Page 19 of The Romance Adventure

“Oh, so you have time for our sister, but not for your brothers?”

“Last I checked, things were cool between us,” I say.

“Cool like we’re chill or cool like the icy wind of war blows from the north?” Ryan asks.

I give my head a shake. “The latter.”

“That’s the problem. You haven’t checked,” Magnus says, arms across his chest. “It’s like you forgot you have three brothers and a sister.”

“And you have checked in?”

They don’t reply because it’s easiest to pick a fight with me. They know I’ll come back swinging, and if not that, leave them to stew in stony silence.

“Wait. Where’s CJ?” Ryan asks as if just now remembering there are four McGregor brothers.

“Probably lazing on the beach somewhere.”

“Getting up to no good,” Magnus adds.

“Last I heard, he was kicked out of Tortuga.”

“You’re thinking of Captain Jack Sparrow,” Magnus says.

“May as well be the same,” I mutter.

Ryan cocks an eyebrow. “Minus the general drunkenness and dreads. Looks-wise, CJ is the opposite of the fictional captain of the Black Pearl.”

“But he’s no stranger to pirates. And he’s late, as usual.” Though CJ would argue that we’re extra early because nothing exciting happens until he’s present and accounted for.

“The party doesn’t start for another half hour,” Magnus corrects.

Stretching my legs out long and taking the last sip of my coffee, I say, “Strange to have a birthday party in the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday.”

“Chip is a unique man. A big personality but mysterious. He’d have you watching his right hand, meanwhile, his left hand was doing all the work.”

Ryan leans in. “Mag, you’re the oldest, maybe you know the answer to this question. I’ve always wondered, why do we call our grandfather Chip and not Grandpa or the Brazilian Portuguese word for it?”

“You mean Avô?” Magnus asks.

“Like avocado,” Ryan says, licking his lips.

I roll my eyes. Our mother only spoke Brazilian Portuguese to us, and it’s all faint in my mind, but that word is new to me because I too always called our grandfather Chip.

“Some say he got the name from traders who used to come through here⁠—”

“You mean pirates?” I snort because I wouldn’t be surprised if the old man was involved in shady dealings.

“Just how old do you think he is?” Ryan asks.

I shrug. “He’s been old my entire life.”

Magnus raps me on the back of the head. “Respect.”

I wince and stand at attention because, although I can hold my own, I don’t want to get in a tangle with Magnus, even if he’s approaching his forties.

“I’ve also heard Chip was a nickname from his days in the Brazilian military.”

“So, he played for the good guys, then switched to the bad guys?” I ask.