Splat. Tanalei turned her head away from the annoying thing that hit her face. Splat. Her eyes blinked. Splat. She opened her eyes to see the ceiling in the semi-darkness. Why does it look different? She got out of bed to turn on the light when the ceiling caved in and water began pouring onto her bed. She screamed, backing into the wall. The carpet was soaked. She grabbed her phone and headed into the living room. Glancing at the time, she grumbled. If she had to be up at 3:30 in the morning, then other people did too.
"How long until it can be fixed?" Tanalei asked. She and Andrea were staring up at the hole in her ceiling with the building manager.
"A month, two tops," he said.
Tanalei groaned. "I'm not gonna be here that long. Is there another furnished three bedroom apartment that here that we can rent?"
"No, ma'am, I'm sorry. Everything else is under contract."
"Why don't you go live with the boys?" Andrea inquired.
She fixed her friend with a steely gaze. "I wanted three bedrooms for my boys and Curt and Madison or my parents when they come."
"They have a ten bedroom house. There's five of them."
"Along with security."
"They're over the garage."
Tanalei sighed. "The kids are comin' next weekend with Curt and Madison and their kids. Including Jaxon and Nicole."
"Ooh. Sullen teen boy is coming? And fan-girl? Yeah, maybe a hotel is good until then."
"Your family is more than welcome with us, love."
The women whirled at the sound of the voice in the door. Tanalei glared daggers at Andrea. "You called them?" she hissed.
"To help pack."
"Andi!"
"Tanalei!"
"Um, Tanalei?" Liam interrupted. "Are only the clothes yours?"
"We won't mind if you stay with us. Your family is more than welcome," Zayn said.
She sighed. "You've met my boys. I've got three nephews comin' who are sixteen, four and three. The oldest is easily bored and the youngest is not quite out of the whiny stage. And a fourteen-year-old niece who would like nothing more than to kneel in your presence." She glanced pointedly at their crotches.
"Um, yeah. Well. Two of us have younger sisters," Liam said. "Boys will be a nice change."
"Right." Slipping her hands into her hair, she pulled the strands. "Okay. Clean out the cabinets and fridge in the kitchen. Don't forget the cookbook on the counter. My Kindle and laptop are in the livin' room and the movies go too. Me and Andrea will take care of the clothes. Y'all ain't getting' your hands on my underwear." She shook her finger at them.
Harry smirked. "Aww, there goes my fun for the night."
Tanalei narrowed her eyes at him. She strolled up to him until they were toe-to-toe. "If I find out that my panties have been anywhere but my body, the laundry hamper or the washer and dryer, I will cut vital body parts off. Especially if there are mysterious stains on them."
He leaned down till his nose touched hers. "I was kinda hoping you would be in them at the time."
"Get. The fuck. Out. Of. My. Room," she said through gritted teeth.
He stared down into her hazel eyes. At the moment they were a mixture of brown and green. He quickly pecked her lips before sauntering out the door, closing it behind him.
"I'll get you some more batteries tomorrow," Andrea said softly.
"Thank you."
By eight o'clock, Tanalei was situated in one of the second story bedrooms. She had her own bathroom, which was a major plus. The breakfast area faced the pool and spacious back yard; she could see the guys, their tour manager and their bodyguards laying out wood and arguing over a piece of paper. She took a sip of her coffee before succumbing to curiosity.
As she neared them, she could see that there were several pieces of plastic lying off to the side, along with a slide.
"We need to turn it around, lads! Otherwise they'll be ending in the woods!" Niall yelled to be heard over the music and seven other guys.
"What are y'all doin'?" she asked Louis. He looked at her, quickly raking her body with his eyes. He threw an arm over her shoulders.
"Building a swing set. Figured your boys and nephews would enjoy it. Right now they have the slide backwards."
"My kids ain't comin' every weekend."
"Yeah, but my sisters are the week after with Harry's mum, along with Zayn's mum and sisters. The girls would enjoy it."
"Still. It would sit empty all the other times."
"Not really. The swings can hold up to 150 lbs. None of us are over 140 lbs." She looked up at him. He grinned and winked. "We checked."
"Ah." She looked up at the sky. "Lord, forgive them for their stupidity for they know not and please don't let the great Simon Cowell blame me for any injuries that will occur."
"Hey." Louis frowned. "I'll have you know this is not the first swing set that we've been on."
"Yeah. But it's the first one that y'all have built." She patted his front pocket where his phone rested. "Call the professionals. You got this at Lowe's?" He nodded. "They'll come put it together. And I promise I won't take any man points away from any of you. But I will break fingers if any kids get hurt on this. I'm sure your mama will agree with me. I can call and ask her," she stated, looking up at him innocently.
Louis stared at her for a moment. "Why the hell you didn't become a star years ago is beyond me. You're good. Lads! LADS!" Tanalei placed her fingers in her mouth and whistled. "Thank you."
"Welcome."
"Mummy Wolf here will break bones if any kids get hurt on this. I'm calling Lowe's." Seven voices protested. "She's going to call our mums if we don't."
Absolute silence before they all agreed. Her gaze caught Harry's. She smirked then turned and went back into the house.
The guys stared at the dishes on the table. Tanalei was the only one who loaded her plate.
"What is it?" Louis asked. His nose crinkled up.
"Chicken spaghetti. My grandma's recipe." She took a bite of her salad. No one moved. "We decided to share cooking, meaning I cook Southern American food. Eat or you won't get desert."
Niall's head shot up. "You made desert? What is it?"
"Another of my grandma's recipes. Red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. All from scratch."
He took a normal serving size. The other watched as he took a bite. His eyes widened. "That's good."
Soon they were praising Tanalei. Everyone went back for seconds, Niall for thirds. When they took a bite of cake, a chorus of moans rose from the table.
"Sweet Jesus, if you can cook Irish food, I'll marry you," Niall said. Harry and Louis shot him glares, which he ignored.
"I'll get the recipes from your mama."
Tanalei was typing on her laptop. The guys were doing the dishes. Hearing a noise in the doorway, she looked up to see Louis standing there. She pushed her glasses farther up her nose.
"Can I help you?" He shook his head. She went back to typing. From her peripheral, she saw him adjust himself. She paused and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she quickly saved her work and closed the computer. He continued to stand there. "Louis, is there somethin' you want?"
"Definitely. But the lads and I were wondering if you want to watch a film with us?"
She shrugged. "Sure."
As she passed by him, he leaned closer. "I like the glasses."
She frowned. "Thanks?" In the living room, she situated herself on a chair. "What are we watchin'?" All five guys were staring at her.
"Um," Liam looked down at the movie case in his hands. "Last House on the Left."
Her eyebrows rose. "Have you seen it before?" They shook their heads. "Well, it's a little disturbin'. Go ahead and put it in." At the end of the movie, the guys were huddled on the couch. "I warned you."
