Page 44 of The Live-In Temptation (Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove #2)
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
XANDER
Group text with Mom, Atlas, Xander, Declan, Lincoln, Sutton, and Laurel
Xander:
Final check. Everyone sound off.
Sutton:
The girls and I are grabbing Chloe at 6 and swinging by ONS for “just one drink”
If she shows up in sweatpants, that’s not on me.
Laurel:
lbr if anyone can make sweatpants look good it’s Chloe
Lincoln:
Bar’s set. Lights are on. Glitter is…not at all contained, and I’m not the one in charge of cleaning this shit up. Mabel’s pregaming in the green room.
Declan:
Jesus, she has a green room now?
Atlas:
It’s the mop closet.
Lincoln:
But we hung a velvet curtain, so it’s official.
Xander:
Mom?
Mom:
Emma is prepped and ready! She’s got a crown, a wand, and six pounds of pink tulle!! You can’t miss her!!!
Declan:
Is anyone bringing earplugs for when Mabel inevitably sings? And can you hook me up?
Laurel:
How dare you
Mabel has the voice of a frisky angel
Declan:
Drunk already? Aren’t you a little young for that?
Laurel:
idk what you’re talking about
I’m a sparkly ray of innocence
Atlas:
You better not give her even a drop of alcohol tonight, Linc.
She’s 16 goddamn years old
Laurel:
Relax Daddy Grump
I’m just fucking with you
Lincoln:
Who’s bringing the slideshow?
Xander:
What slideshow?
Sutton:
Don’t worry about it
Xander:
I AM worried about it
Declan:
Good, you should be
Mom:
Everyone play nice!! This is a very special night for a very special girl, and I’m not going to have the four of you screwing it up!!!
Xander:
Why am I lumped in with those assholes? It was my idea!
Sutton:
Ahem.
Xander:
Fine, it was Sutton’s idea, but I pulled it all together.
Sutton:
Ahem x2
Atlas:
Seriously?
Declan:
wtf
Lincoln:
HELLO???
Laurel:
Please, you’d be lost without us
Mom:
What they mean to say is we’re happy to help!!
Lincoln:
Stop distracting me. I’m still finessing the LoLee Sparkletini’s vodka content to find that fine line between Mabel singing karaoke into a dildo microphone and Mabel dancing topless on the bar.
Declan:
You better not fuck that up, Linc. I mean it.
Lincoln:
XANDER better not fuck this up. He’s the one with everything on the line.
Xander:
Thanks for the pep talk.
Mom:
You’re going to do great, honey!! And Chloe’s going to just love it!!!