“Usually when it involved you doing perverted things with our sister,” Redmond offered.
Griffin pinned him with a dark look. “If I didn’t do perverted things with your sister, that baby you all love so much wouldn’t exist. Besides, she was an adult ... and she was the one who suggested ninety percent of the perverted things. I was an innocent bystander.”
Multiple men at the table snorted as Griffin turned an imploring look toward his father-in-law. “You know how your daughter is.”
Cormack cleared his throat and shifted on his chair. “I don’t think this is a conversation we should be having in front of guests. Why don’t we table it until after the gate threat is handled?”
“That was my philosophy but somehow we ended up talking about it anyway.” Aisling stared at Lily for a beat. “What kind of baby food did I like?”
“I believe you were a fan of the fruit and hated the meat.”
Braden, who was sipping his cocktail, practically choked. “It’s a good thing that wasn’t a thing for your whole life, huh, Ais? If so, you wouldn’t have that baby.”
It took me a moment to realize what he was saying and I had to press my lips together and look away to keep from laughing.
“You’re not going to be my favorite for a week if you say something like that again,” Cormack warned, his eyes flashing. “We have an impressionable young girl with us. She doesn’t need to hear gutter talk like that.”
“It’s okay,” Sami countered, handing Lily her pacifier. She seemed unfazed by the conversation. “I know all about perverts. My dad made me take a class.”
Cormack cocked his head. “A class?”
Sami nodded, blasé. “He was the teacher, so it wasn’t a real class, but I did get graded. He made this big board and he put up pictures of Hollywood stars — like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck — and then he made me go through the reasons they were likely dirty perverts.”
“I see.” Cormack’s lips quirked. “Was that a well-received lesson?”
“I don’t get a lot of it,” Sami admitted. “I mean ... he picked all old dudes.”
“Leonard DiCaprio and Ben Affleck aren’t old,” Aric argued. “They’re my age.”
Sami snorted. “Get out. You’re old, too. It’s not as if I have a crush on you.”
“I think you should,” Aric countered. “I know we’ve had this discussion before and you’ve made your opinion clear, but it’s normal for girls to have crushes on their fathers.”
“Don’t be gross,” Sami warned. “I hate it when you’re gross.”
Apparently Aric wasn’t about to give up. “I’m not being gross. It’s a fact of life. Ask Cormack. I’m sure Aisling had a crush on him when she was younger.”
Aisling made a horrified face. “Did we land in some backwoods horror movie with inbred mountain freaks or something and nobody told me?”
Aric shot her a dirty look. “I don’t mean a romantic crush. Fourteen is too young for romantic crushes anyway. All I’m saying is that fourteen-year-olds should simply want to spend all their time with their fathers. That’s normal, right?” His expression was earnest when he locked gazes with Cormack.
“Oh, well ... .” The Grimlock patriarch was clearly uncomfortable because he was suddenly focused on his granddaughter.
“You have to let it go, Aric,” Zoe chided. “She’s fourteen, and not a nun. She’s going to develop crushes on people. Her lady bits will demand it.”
“I don’t like it when you say stuff like that,” Aric complained. “She’s my baby.”
“She’s going to be an adult in four years.”
‘No.” He shook his head and focused on Lily. “Don’t you remember when she was that size and we would curl up on the couch together and nap all day when it was thundering and raining ... and sometimes snowing?”
“No.” Zoe shook her head. “I hate to break it to you but that only happened in your mind. When Sami was that age, she cried all the time and we used to play a game called ‘whoever touched her last changes her.’ Do you remember that?”
A slow smile made its way across Aric’s handsome features. “Actually, I do.” He flicked his eyes to Sami. “You left the most distressing scents for us in your diapers.”
Sami’s mouth dropped open. “What are you even talking about? You can’t say things like that in front of people.”
“You’re romanticizing things in your head,” Zoe pressed. “I’m not saying we didn’t have good times when she was a baby, but we were also exhausted every single day ... and hyper vigilant. Do you remember when the security system alerted and I went out to check it and I was so tired I thought an eagle was attacking us?”
Aric nodded. “Yeah. You singed the eagle’s feathers and then had to track it down to heal it. He was really mad and bit you and then you had to heal yourself. Then, when you got inside, Sami kept sneezing because of the feathers and you had to take a shower ... and then you passed out in exhaustion in the shower and only woke up when the hot water ran out.”
Zoe nodded. “That’s a great story to tell now but it wasn’t exactly fun when it was happening.”
“I don’t remember that,” Sami countered. “Are you sure that happened?”
“Absolutely sure,” Zoe confirmed with a head bob. “There were several months in there when all you did was crap and cry.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Sami argued. “I think you’re making that up.”
“Oh, no. There was one time when you had such explosive diarrhea it ran all down your legs and I threw up because of the smell when I lifted you. And then, because he’s a sympathetic puker, your dad threw up, too.”
Sami’s cheeks turned red. “What are you doing?” She darted a look toward Redmond, who seemed to be enjoying the conversation. “Are you trying
