I hadn’t thought of it like that, but he’s right. When you boil it down to the heart of it all, it’s about trust.

“That’s a good way to describe it,” I say with a nod. “I like that. I’ve already talked Savannah into going.”

“Good.” Declan covers my hand with his and gives it a squeeze. “If anyone needs to learn to trust themselves, it’s our Van.”

Savannah is Declan’s twin sister. I’ve often been jealous of their bond over the years, but I realize now that it’s not something either of them has control over. They’re not choosing each other over the rest of us, they simply have a connection that we don’t have.

And it’s really quite beautiful.

“I’d like to meet Savannah,” Simon replies. “I’ve heard a lot about her.”

“She’s so great,” Callie says with a wink. “She’ll keep you on your toes.”

“I’m beginning to learn that the whole family is a force to be reckoned with.” Simon laughs and finishes his drink. We finished eating long ago. The bill has been paid. We’ve just been chatting for the last half hour.

“Should we head over?” I ask.

“Yeah, I need to set up and Callie will want to make sure the place hasn’t burned down.” He turns to Simon. “She’s a bit of a workaholic.”

“Takes one to know one,” Callie replies and kisses her husband on the cheek. “And you get me, so it works.”

“Oh, I get you, all right.” He kisses her lips and his hand is traveling up her side, and I immediately put the brakes on that spectacle.

“Okay, we get it.” I cover my eyes. “Y’all have sex. You don’t have to rub it in my face.”

“What are you, nine?” Declan asks with a laugh as we stand and leave the restaurant.

“No, I’m your sister. There’s no need to get gross in front of me.”

“Being affectionate with my wife is not gross.”

“That’s your opinion, pal.”

It’s a beautiful evening. There’s not a cloud in the sky as we walk the block or so back to The Odyssey.

“This is beautiful,” Simon says we walk inside. “You’ve recently renovated.”

“Right after I took over,” Callie says with a nod, looking over her handiwork. “Everything is new except the bar. It was in good shape, and quite old even when my dad bought it.”

“This is my kind of pub,” Simon replies and he and I take a seat at the bar while Declan goes to get ready for his set. Callie walks behind the bar and begins helping her partner, Adam.

“Simon, this is Adam. He co-owns the place with me.”

“Pleasure,” Simon says and reaches over the bar to shake Adam’s hand.

“Good to meet you,” Adam says and waves hello to me. “And this gorgeous woman is my girlfriend, Sarah.”

“Oh good! I finally get to meet you! I’ve heard all about you,” I say and lean over to hug the pretty woman to my right. I was so excited, and surprised, to hear that Adam found someone.

“It’s great to meet you, too. Hi, Simon.”

“You’re meeting a lot of people tonight,” Callie says with a laugh to Simon. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” he says and takes my hand in his. He kisses my knuckles and Callie’s eyes find mine. She winks at me and nods, and I know that I have her approval.

For reasons I’m not entirely sure of, that makes me very happy.

“Well, slap my ass and call me Sally! Here come some more,” Callie says with a laugh. I spin around and find Gabby and Savannah walking to us, all decked out in sexy dresses and heels.

“Hey!” I stand and hug them both, then proceed to make introductions.

“So this is the famous Savannah,” Simon says and leans in to kiss her cheek. “It’s truly a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Oh God, what did you tell him?” she asks me, making us all laugh.

“Only great things,” Simon replies and then frowns and pulls his phone out of his pocket. The frown doesn’t leave his face when he returns it to his pocket and takes my hand in his.

“Is everything okay?”

“Fine. It’s just my mother.”

“It’s awfully late. Are you sure nothing is wrong?”

“No, darling. She’s fine. And it’s early morning there. I’ll call her later.”

I nod and turn back to my sisters. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Beau kicked us out of my house,” Gabby says and orders an extra dirty martini from Callie.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because she really needed a night away,” Van replies for her. “I’ve received at least twenty texts from her today. She was having a shitty week.”

“Do tell,” Simon says as Adam pulls a bar-height table over for us, along with extra chairs. This way, we can stay close to the bar so he and Callie can still be part of the fun while they work.

“Well,” Gabby begins with a sigh and takes a sip of her drink. “Rhys has been gone back to Chicago for less than a week, right?”

We nod.

“And I’m pretty sure my kids are already trying to kill me.”

“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” I say, but Van is already shaking her head and giving me the warning look.

“It’s that bad,” Van says. “Go ahead and tell them. Let it all out, honey.”

“On Tuesday, Sam informed me that he needed cupcakes for the last day of school, which was the next day, and he decided to wait until bedtime to tell me. Of course. Then Ailish came down sick the evening after we saw you and Simon. The dog decided to poop all over the freaking house while I took Sam to a birthday party on Thursday, and then later that afternoon, Sam broke another damn window.”