweats hanging low around his hips.

They’re both as disheveled as Liam and I are.

Maggie’s gaze whips to them, and I swear I can hear the click in her brain as she connects the dots.

Her face drains pale, then floods with color so fast that it’s like watching a storm form over the ocean.

“What thehellis going on?”

Her voice slices through the room, sharp and demanding.

No one speaks at first.

Maybe because we’re all caught in the same stunned standoff that’s going downhill so fast, not one of us can try to salvage it before it detonates.

There’s no version of the truth that’s going to make any of this blow over, least of all convince Maggie that what she’s seeing isn’texactlywhat it looks like.

Holly’s eyes are wide and frantic.

She looks at her mom, then at me, then at Liam like she’s searching for a lifeline but can’t decide who’s safest to grab onto. I can feel

Liam tense beside me, shoulders squared, already deciding he’ll be the one to step forward and take the brunt of this by being the wall between Holly and her mother.

But it’s me Maggie zeroes in on.

Not at all surprising since I’m the oldest out of all of us.

She’s decided I’m the one who should have the answers, any explanation worth hearing, it’s going to come from my mouth.

“Tell me,” she pushes out through gritted teeth, “what thehellis going on.”

29