Page 158 of Hale Damage
Her little round face is the picture of earnestness. “Mindy let me do bedsheets.”
My brow creases in confusion. “Bedsheets?” I’d like to do some bedsheets with my gorgeous woman, but I keep that to myself.
“Spreadsheets,” Mindy corrects, barely managing to keep a straight face. “I put Reece in charge of all the financial decisions for Hale Cosmetics for the afternoon.”
I tweak Reece’s button nose. “I didn’t realize we had a new Chief Financial Officer.”
“Oh, Reece is a good one,” Mindy says. “I think she allotted an entire thirty-two dollars to research and development for the quarter.”
“Ahh, I’m foreseeing record profits in the next year,” I tease. “Will you be at the budget meeting in a couple weeks?”
Reece scowls. “I don’t like meetings. They’re boring.” Dismissing me and my mundane ideas, she turns her attention to the redhead beside me, her voice turning sweet and hopeful. “Do you still make those chocolate cookies, Mindy?”
“I do and…” Mindy inhales a little gasp and looks up at me, hazel eyes wide. “We left the cookies in the car.”
“I’ll get them,” I assure her, kissing the top of Reece’s head before setting her down.
When I return with the two bakery boxes in my arms, I find that Reece has dragged Mindy into the large living room, where the rest of my family is greeting her. Crap, I wanted to be with her when we walked in so she’d feel more comfortable.
She seems okay though. My family may be a lot, but they’re always welcoming. Dad seems especially delighted.
“Mindy, what is my favorite assistant ever doing here?” He rises and gives her a warm hug.
“Oh, well, I came with… um, Remi, or Mr. Hale,” she rambles nervously.
“She’s my guest,” I announce firmly.
“Fantastic,” Dad says, without further question, though he eyes me with a raised brow. “Son, good to see you.”
“You too, Dad.”
“Hey, Remi,” Jordie greets, taking the boxes from me while pressing a kiss to my cheek. “What did you bring us?”
“Cookies!” Reece announces. “Mindy makes them.”
“Hell yes,” Nicolette says, standing from the couch with the help of Helix. She rubs her growing belly, eyeing the boxes with the kind of hunger only found on women entering their final trimester. “The baby wants one now.”
“You better give her one unless you want to lose an arm,” Helix warns. Jordie promptly opens the top box and holds out the offering.
Nic selects a chocolate chip one and groans at the first bite. “Oh my god, that’s so good. Little Nicholas loves chocolate,” she says around a mouthful.
Phoenix approaches, looking excited. “Ooh, I want one too.”
His wife promptly closes the box. “Not till after dinner.”
“Come on, Jordie,” he whines. “You let Nic have one.”
She shakes her head and narrows her eyes. “When you’re growing an entire human inside your body, you can have cookies before dinner. Why don’t you take Mindy and Remi’s coats and then show everyone to the dining room?”
I love these two. Phoenix may be nine years older than his wife, but Jordie McNamara-Hale can hold her own with anyone. She’s the best tight end in the Women’s National Football League and a two-time Super Bowl winner. The Houston Dragons won the title during the league’s inaugural year, missed out the next year due to some key injuries, and then reclaimed the title this past December.
A few minutes later, we’re all seated around the enormous dining table. Reece is on my right and Mindy is on my left, with Helix and Nicolette on her other side. Phoenix is at the head of the table with Jordie on his right. Perri, Dad, and his wife, Rebecca, are across from us. I look over at Mindy to see her smiling into her bowl. Placing my hand on her knee, I tilt toward her.
“What’s that look for?”
Her eyes dart around the room, taking in the ornate furnishings and the crystal chandelier over the table before meeting mine. “I was just thinking how weird this is. This room looks like it’s made for royalty, and yet we’re eating chili and cornbread,” she whispers.
“My family may have money, but we’re just regular people who enjoy regular food. It’s not all champagne and caviar.” I give her leg a squeeze and decide it’s time. Turning my attention to the people around us, I raise my voice over the din of easy conversation. “Can I have everyone’s attention, please?”
