pretended to be disgruntled, which had Luc giggling and whispering like mad in Bull’s ear. He rolled his eyes at their antics and gave his attention back to Ava. “Now, what do your Uncles say about wearing your Elsa dress?”
Ty and the waiter were dragging over another table. “Those two aren’t gonna let go till you join us, so take a load off.”
As nice as the offer was, he didn’t want to intrude on their family time. “Oh, no, we don’t want to interrupt…”
“You’re not. We only just got here a few minutes ago.” Ty waved him off. “Sit, Red, you two look like you need a break.”
Once they were all seated, Ava pinned Chase and Ty with a serious look. “Can I wear my Elsa dress to our wedding?”
Chase glanced at Ty who just shrugged. “If it’s okay with Red and Bull, it’s okay with us. But, Ava, remember we said it wasn’t our wedding. It’s Bull and Red’s wedding. Their special day that they’re sharing with us.”
“Right, they’re sharing it with us, so we’re all getting married.” Ava nodded enthusiastically. “Except you guys, ’cause you said you were like an old married couple already, so you don’t count.”
Ty coughed to cover up his laugh and nodded gravely. “That’s true, but like isn’t the same as is . So, maybe, we’ll all get married again.”
Ava and Luc huddled together, their whispers barely discernable over the crowded restaurant. Finally they looked up and Luc said, “If we all get married, does that mean we’d be adopted? Will that make you our Dad’s?”
And to think he thought his Disney wedding was complicated. Chase and Ty both looked taken aback by the questions and the seriousness of Luc’s tone. It was Ty who recovered first. “Do you want us to be your Dads?”
Again, Ava and Luc huddled together. Bull’s grin was pure evil as he watched the potentially awkward scene play out. Yep, their marriage was a cakewalk in comparison this. Finally a decision was made and Ava clutched Luc’s hand hard when she said, “Yeah, we need Dads.”
Chase lifted a finger as if to say give us a second and leaned into his own huddle with Ty. Their own whispered conversation was exaggerated, heavy on the hand gestures, and the kids were literally on the edge of their seats. Eventually, Ty cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table as he addressed the kids with his best parent voice. “We’d really like to be your Dads.”
“But,” Chase cut in before the squealing could begin again, “first we’re gonna celebrate Bull and Red’s big day with them. You wouldn’t want someone else to have a party when you already planned one, would you?”
“No,” Ava said thoughtfully, looking back and forth between all the adults at the table. “No, that would be mean. Okay, we can wait.”
“Not too long, right?” Luc asked quickly. “I’m a handful and need a Dad to keep me in line.”
It should have been funny, as amusing as the rest of Ava and Luc’s ploy had been. Oh, there was no doubt that the two were playing their uncles, nor was there any doubt Chase and Ty were allowing it. Luc was just hammering his point home, but instead of laughing, Red choked on his water and demanded, “Who told you that?”
Luc ducked his head and, in Red’s mind, looked more ashamed than any little boy should. “Sister Maria said they couldn’t keep up with me sometimes.”
“Was she old?” Red couldn’t help the note of contempt that laced his voice. The kids were obviously well adjusted and, as far as he knew, they hadn’t been mistreated in Colombia. He knew he was projecting his own experience and feelings, he just couldn’t bite back the knee jerk reaction.
“Yeah.” Luc looked at him curiously. “Why?”
“Well, sometimes old people have a hard time keeping up with kids. That doesn’t mean you’re a handful, it means she was tired and a bi…” Bull nudged him hard, stopping him from saying the wrong thing to two impressionable