Page 119 of Crazy Thing

I’ve always been committed to building, and what’s more important than building a family to carry on my legacy? The legacy Ziggy and I will build together?

I don’t want to rush her into anything and I definitely don’t want to scare her off. But my vision for a future with her has been forming in the back of my mind.

In any case, tonight, my siblings and their significant others are gathered here at my house for a low-key hang out session. I’d say we’re long overdue for a get-together and it was Ziggy’s idea to organize an informal dinner followed by a family game night.

As I walk into the kitchen, Felix and Ronan enter from the back deck, carrying trays of hamburgers and hot dogs. Meanwhile, Ziggy is at the stove, Karli, Daphne and Layla surrounding her.

It smells amazing in here, and seeing Ziggy in my kitchen, surrounded by my family? It’s a scene I want to walk in on for years to come.

She glances at me and our eyes connect. She smiles andmy pulse skips two or three beats.Yeah—I definitely want a family with her.

“So, you add the mushroomsafteryou’ve cooked the peppers?” Karli is asking as she jots notes onto the back of an old envelope. “Sorry for all the questions. I want to make sure I’ve got this recipe right for my nextKarli’s Kitchenbox.”

Ziggy stirs the pot with a wooden spoon. “Well, you want to roast the mushrooms on their own before adding the peppers. That really brings out the flavor and makes the dip so much tastier.”

I can’t help myself. I go right up to Ziggy, wrapping my arms around her from behind and kissing her jaw. “And you know all about bringing out the flavor, don’t you?” I whisper by her ear, making her giggle.

At my shameless display of affection, Karli’s brow hikes up to high heaven. Layla’s eyes widen. Daphne’s hands fly to her heart, almost knocking over the pot in the process.

I glare at them. “Shut up. All of you.”

“We didn’t say a thing.” My sister laughs knowingly.

I don’t trust that laugh.

I quickly slink off to the other side of the room where the guys are already helping themselves to some hamburgers.

Family dinner is chaotic as always. Seated around the big dining table, we all eat and drink until we’re stuffed. Then we move the shenanigans to the game room where the madness continues. I swear—my siblings are unhinged.

We begin with a round of Monopoly that gets abandoned halfway through in favor of a bingo match. Then we somehow end up playing a game that involves flinging pretend avocados at each other. Not long after that, we’re onto charades and that’s how the night descends into madness.

Somehow, most of the crowd ends up sitting cross-legged on the carpet or sprawled off in bean bag chairs. There are empty party cups and popcorn kernels all over the floor. Ziggy doesn’t complain. In fact, she seems to thrive in the Brighton family mayhem.

But when the night is drawing to a close, nobody makes a move to start cleaning up. Daphne and Felix are going on and on about the wedding. Stella is bombarding Ronan with questions about his preseason hockey games that are right around the corner. Archer is busy playing peekaboo with Skylar, making Layla laugh.

When Ziggy peels herself off the floor and makes a move to start clearing away the empty snack bowls, I grab her wrist. “Sit.”

She turns to me with a raised eyebrow.

Before she can start chewing me out, I smack my lips against hers. “You cooked. I’ll clean.” I slap the back of Nolan’s head. “Come help me, you big log.”

My younger brother punches me in retaliation. Then we both head into the kitchen, arms overflowing with dirty cups and bowls.

We’re loading the dishwasher when Karli comes in with Daphne hot on her heels.

Karli drops her pile of paper plates in the recycling bin and grabs me by both shoulders. She makes a big show of looking me up and down. “Who is this cinnamon roll and what have you done with my grumpy brother?”

“I’m not a cinnamon roll.”

“You are, too,” Karli taunts.

“Am not,” I fight weakly.

Nolan chucks some plastic containers into the dishwasher and chortles.

Our irritating sister persists. “You’ve become a cinnamonroll. A sugar-sprinkled, honey-drizzled, vanilla-frosted cinnamon roll.”

“Look—I’m not a cinnamon roll. I’m just a man who is blessed to have a good woman in my life and I want Ziggy to know that she’s cherished. I won’t allow there to be any doubts in her mind. I’ve already learned the hard way that Ziggy is a once-in-a-lifetime woman. I will do everything in my power to ensure that I don’t fuck things up again.”

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