Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Mia gave her son's little bottom a firm smack. "Do you even know what you did to the notes I prepped last night?"

Henry sprawled across her lap, lower lip wobbling with pure injustice. Why was it that being the youngest always meant he got in trouble? He'd only noticed Mom's notebook looked "dirty," so he'd helpfully marched it to the sink and given it a good rinse. Who could have guessed that would backfire?

Mia shook her head, exasperated. "Funny, I've never seen you this eager to help before. Your own dirty laundry sits there for days, but you're quick to 'clean' my notebook—and your dad's watch, too! Wow, what a thoughtful little guy you are."

Henry let out a wail, face buried against her jeans.

"Your dad was going to take you to the zoo this weekend-well, that's off. You're staying home. Honestly, you never give me a break,” Mia said, setting him down and standing up with a sigh.

That morning, Andre had already gone to the office, a new watch strapped to his wrist. At his desk, he handed the waterlogged old watch to Noah. "Call the manufacturer. See if there's any way to fix this."

Noah took the watch, brow furrowed. "Boss, what happened? It looks totally dead. Did the battery die? That can't be it..."

Andre exhaled slowly. "My ever-thoughtful son decided to give it a wash."

Noah winced. "Boss, remember that boarding school I found for you? Still sounds like a good idea-worth considering."

Andre replied, "Mia's got her second interview coming up. Once she's through, we'll check out the school together."

Later, during work, Andre's phone buzzed. "Hello?"

"Andre, where are you?" Conner's voice rang out.

By lunchtime, Conner breezed into Andre's office like he owned the place, flopping into the chair across from him. "Andre, tell me what do you think about me getting into business?"

Andre raised an eyebrow. "You feeling rich these days?"

Conner leaned back, thinking aloud. "If business isn't my thing, what kind of actual job would I even be good at?"

Andre studied him, recognizing something different in his tone. He closed his laptop. "What's brought this on all of a sudden?"

That afternoon, after listening to

Conner's plans, Andre said, "This etnoveldrama

isn't a small thing. Let's wait until

Asher, Teddy, and Mars are free. We'll all meet up and talk it through."

Conner felt a warm rush in his chest. Most people would discuss decisions like this with family, but he didn't have relatives left. What he did have was brothers.

"Sounds good. Haven't seen you guys since the holidays anyway. Bring your little troublemaker—I miss my godson," Conner added.

It had been a while since he'd seen Henry, and he seemed to have forgotten just how much energy that kid had. Nostalgia was already kicking in.

The five of them set a date and arranged to meet at their usual spot.

Andre arrived at Crescent Park with Henry in his arms.

Teddy had already opened a bottle of red wine, but the second Henry showed up, all the

godfathers—who'd been enjoying. their drinks and snacks-swept anything remotely fragile or messy off the table in five seconds flat.

Henry stared in shock. Everything had vanished! What was he supposed to get into now?

As soon as Andre set his son down, the guys all scrambled to snag some time with the kid.

Asher, always quick, scooped Henry up and gave his chubby hands a squeeze. "Conner, if you ask me,

don't even think about switchingnet

careers. We fought hard to get where we are. Changing fields is like climbing down from one mountain just to start all over againon another. It's tough, man."