Page 1 of All Hale the Queen

Chapter 1

Ophelia

“Mooom, cut it out.”

I continue swiping at my oldest son’s beard with my napkin. “You have a couple crumbs, honey.” He closes his eyes and blows out a long sigh, though he sits still and lets me work. “There you go. All better. I do like you with a beard, Remington. Doesn’t your brother look handsome?” I ask his brothers, who, at thirty-four, are two years younger than him. Helix and Phoenix are twins and the duo is responsible for most of the gray hair in my short wavy bob.

“He’s positively dreeeamy,” Phoenix croons, clasping his hands beneath his chin.

Helix, fans his face with one hand and affects a feminine southern drawl as he pretends to swoon in his seat. “He’s so handsome I think I’m getting the vapors. Phoenix, get the smelling salts.”

Phoenix grabs a packet of Splenda and waves it beneath his twin’s nose.

Remi turns his brown eyes, a replica of my own, toward me and shakes his head. “Now I see why some animals eat their young.”

I can’t hold back my burst of laughter. I’m just so damn happy to have all my sons back in Houston now that Remi has returned from London to take over as CEO of Hale Cosmetics. My smile feels like it’s permanently etched on my face.

“I carried those two for almost nine months. No way was I going to eat them after finally getting them out.”

My youngest sons are still acting out their dramatic scene with Phoenix now waving his baby-blue napkin in front of Helix’s face like a fan. In the middle of a classy French restaurant. My stars, it’s always an adventure with these two, but I love it.

Remi shakes his head and shoots me a flat look. “You could have dropped them off at a fire station. No one would have blamed you, Mom.”

“And missed out on all this fun?” When Phoenix picks up his glass with a wicked glint in his eye, I decide I don’t want to know what his plan is for that water. “Boys!” I snap in my bestcut the shitmom voice, and they immediately cease their antics, both of them chuckling as they straighten up.

“Sorry, Mom,” Phoenix says, placing his napkin back on his lap.

“I swear, sometimes I think you two are toddlers and not grown men,” I lament, shaking my head and trying to hide my amusement, which I pretty much fail at because my lips are twitching.

Helix chucks Remington on the arm. “Just kidding, Rem. You’re the best looking bastard to ever walk this earth.”

“All my boys are incredibly handsome and accomplished,” I say fondly, looking around the table at the loves of my life. Where Remi has brown eyes, his brothers have the same blue irises as their father. All of them have dark hair and are muchtaller than me. In fact, they all outgrew me by the time they reached junior high school.

Phoenix, in a rare moment of seriousness, smiles at his older brother. “We’re really glad you’re back, Remi. You’re going to be an amazing CEO.”

“Here, here,” I cheer, lifting my wine glass. We all clink and take a sip. “How has your first day been so far?” I ask as the server begins setting our food in front of us.

“It’s been fine,” Remi replies, slicing into his chicken roulade to reveal spiraling layers of chicken, goat cheese, and spinach. “It’s basically the same job I’ve been doing running the European division, except on a worldwide scale.”

He says that so nonchalantly, like running an international, billion dollar cosmetics empire is no big deal. All three of my sons are brilliant, as are Helix and Phoenix’s spouses.

Helix and his wife, Nicolette, are both PhDs and are co-directors of the Hale laboratories. They are based out of Houston, but they also oversee every Hale lab in the world.

Phoenix is the marketing director, which fits his personality and strengths perfectly. His wife, Jordie, is a football mega-superstar in the WNFL.

I only wish my oldest son had someone to share his life with as well. Keeping my tone casual as I spear a bite of my lunch—herb-roasted chicken over a bed of mixed greens and topped with a velvety champagne cream dressing—I ask, “Any special woman in your life, Remington?”

He pauses with his fork halfway to his mouth and scowls before shooting a warning glare at the twins. Then he shakes his head as he opens his mouth and eats the chicken.

Helix and Phoenix have matching smirks on their faces that make me think I’ve missed something. Is there a lady in Remi’s life? God, I hope so. He’s been such a loner for years, but he’s also very private, so I don’t press.

Instead, I turn to Phoenix. “Do you think Reece would like to take a little road trip with me for Spring Break? I hear there’s an amazing drive-through safari up near Dallas.”

He chuckles. “It’s only September, Mom, but yes. I think she would love that. I’ll talk to Jordie to make sure she doesn’t already have plans.”

“I know with your busy schedules, you have to plan things way in advance, so I wanted to call dibs before someone else does,” I say with a laugh. Phoenix’s daughter, Reece, is almost seven years old and currently my only grandchild. I adore her with my whole heart. Jordie isn’t her biological mother, but she adopted her right after she and Phoenix got married earlier this year. They make a beautiful family.

Thinking of my upcoming second grandbaby, I turn my attention to Helix. “How is Nicolette feeling? Everything going okay with her pregnancy?”