“Somebody should’ve probably put a stop to this before it started,” Savannah whispered to her husband as they watched the two couples arguing in front of them.
“I don’t think anybody thought this was a possibility. What are the odds that the two couples would be the playoffs together?” Gabriel asked. “I thought I’d end up in the playoffs, but my team decided to take a nap in the second half of the season.”
“Well now that it’s ended up this way, shouldn’t we do something? I mean, we can’t let this go on. This isn’t going to be good for their relationship. Brooklyn is too damn competitive.”
“Declan knows who he married.”
“That’s true, but what about the other two? Andi and Braeden are both ridiculous, and she’s very, very pregnant. It’s going to be even worse than usual.”
Gabriel groaned. “Shit…I didn’t think about the pregnancy thing. He better watch out. Pregnancy hormones are no joke.”
“Hey,” Savannah said as she smacked her husband on the arm.
“I didn’t mean you…”
“Bullshit,” Savannah said with a laugh. “Although you’re not wrong. So what do we do?”
“We sit back and watch. I’m not about to get in the middle of this shit show. I want to live to watch our daughter open presents on Christmas and meet our son,” he said as he put a hand on her protruding stomach.
“Oh, that’s a good point.”
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll keep our family safe from the crazies.”
Savannah rolled her eyes. “A bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
“Just you wait and see,” Gabriel said as they turned their attention back to their friends.
“You agreed to everyone making side bets for the playoffs at the beginning of the season. You can’t back out now that you’re one of the people who has to make a bet,” Braeden argued.
“I didn’t realize how fucking uncomfortable I was going to be once December rolled around, you ass. I’m eight months pregnant with twins…you’re fucking twins.”
“I’m very aware you’re carrying my babies, I give you a foot massage every day. However, that doesn’t mean you can get out of making a bet. If you lose this week, then we can postpone you paying up until after the babies are born. If I lose, then you get to watch me humiliate myself for an entire month.”
“I’m not dragging my huge ass out to a karaoke bar to watch you humiliate yourself.”
“Then we can postpone no matter who loses, but we have to make a bet. It’s the rules.”
“Fuck the rules,” Andi grumbled as she turned away from her husband, her hand rubbing along the side of her stomach.
“It could be worse…at least we didn’t draw the bow down to me bet. We’d definitely have to postpone that one; there’s no way you could get down on the ground and bow down to me with that belly.”
“Jeezus, Braeden. Are you looking to get murdered? I’m pretty sure your wife could kill you right now and get away with it by blaming it on the crazy pregnancy hormones,” Savannah called out.
Braeden looked over at her, surprised, as though he’d forgotten her and Gabriel were even in the room. It didn’t matter that they were in Savannah and Gabriel’s house, Braeden was always in his own little world.
Shaking her head, Savannah glanced over at Brooklyn and her husband, Declan. They were watching their twins Cayden and Wyatt play in the gated off area with Savannah’s daughter Ryan, while talking smack to each other about who was going to win their head to head battle.
“I can’t wait to watch you bow down to me every day for a month. It’s going to be magnificent.”
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, Princess. It could just as easily be you on your knees for me.”
Brooklyn smirked over at her husband. “I thought we were talking about the bet, not what we’re going to do later.”
“Nice try, but I’m not so easily distracted when it comes to this stuff, and you know it. I plan on knocking you off your pedestal this week, baby.”
“You can try, but I’ve been in first place all season long. You really think you can take me down in one week, Mr. Fourth Place?” Brooklyn asked.
“At least I got to fourth place cleanly. I didn’t sell my soul to the devil to win.”
Brooklyn laughed. “I might hate the cheater, but I’m not stupid. I love to win. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices if you want to be on top.”
“I would never….”
“I call BS on that one, sweetheart. I know he was on your draft list. I just beat you to him. I’m not sure how the hell I managed to snag Edelman on top of it, but I’m not complaining.”
Savannah barely followed football, but she knew exactly who her sister was talking about, both the cheater and Julian Edelman. The eye candy was pretty much the only thing Savannah liked about football and Julian Edelman definitely counted as eye candy, even with the scruffy beard.
The two couples continued to banter over who was going to win and whether or not they should stick to the bets they’d decided on at the beginning of the season. Savannah didn’t understand how any of it worked, but she knew the next couple of weeks were going to be very interesting.
Two Weeks Later
“I can’t believe she won the entire thing,” Braeden grumbled for what seemed like the millionth time since he’d arrived at Savannah and Gabriel’s house.
“I can’t believe you didn’t know it was over before the finals ever began,” Gabriel said with a laugh. “She had us all beat from the very beginning.”
Savannah looked over at her sister, who was beaming from ear to ear. In the first week of the playoffs, Brooklyn had taken Declan down just as she’d predicted. The battle between Braeden and Andi had been a heck of a lot closer but had ended with Braeden beating his wife by five points. Savannah still thought that Andi’s bet was the easier of the two. There’s no way she would have wanted to bow down to anyone every time they entered the room — not even her husband.
She had to admit though it was funny as hell to watch Declan bow down to Brooklyn whenever she walked into the room. Savannah had a feeling her sister left the room more often than necessary just to get her husband to take a knee for her.
Now they were all going to get to watch Braeden embarrass the hell out of himself for the day. Even though it was freezing outside, Braeden was going through with the championship bet he’d made with Brooklyn. He had to spend the entire day standing on the corner by Arrow with a sign Brooklyn made for him and a costume she picked out. While Savannah was glad her sister had won, there was a part of her that had wanted to see what Braeden would have picked out for Brooklyn to wear.
He looked utterly ridiculous in the santa sitting on a reindeer costume, and that was before he was holding the bedazzled sign. Savannah had a feeling Braeden was going to end up on a lot of people’s social media feeds throughout the day. Her sister had been so sure of it that she’d thrown a hashtag onto the bottom of the sign so she could see the pictures people were taking.
“Are you done whining and ready to head out, Braeden?” Brooklyn asked.
Braeden opened his mouth to argue but then decided against it. Smart move on his part. Savannah’s sister was trying to bait him, and it seemed like for the first time since they’d known each other, Braeden had finally figured out not to engage. She was pretty sure he’d give in at some point during the day since her sister wouldn’t stop trying to push his buttons, but at least for now, he was being smart.
Picking up his sign, Braeden made his way to the front door, followed closely by Brooklyn and Declan. Andi and Gabriel helped Savannah pack up the kids so they could all head to Arrow to watch Braeden set up shop on the corner. It was going to be a long day for Braeden and even Brooklyn, who decided she wanted to hang out at Arrow all day so she could watch him. Savannah and Gabriel had volunteered to watch the twins so her sister could enjoy the spoils of war.
The things you did for your family, Savannah thought before a giggle sprang free.
For Savannah, falling in love with Gabriel Archer was the best thing that could have ever happened to her. But she wasn’t the only one who’s life was changed by the miracle of their love. Brooklyn’s world was changed, as well. In this group, they found their people, their tribe, the friends who became their family, not just by marriage, but by choice. As crazy as they all were, Savannah loved them all and wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.
Even if one of them currently stood in front of her wearing a ridiculously hilarious costume holding a sign that said: Welcome to Loserville. Population: Me, in pink glitter and rhinestones.
Author Paris Hansen 