Anna sighed from the lounge chair she was resting on; she’d heard this rant before. Several times. I was sure she was getting tired of hearing it, but she was my sounding board; I needed her to listen. “I can’t bend over anymore,” she said in a whine. “And the only shoes that fit my feet are slippers.” She looked over at me with pouted lips. “I seriously want this baby out. It better come early. I don’t think I can survive six more days of this crap.”

Examining her looking all swollen and uncomfortable, yet still the sexiest thing on earth in her two-piece, I sympathized; her feet did look like overdone sausages about to burst. I was kind of scared to touch them for fear they would explode on me. “At least your hell will be over soon. Mine is perpetual. So long as Kellan and Matt are running the show, I’m fucked.” Taking a swig of my drink, I flicked the water with my forefinger. I wished it was Kellan’s face. Or Matt’s. I’d even accept Evan’s, since he wasn’t exactly campaigning for me. Kellan and Matt had him firmly under their thumbs. Conformist.

A couple of droplets landed on Anna and she frowned at me as she rubbed them off her thigh. “You just need to keep trying. If you want this, don’t give up. Show them you’re serious, and they’ll change their minds and give you a chance.”

Because I was in a shitty mood, I scowled at her, but I supposed she did have a point. If I could prove to the guys that I wouldn’t embarrass them, maybe they’d cave on their ridiculous stance that I couldn’t be trusted with anything more important than mixing their drinks. I was so much more than a bartender, and it was time those fuckers realized it.

Anna cocked an eyebrow at me. “Speaking of serious…when are you going to call Matt back? He’s left four messages on the machine.”

Yeah, and even more were on my cell phone. I fully expected him to show up at my door any moment. But I was irritated and didn’t want to deal with him yet. Besides, what he wanted to do was preposterous. “Did you listen to the message? He wants to start working on the third album. We just finished the last one. How about we let our brains rest for a sec before we cram more stuff in there? Just saying.”

She looked about to comment on that suggestion, but the doorbell rang. Anna grimaced as the loud gong vibrated the walls. “I’m pretty sure that just woke Gibson up,” she muttered before painstakingly rising from her chair. I thought about climbing out to help her, but by the time I was finished thinking it, she was already standing.

As Anna left the pool room to see who was here, I cringed too. Had Matt finally taken the initiative to come collect me, since I clearly wasn’t in any hurry to contact him? Only one way to find out. Finishing my beer, I tucked the can by my hip and, using my fingers as paddles, I pushed myself over to the edge.

Grabbing the cool tile, I pulled myself out. I started to walk away, but then I remembered how much Anna hated it when I left wet footprints all over the house, and I dried myself off with a nearby towel. Awesome husband, party of one.

Strutting through the house, letting it all hang loose, I headed for the front door to see who was here. When I got to the door, it was wide open, revealing an assortment of people I hadn’t expected to see. Anna was standing in front of them, still dressed in her bikini. Hearing my approach, she looked back at me. The smile on her face was clearly forced; so was her cheery voice. “Griffin…your family is here. Isn’t that…great?” Her eyes widened on the word “great,” and I could tell what she really meant was, What the hell are they doing here?

Moving to stand beside Anna, I waved at my dad and my brother, Liam. Both of them were loaded down with bags. Behind them I could see my mom and my sister, Chelsey, getting even more bags out of a minivan; my sister’s twin girls were with them. From the looks of all the crap they were unloading, the gang was moving in for months. “Hey guys, good to see you. Wasn’t expecting you yet.”

My dad gestured at my lack of clothing. “We see that.”

Liam dropped his bags and covered his eyes like he’d just been splashed with acid. Falling to his knees, he began dramatically moaning and groaning. “My eyes, my eyes!” he screamed, sounding like the dying witch in Wizard of Oz. Liam fancied himself as an actor. I flipped him off while Anna excused herself to grab me something to wear. And probably to curse me out behind closed doors. We’d planned on calling my parents when she went into labor, so they could arrive right after the baby was born.

Dad looked down at Liam still writhing on the ground, then ignored him and turned back to me. “I’m probably going to regret asking this, but why are you naked?”

Shrugging, I told him, “I was in the pool.”

“Naked?” He bunched his brows. They had been blond like mine when he was younger, but Dad was mostly gray now. He said that was because of us kids, but I called bullshit on that remark. If there was any reason Dad was gray, it was because of Mom. She rode him hard then put him away wet every time she could. More than once I’d joked that he should have Property of Marsha Hancock tattooed across his backside. He never laughed when I said that.

I nodded at his question and repeated my answer. “In a pool.” When he still didn’t seem any less confused, I clarified. “It’s basically a gigantic bathtub, and I don’t know anyone who uses their suit in the bathtub…that’s just weird.”

Dad blinked; I swear even his eyes had shifted from blue to gray. “I…guess that makes sense.”