“Mum, everything is a disaster!” Eden screeches into the phone. I pull it away from my ear to quell the ringing. “Mummy, are you there? I think we should call Grandma and ask her to come out here until you’re home. Daddy is telling me he’s going to show Dane his gun collection.”

Remember that vacation Jimmy said I needed so badly and I didn’t want to take? This is why—they fight and he does something to piss Eden off. She in turn has a teenage drama fit, which just makes the situation worse, like now.

“Eden, your father doesn’t own a gun, let alone have a collection of them,” I tell her as I toss my head back in frustration. One week. They only had to find common ground for one week.

“He says he does, along with Uncle Liam and Harrison. He said he’s calling in the Arsenal. I don’t even know what gang that is!”

And that right there is the drawback of living in California. She thinks a football team is a gang. “Oh Eden, Arsenal are a football team that play in England. You and your dad went to some games one time when you were visiting your nana.”

“Oh,” she says, her once crazy, high-pitched voice is now back to normal.

“Here’s the thing, Little One. Your father doesn’t like the fact that you’re growing up, okay? He’s having a hard time with his baby girl not needing him, and the boy thing—every parent goes through this. Your Aunt Josie did the same with the girls that came around to date Noah, and I can bet you that Uncle Liam is about to go through this with Betty Paige.”

“But it’s not fair. I don’t understand why he wants to harm Dane?”

“He doesn’t, Eden. He wants to scare him. He wants that boy to know that if he hurts you, makes you cry, harms a single hair on your head, he will pay for it. Every dad who loves his little girl does this. It’s a part of life.”

“But, Mum…”

“No buts, and I’m not calling Grandma to come save you. You and your father need to learn how to coexist when I’m not there. Where is your dad?”

“Downstairs,” she says, completely defeated.

“Let me talk to him.”

“Um… he doesn’t know I called you.”

“Well, he will now. Put him on.”

I hear her say, “Ugh!” but she has the phone pulled away so I can’t really chastise her for her behavior.

“Sweet Lips?”

“Hey,” I say with a sigh. It’s so good to hear his voice. I would’ve felt the same about Eden calling if she didn’t start off with an instant rant about her father.

“Why are you calling? You’re supposed to be getting a tan, getting drunk, and flirting with every single man out there.”

“Just the single men?” I ask.

“Well, yeah. I don’t want any missus drama from some bloke’s wifey.” He laughs so hard that he starts choking.

“Jimmy… I can’t even with you sometimes.”

“But you love me.”

“That I do, which is why we’re talking. Please stop with the gun talk. You know I don’t like it and Eden thinks Arsenal are some gang in California that are coming to shoot Dane.”

“Good. It’s better that way.”

“Maybe it is, but not when I’m thousands of miles away and can’t run interference. Be good to her, Jimmy. She’s our baby.”

“That’s my point. This bloke is sniffing around and getting all hands-on with her, touching her on her back during her surf lessons. I don’t like him, Jenna.”

“Well, my father didn’t like you much to start with either, remember?” When my father found out I was pregnant and married to Jimmy, he tried to buy him off, thinking that it would just be better for him to go away. I almost stopped speaking to my father after that. He never took my feelings into consideration. Granted, my earlier relationship didn’t exactly work out the best and he was trying to protect me.

“You’re hurting my pride, Sweet Lips. How am I supposed to be the man of the house if I can’t make it known I’m the man of the house, when we have this guy sniffing around our baby girl? He needs to know his boundaries.”

“You will be able to, if they start dating, but until that happens, let them flirt, Jimmy. They’re never alone so there’s no harm.”

He sighs and I know from experience that he’s running his hand through his hair. “All right, all right. You’re right, wifey.”

“I love you,” I tell him. “I miss you like crazy.”

“Just so you know, we’re shagging in the car when you land. Be prepared.”

“As if I would expect anything less.”

We hang up shortly after that with him promising to make things better between Eden and him. I know he means well, but he still harbors a lot of resentment toward his father and doesn’t know how to always act around Eden. Still, I want him to be a diligent father because the last thing I want is for her to end up in trouble.

I come out of my room to find Katelyn on the balcony talking on the phone. A quick search and I find Josie talking to Liam in her room. Who comes to paradise and spends most of the morning in their room? The wives of 4225 West, that’s who. We’re homesick, we get it, but damn we needed the time away. It’s good for the men to be the moms for a bit. Lord knows we do the dad part more often than not.

Not that I nor Katelyn nor Josie blame the guys for not being home. We knew that going in; well, at least Katelyn and I did. Josie, on the other hand, was thrown into it, sink or swim. For the most part, she’s held her head above water easily, except for the bullshit that Sam put her through with her from the grave journal.

For a while, Jimmy and I thought that Liam and Josie were going to split. Not that I shared my concerns with Josie. I don’t know about Jimmy though. He lacks a filter sometimes and blurts out the most obscene things at the most inopportune time. But, Josie stood by her man, despite stupid tabloid rumors of another child and the diary from hell being published.

I know that someday, I’ll be in her shoes. I’m waiting for Chelsea to publish her tell-all or for some random fan to hack into Jimmy’s Twitter feed and exploit the gaggle of tweets he still gets to this day. Some just don’t care that he’s married and has a daughter. And maybe I get it. Celebrity crushes and all, but some of the tweets are downright crude and unacceptable.

As we make our way through the lobby, the staff members greet us. They’re a bit loud and boisterous with their cheery hellos, drawing attention from the others who linger. We smile and continue on our way and into the lounge where we’ve requested Noah’s game, along with the one Peyton is working at, be broadcast.

When we enter, the bartender changes it from soccer, aka football, to American football, causing the patrons to groan. The bartender shrugs and points to us, which doesn’t make the situation any better. Three women needing to watch a sporting event is one of two things, either the highlight of a man’s day, or the bane of his existence.

Aside from Noah’s games, Jimmy spends most of his time watching rugby or surfing competitions with Eden. Recently, he’s been watching American Ninja Warrior with hopes of trying out. My skinny British man who still suffers the effects from being shot wants to try out for the show. He’s taken his quest to Xander, who has been trying to implement the routines into his gym. I wish my husband the best of luck.

Noah’s face is shown on the big screen and Josie lights up. “That’s my boy,” she screams loudly. This, of course, gets everyone’s attention, especially the men. A few come over to us and take the extra chairs surrounding our table. Only they don’t talk to us, they turn and face the big screen. Katelyn and I make faces at them and each other, wondering what the hell they’re doing.

“Does he look skinny to you?” Josie asks, her voice full of worry. Her head tilts side to side as she tries to take in every aspect of Noah’s face while he’s interviewed.

“He’s on TV, you can’t really tell,” Katelyn says.

“She’s not feeding him. All they do is eat out. I bet he hasn’t had a home-cooked meal since the last time he was home.”

“He’s fine, Josie. Noah knows how to take care of himself,” I say, but she shakes her head.

“Do you know that kid?” one of the men in front asks. I’m ready to ignore him and his friend for their rude behavior, but Josie isn’t.

“That’s my son,” she says proudly.

“Wait, so you’re the wife of that Liam guy my wife is constantly raving about?”

Josie nods, but her eyes are completely focused on the television screen. I glance at Katelyn who eyes them suspiciously. I’ve been around the industry long enough to know when something doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t.

He finally turns around, but not before I see him pull out his cell phone. I let out a huge aggravated sigh. I’m irritated they’ve invited themselves to sit with us and our security guard isn’t around to remove them. Maybe he’s watching these guys and waiting for any sign of trouble. Of course, if we knew his name or had his number, we could text him and tell him to come and remove these two buffoons.

Josie’s lost in her own little world with the Portland Pioneers on the field that she doesn’t even notice the group of women that walk in, followed by a few more husbands. Before either Katelyn or I can say anything, they’ve surrounded themselves at our table, pulling every available chair over they can find.

I open my mouth to say something just as one of the women scoots in next to me and snaps a picture of us.

“Oh no, this one isn’t any good. Let’s do it again,” she says. Unfortunately, I oblige because the last thing I want is for the guys to receive any bad press. “You’re so lucky.”

“Is that so?” I ask, taking a long drink off my cocktail. I signal to the bartender that I need another. It’s going to be a long-ass day if I must be super nice.

“Jimmy’s so hot.”

Of course, that’s why I’m lucky. Not because he’s an amazing man but because he’s hot. I should tell her he’s excellent in bed and has a big dick to curb any notions she might have about asking me the finer details of my marriage.

I nod in agreement. “Thanks.”

“RUN!” Josie scares the shit out of me when she yells at the television. I turn my attention there to see Noah running down the center of the field with many guys chasing after him. He slides before he can get tackled.

“Oh. My. God. You’re Liam Page’s wife. Like, holy shit,” another woman says. “We love the Pioneers and Noah. We root for him all the time.”

“Thanks,” Josie says without making eye contact with them.

I look at Katelyn, who rolls her eyes. We have a decision to make. Do we let them stay and hang out, and give them the glory? For any fan, going back to your friends with the story that you hung out with the wives of 4225 West is something that can make a trip memorable.

But at who’s expense? Not Josie’s—she’s focused on Noah, and it won’t be Katelyn because she’ll be watching the Bears game for any sign of Peyton. So, it comes down to me. I down the rest of my drink and make a mental note to tell Liam his bodyguard sucks because the Chatty Kathy next to me won’t shut up about how great he is.

Man, if they only knew.