Sealed With A Kiss: Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, page 16
The guys all looked over.
“Damn,” Zander said. “I’ve seen photos of her with him online, but she’s even more gorgeous in person.”
“I’ve heard him say in interviews that she’s the one that keeps him grounded. She’s not into the whole fame and fortune thing,” Zeke said. “They actually seem like really awesome people.”
Naomi leaned in and rested her chin on her hand. “Aw, you guys get to meet your celebrity crushes.”
Zeke and Zander, two of the most rugged, confident, Cajun bullshitters she knew, both pivoted—Zeke to look more fully at the room behind them, Zander to look forward at the table.
“Hey, that’s true,” Zeke said, obviously comfortable enough in his masculinity to have a crush on another man. Or two.
“Crush is a little extreme,” Zander said right on the heels of Zeke’s comment. Clearly Zander was not quite as comfortable.
Naomi laughed and looked over at Donovan. He was sitting back and enjoying the craziness the way she so often did. But he gave her another wink when she caught his eye.
Zeke and Zander looked at one another.
“It’s not a crush,” Zander insisted. “We like their game. We’re…fans.”
“It’s more than that for me,” Zeke declared. “I want to become their best friend, or, if I can’t do that, I want to get them drunk, get some inappropriate photos that I can use as blackmail, and use those to get all the new game releases early and back stage passes to all future Comic-Cons.”
Naomi looked at Jill. Who simply rolled her eyes and rested her hands on her very pregnant belly. She had definitely gotten more laid back since she and Zeke had gotten together and found out they were bringing two more Landrys into the world. That was a very good thing. Mini Zekes running around, pushing limits and living loud, were going to be a handful. Especially with big Zeke still running around pushing limits and living loud.
And no, they didn’t know if the twin babies were boys or girls or one of each—or if they did, they weren’t telling the family yet—but no one doubted that even Zeke Landry’s daughters would be charming, delightful trouble.
“You’ve really given this a lot of thought considering they just walked in here five minutes ago,” Naomi said to Zeke.
“It’s not a brand new plan. Paige and Mitch know them well. I knew I’d get my chance,” Zeke told her, tipping back his glass of tea.
“Spoken like a true stalker,” Zander said. “And as a law enforcement officer, I should probably pretend I didn’t hear you say any of those things.”
“I’ve got witnesses that you did, big brother,” Zeke told his older-by-only-two-minutes twin. “So now you’re complicit. Plus we’re identical twins. I’m not above committing a crime and pretending to be you. You might as well go all in.”
Zander groaned, clearly believing Zeke would impersonate him. “Define all-in.”
“Well, that’s the beauty of this plan,” Zeke said with a grin. “They’re down here for vacation, right? They want the real Louisiana experience. Who better to give that to them than two born-and-bred Cajun boys who know all about havin’ fun Louisiana style? As part of that, we give them a boys’ night out in New Orleans, starting at Trahan’s Tavern,” Zeke said of the very popular bar in the French Quarter owned by some of the Landry boys’ best friends. “I figure there are two directions that can go. The next morning we’re either their best friends or we’ve got plenty of drunk blackmail photos.”
Zander sighed. But he didn’t say no.
Naomi looked at Jill.
“You can’t end up in jail. At least not for more than a night,” Jill told her fiancé.
Zeke leaned over and rubbed her belly. “Oh, I’m not leaving you a single mom, Kansas. No worries.”
“I’m more worried about not having you around to do my laundry and make me grilled cheese,” she told him.
“Doesn’t Elizabeth still do a lot of you all’s laundry?” Owen asked.
It was not at all a secret that Zeke, as baby of the family, had been spoiled by his mother and still let her do his laundry as much as possible.
“That is true,” Jill said, looking at Zeke thoughtfully. “She’s never made me grilled cheese but I’m certain she could handle it.”
“She makes amazing grilled cheese,” Fletcher confirmed.
“Well, then, go do whatever dumb thing you want in New Orleans,” Jill told Zeke. “I guess I’m good.”
He laughed, put a big hand on the back of her neck and pulled her in close. He whispered something in her ear that made her blush, then kissed her soundly.
“Right?” he asked when he’d leaned back again.
Jill cleared her throat. “Right.”
“Thought so.” He looked very pleased with himself.
Naomi could only imagine what he’d reminded Jill only he could do for her. And it made her shoot another glance in Donovan’s direction. He was watching her. That fact sent tingles racing through her and she shifted on her chair.
So she wanted him whispering naughty things in her ear. Big shock.
The intensity with which she wanted the intimacy that Zeke and Jill and all the other couples had was a bit of a surprise though.
She cleared her throat and focused on the conversation again.
“Okay, you, me, Dax, and Oliver tonight,” Zeke said to Zander. He glanced around the table. “And whoever else wants to come.”
“I’m in,” Owen said quickly.
“What are we gonna talk to Dax Marshall and Oliver Caprinelli about?” Zander asked. “We live in a tiny town in Louisiana. You do construction. I’m a cop. They’re multimillionaire game designers.”
“They live in a tiny town in Iowa,” Zeke said. “Iowa’s got nothing on Louisiana.”
“Excuse me,” Paige interrupted.
Zeke and Zander had to pivot to look at her. She’d just come over to the table from greeting her friends from up north. They were getting settled around a big table a few feet away and Ellie and Cora were already there with sweet tea and Hurricanes.
Paige planted her hands on her hips. “Are you disparaging my home state? With me standing right here?”
“In our defense, we didn’t know you were standing right there,” Zeke told her.
“Well, I was going to introduce you to the two guys who made the videogame that almost got Zander fired, but if you’re going to talk shit about Iowa, I’m not doing you any favors.”
“That video game almost got you fired?” Sawyer asked Zander.
“Just because I lost track of time,” Zander said, shifting on his chair. “And Knox is just super anal about me showing up places on the dot.”
“You mean he thinks you, as the town cop, should show up places when you’re supposed to?” Sawyer asked dryly. “Yeah, he’s such an unreasonable asshole.”
“Well I made it. Barely. But I still made it.”
“Was that the day that you made a bunch of kids leave the docks when they were down there just hanging out?” Owen asked.
“They were smoking pot and annoying the neighbors.”
“You parking your car down there so you could catch a nap doesn’t make you a neighbor exactly,” Owen said.
“Was that the same day you ended up with ducks in your squad car?” Sawyer asked.
Paige’s eyes went wide. “How’d ducks get in your squad car?”
“Those same kids put them in there,” Zeke said. “He’d fallen asleep and was so dead to the world, he didn’t hear a thing. He woke up to a duck sitting in his lap.”
“Stupid things crapped all over my car,” Zander muttered.
“Funniest fucking thing I’ve ever seen was Zander driving down the road with three ducks in the back of his squad car as if he’d arrested them,” Owen said, laughing out loud now.
“Even Knox got in on the jokes about how Zander was getting his ducks in a line-up rather than in a row,” Zeke added.
“And that was because you were up all night playing that stupid game?” Sawyer asked.
Paige was pressing her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
“I hate you all,” Zander informed them.
“But you still play that videogame?” Naomi asked. “It’s obviously caused you some trouble.”
Zander leaned in, his expression solemn, meeting her eyes directly. “I am not overstating it when I say that it is the best videogame ever created, and the most fun I have had on my couch in at least two years.”
“By yourself,” Owen said. “That’s an important part of that tagline. It’s the most fun you’ve had by yourself on your couch in at least two years.”
Zander looked over at him. “I said what I said.”
Owen practically snorted his sweet tea out of his nose.
Sawyer shook his head. “You’ve been spending time with the wrong women.”
Zander sat back in his chair. “Talk to me after you play the game.”
“Holy shit, we’re going to hire you guys for our next commercial.”
Zeke’s and Zander’s backs both went ramrod straight. Then they turned slowly and looked up at Dax Marshall and Oliver Caprinelli.
9
“Damn, no kidding,” Dax agreed with Ollie.
Zander groaned and slumped in his seat.
“How much of that did you hear?” Zeke asked them.
“Enough to know that we definitely want to advertise that our game is so good that it almost gets grown men fired. Even cops,” Dax said with a grin.
Zander looked mortified.
Naomi pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Zander never looked mortified.
“Dax Marshall, Ollie Caprinelli,” Paige said. “Your biggest fans are named Zeke and Zander Landry. They’re Fletcher’s brothers.”
Dax extended a hand and shook Zeke’s hand first. “Thanks for letting us crash your party. Jane couldn’t stay away any longer from her favorite wedding planner.” He moved his hand for Zander to shake and Sawyer had to nudge Zander so that the cop would extend his hand.
Naomi almost choked on her laughter as she met Paige’s eyes. Paige just shook her head.
“Well, your game is awesome and it’s a thrill to meet you,” Zeke told them.
“Glad to hear it,” Dax said. “We’d love to talk more about what you like and don’t like. We get a lot of our in-person feedback from ten-year-old boys and a seventy-something woman. It’d be great to pick your brains.”
“A seventy-something woman?” Zeke asked.
Dax looked behind him. “Didi is one of our biggest fans and a Fifth Level Master Enchantress at this point.” He motioned with his chin toward the older woman with the snowy white hair sitting with the rest of the Iowa gang.
“Of course, she got to be fifth level because she made me put that in just for her,” Ollie said.
Zeke laughed. “You do that for people?”
“Special people,” Ollie said with a smile.
Zeke looked at Zander. “We are definitely taking them to New Orleans.”
“Did you tell them about the alpacas?” A little boy, who had to be one of the ten-year-olds Dax had referenced, squeezed in between Dax and Ollie.
“Haven’t gotten there yet, buddy,” Dax told him. “Everyone, this is Henry. He’s Cam and Zoe’s little brother, Didi’s best friend, and is a member of the creative development team for Warriors of Easton.”
“Hey, Didi!” Henry called. “Come here! We’re talking about the Armageddon Alpacas!”
Didi perked right up and excused herself from the conversation she was in. She came over to the table and Mitch got up to give her his seat. She gave him a smile and slid in next to where Henry was standing. He put a hand on her shoulder in a familiar and sweet gesture.
“We don’t call them Armageddon Alpacas,” Dax said.
“We should,” Didi told him.
“But they don’t bring on Armageddon,” Dax said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“They do for the dragons,” Henry said.
“They do?” Zeke asked.
Apparently having some kind of radar for fellow Warriors of Easton fans, the boy focused on Zeke and Zander. “Picture this. They’re alpacas. That shoot lasers out of their eyeballs.” His tone and expression were completely serious. “They can take down even the small and medium dragons one on one. If the dragons are in flight, they just die. And then fall from the sky and smash everything under them.”
“So it’s important to take them out when they’re over a nest of other dragons,” Didi said.
“Exactly,” Henry agreed. “Armageddon.”
Dax rolled his eyes.
“Or…” Zeke leaned in the way Henry had. “The Alpacalypse.”
Henry’s eyes got wide and he nodded slowly. “Yessss.”
Dax laughed at that and even Zander chuckled.
“Have you met our alpacas yet?” Zander asked. “One of them is named Alpacalypse.”
“That’s amazing!” Henry looked up at Ollie. “Take a note of that.”
Ollie tapped his temple. “Got it right here.”
“And—” Henry leaned in as if to impart a very closely guarded secret. “A herd of them can take down even the large dragons.”
And that was finally what snapped Zander out of his starstruck stupor. He leaned in. “How do they turn the lasers on?”
“They blink.”
“How do they turn them off?”
“They blink again,” Henry said as if that should be obvious.
“Was that your idea?”
“Totally,” Henry said proudly.
Zander looked impressed. “How did you get this gig?”
“Mostly by being brilliant and adorable.”
Everyone laughed.
Zander nodded as if that made complete sense. “Any tips on how I could maybe get in on this?”
Henry regarded him. “You don’t seem very adorable.”
Naomi, Jordan, Paige, and Jill all snorted.
“Oh, he is,” Didi assured Henry.
“Really?” Henry didn’t look convinced.
Zander, however, gave Didi a grin and Naomi had to admit that while ‘adorable’ wasn’t quite the right word, she understood why he didn’t sleep alone unless he wanted to. It was definitely, in part, the uniform. It was also the bad boy turned good guy protector thing. But his long hair, tattoos, green eyes, and big, solid build did not hurt.
Zander shrugged and told Henry, “I think I’m kind of past the point where I can change my level of adorableness. What else can I use to get in good with the bosses?”
Henry thought about it. “Dax really likes candy.”
Dax laughed. “True.”
“You think they’d like it if we took them to New Orleans and showed them around?” Zeke asked Henry.
“For sure! Can me and Didi come?”
Paige shook her head. “Not tonight, but we’ll make a trip up there while you’re here.”
Zander tapped Henry’s arm, regaining his attention. “So what else you got in the works for Warriors?”
“Ollie’s going to hang out and study the penguins so he can add robot penguins,” Henry said.
“Was that your idea?” Zander asked.
“Nah. That was Dax.”
“I want to hear your ideas,” Zander told him.
Henry looked pleased, but then Didi leaned in and whispered in Henry’s ear. Henry nodded and narrowed his eyes at Zander. “Well, what kind of milkshakes do you have here?”
Zander lifted a brow. “What are you willing to give up for a good milkshake?”
Henry looked at Didi and she nodded. “My ideas for the rain swords.”
“Rain swords? How do those work?” Zander asked.
Didi leaned in and whispered to him again. “I really can’t say any more about it,” Henry told him. “At least not without some encouragement.”
Zander looked like he was fighting a smile. “Encouragement in the form of ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream?”
“Don’t forget the sprinkles,” Didi said.
Zander looked up at Dax and Ollie. They were just grinning. “He knows how to negotiate?”
“Oh, that all comes from the girls. Including Didi,” Dax said.
Zander focused on Henry again, then looked at Didi. “Are you two gamblers, by chance?”
Henry and Didi exchanged a look. “We’ve dabbled,” Henry said.
The corner of Zander’s mouth quirked. “Okay. How about this—I give you something I think is even better than a milkshake. If you agree, you tell me all about the rain swords and you listen to my idea about the snake shields.”
Henry’s eyes widened. “Snake shields?”
Zander nodded. “But if you like the idea, you have to pitch it to Dax and Ollie and tell them it’s from both of us.”
“What are you giving me—”
Didi poked him.
“Us. What are you giving us instead of milkshakes?” Henry asked.
“You ever had pecan pie?” Zander asked.
“No,” Henry said.
“Oh, yes,” Didi answered. She looked at Henry. “It’s good. You’ll like it.”
“Yep,” Zander told him. “Buckle up, buddy. You’re about to forget all about ice cream and sprinkles.”
Zander stood and helped Didi to her feet, then escorted her and Henry to the bar. He introduced them to Leo and Armand and then helped them up onto the high stools next to the men, before taking the stool to Didi’s left himself.
Naomi turned to Jill. Jill’s eyes were wide. Then she looked up at Paige. Paige nodded in silent understanding.
“Wow,” Jill said.
“Very wow,” Paige agreed.
“Right?” Naomi asked.
“What?” Zeke asked.
“I’ve never seen Zander like that,” Naomi said. “I mean, he’s great with Andre and the kids from New Orleans, but that was…”
“Sexy as fuck,” Jill said.
Zeke scoffed and shook his head. “Nah, you’re projecting. He looks like me and you’ve got all those hormones whooshing around. You’re just confused.”
Jill laughed. “Okay.” She looked at Ollie. “You’re going to add penguins to the videogame?”
“Of course we are. Despite what he says, Henry is totally into that,” Dax said. He looked at Ollie. “Of course, Oliver’s the writer. But I have no doubt he’ll figure out a way.”
