Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(49)
Joe’s older brother, John Jr., is involved in politics in New York, while his wife, Emily, is a happy, stay at home mom with their children, Lily and John I. Then, there’s David and Daniel who are twins, each married with a child on the way, and they’ve started their own private airline company. Anthony is the fourth oldest and most boisterous and somewhat of a womanizer. He bounces from girlfriend to girlfriend and hasn’t quite found his niche in life. Anthony is the life of the party, or brings the party to you. Thomas is the fifth oldest, who is single as well, but not as bad as Anthony when it comes to women. He loves cars but hasn’t decided on what aspect of the car industry he wants to pursue. The sixth oldest is James who is blissfully gay and in love with his partner Allen. James and Allen own and curate an art gallery in Manhattan. Joe is close with all of his family, but he explains that he and James have a special bond. The last of the Covelli boys is Joe. Out of all of the brother’s, he’s the only one, who at an early age, had interest and desire to help with the family empire which is not typical for the youngest. Usually, the first born is the one who takes over.
The age differences between Joe and his brothers are staggering. John Jr. is thirty-six. David and Daniel are both thirty-four. Anthony is thirty-one. Thomas is twenty-nine. James is twenty-eight and Joe is my age, twenty-four. Obviously, they come from happily married parents.
Though he and his family come from money, they actually sound happy and content compared to all of the depictions of high society in television and movies. From how Joe describes them, and what he implies, they seem like a group of people who are friendly, lively, and joyous — people I’d be excited to meet.
“Looks like you two are having fun,” Nathan sings as he pulls open the sliding door.
Joe and I smile in response.
“Is everyone finally getting up?” I ask, hoping I can get breakfast going.
“I think so,” Nathan replies lowering himself on the chair I’m on and snuggles up to me. “Jared is in the bathroom and I think I heard noises from the other room.”
“Noises?” I inquire, though I don’t really want to know what type of noises.
Giggling, Nathan whispers, “Not those kind of noises, you dirty Kitten you. Where is your mind this morning?”
“Not where you’re thinking,” I rebut with a grin, nudging him.
“So what’s going on here?” Nathan questions devilishly, pointing back and forth between Joe and me.
“What are you talking about?” I reply, knowing full well what he’s suggesting.
“We’re just talking and becoming more acquainted,” Joe says with a smile.
“Acquainted?” Nathan whispers with a playful accusatory tone.
All I can do is laugh and shake my head.
With a smirk and a chuckle, Joe answers, “Yeah. We’re becoming friends. There’s nothing wrong with two people being friends, is there?”
“No. And, there’s nothing wrong with two people being more than just friends,” Nathan adds.
“Enough, Nathan,” I say, demanding he stops. I glance at Joe and catch him trying to hide a smile.
“Fine,” he caves. “You're no fun.”
“Who’s not fun?” Jared inquires, popping out of the patio door.
Nathan makes a face as he looks at me, tilting his head. “Emma,” he whines. “She won’t play along. It’s not like she hasn’t been laid recently.”
I glower at Nathan’s comment while attempting not to blush at his openness with Joe sitting right next to me.
“Stop meddling,” Jared playful scolds. “Emma’s been friendly to some of Maggie’s past boyfriend’s friends.”
“Not this friendly,” Nathan insinuates.
“I’m not going to be rude when they disappear and you two disappear at the same time,” I say, defending my actions.
Jared changes the subject as he wraps his arms around Nathan and kisses him on the cheek. “I think we need to get breakfast started. What do you think, Emma and Joe? I bet you two have been up for a while.”
“I agree,” Joe confirms. “I’m hungry.” He looks to me and I nod in agreement.
“Cool. Let’s get the lovebirds up and we’ll have another feast,” Jared announces.
We get up and make our way inside. Jared yanks Nathan by the hand to follow. Joe gestures for Sadie and me to go first.
“What time did everyone want to go jumping?” I ask, wanting to move the conversation away from Joe and I as the main topic.
“We should probably go earlier this morning to beat the kid crowd,” Jared replies.
“The kids won’t matter. I’ll call and reserve the private court,” I say.
“Sweet,” Maggie answers bounding out of the second bedroom behind us. “I love watching the kids and all, but they do make it a challenge sometimes when there are too many of them.”
“Good morning,” Jared, Nathan, Joe and I say in unison.
“Good morning,” she answers, taking turns hugging each of us.
Feeling my stomach grumble, I leave everyone chatting and head to the kitchen to start breakfast. Nathan quickly follows and we hop behind the counter, enjoying the groove we fall into naturally when we cook together. Maggie and Jared set the dining room table and Joe plays with Sadie waiting to help. My friends and I turn Joe down when he offers to assist. Each time Jared enters the kitchen area, he’s overly affectionate with me and hovers. To diffuse his concern, I purposefully smile and joke around.