Free Modern Girl's Guide to Friends With Benefits by Gina Drayer Page B

Peter. Mom says we can't open presents until after dinner. We've been waiting all day. It's unfair," Rose said with all the dramatics of a burgeoning tween girl.
    "Unfair," Jennifer, her five-year-old sister, parroted in agreement. She was wrapped around his leg, eyeing the presents.
    "But those are your presents. We could open those if you said it was okay, right?" Jennifer asked, pulling out the puppy dog eyes and batting her eyelashes like a pro.
    His oldest sister Lucy was in for it with this one. Only eleven, she was already a charmer and Rose was right behind her. "Why don't you buy that game you were telling me about?" he said and slipped the girls an Xbox gift card. "But if you tell your mom you got that from me, I'll deny it."
    The girls squealed and ran down to the basement where the game system was set up.
    "I saw that," Lucy said from the other side of the living room. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell Mamá. The 'no presents until after dinner' was always her thing."
    "I don't know what you're talking about. I just got here."
    At forty, Lucy was a stunning woman. Tall and slightly curvier after the kids, she maintained the looks that had gotten him into a number of fights. Being the only brother, he'd felt honor-bound to defend her reputation from the assholes that she had always dated. Lucy had been the wild one of the bunch. Because of her, the rest of them grew up in virtual lockdown. But with age, and finding a real standup guy, Lucy had finally matured.
    "Uncle Peter is the best. Isn't he, Jennifer?" Rose's voice echoed up the stairs, and Peter smiled. Payback was going to be a bitch for her.
    Lucy took the presents from him, frowning, and shook her head in the universal sign of motherly disapproval. They must teach that in the maternity ward or something because Lucy had it down pat. Peter put his jacket in the closet and joined her in the living room. "Where's everyone?"
    "Tom's downstairs, supposedly supervising the kids. Anne and Mary are helping in the kitchen, and Jesse is late as usual."
    "And Meg? I saw her car in the driveway," he added quickly.
    "Megan is in the kitchen, too."
    "I'll just pop in and say hi. Meg left something at my house the other night and I promised her I'd bring it today." While not the smoothest of segues, it was a good enough excuse to head straight to the kitchen without having to make the rounds.
    The small kitchen was about twenty degrees warmer than the rest of the house. The spicy smell of peppers filled his nose, and memories of the hours he'd spent with his mom came rushing back.
    His mom had insisted all her kids would know how to cook. And despite not being nearly as good as his sisters in the kitchen, he could make a few of her classic dishes. Like the chile rellenos Meg was pulling out of the oven.
    The busy sounds of cooking masked his arrival, so he watched, unobserved. She was happily working alongside his family, as though she'd done it all her life. Meg was at home in his mother's kitchen, even though he knew from painful experience she couldn't cook to save her life. Anna said something, and she laughed, the smile lighting up her whole face.
    "Please tell me she didn't make those," Jesse said from behind him.
    Megan swung around, nearly dumping the peppers to the floor. "Crap, you scared me half to death." Transferring the heavy dish to one hand, she pointed at Jesse, ignoring Peter completely. "If I drop this, it will be your fault."
    "Give me that." His mother whipped a towel from her apron and took the hot pan from Meg. "No accidents this year, mamita."
    "I was being careful, Maria," Meg protested.
    Mamá tsked and shook her head. "The kitchen is crowded. Now that Jesse's here, maybe you should leave the rest of the dinner to us. You and Peter can take the food to the table."
    "I drop one plate of food years ago," Meg muttered under her breath and took off her apron. The gaudy Christmas sweater she wore was dotted with a string of lights blinking red and