âTen thousand bucks is a lot of money,â Brian Reilly said and, grabbing his beer, leaned back against the scarred, red Naugahyde bench seat.
âDonât make plans,â his brother Aidan added quickly as he snatched a tortilla chip from the wooden bowl set in the middle of the table. âYou donât get it all, remember.â
âYeah,â Connor added. âYou have us to share it with.â
âAnd me,â Liam said with a smile, âto guide you.â
âDonât I know it.â Brian grinned at his brothers. Liam, the oldest by three years, looked completely at home, sitting in the dimly lit barroom. Not so unusual, unless you took into account the fact that Liam was a priest. But first and foremost, he was a Reilly. And the Reilly brothers were a unit. Now and always.
As the word unit shot through his brain, Brian turned his gaze on the other two men at the table with him. It was like looking into a mirrorâtwice. The Reilly triplets. Aidan, Brian and Connor. Named alphabetically in order of their appearances, the three of them had been standing together since the moment they took their first steps.
Theyâd even joined the Marine Corps together, doing their time in boot camp in stoic solidarity. Theyâd always been there for each otherâto give moral support or a kick in the assâwhichever was required at the time.
Now, they were meeting to celebrate a windfall.
Their great-uncle Patrick, himself the last surviving brother of a set of triplets, had died, and having no other relations, heâd left ten thousand dollars to the Reilly triplets. Now all they had to do was figure out how to split the money.
âI say we split it four ways,â Connor said, shooting Liam a glance. âReillyâsâall for one and one for all.â
Liam grinned. âIâd like to say no thanks,â he admitted. âBut, since the church really needs a new roof, Iâll just say, I like how Connor thinks.â
âTwenty-five hundred wonât buy you a new roof,â Aidan said. âWonât buy much of anything for any of us, really.â
âIâve been thinking about that, too,â Liam said and looked at each of his brothers. âWhy not have a contest? Winner take all?â
Brian felt the zing of competition and knew his brothers felt it, too. Nothing they liked better than competing. Especially against each other. But the quiet smile on Liamâs face warned him that he wasnât going to like what was coming next. Sure, Liam was a priest, but being a Reilly first, made him tricky. âWhat kind of contest?â Brian asked.
Liam smiled. âWorried?â
âHell no,â Aidan put in. âThe day a Reilly backs off a challenge is the day whenââ
ââwhen heâs six feet under,â Connor finished for him. âWhatâve you got in mind, Liam?â
Their older brother smiled again. âYou guys are always talking about commitment and sacrifice, right?â
Brian glanced at his brothers before nodding. âHell yes. Weâre Marines. Weâre all about sacrifice. Commitment.â
âOoh-rah!â Connor and Aidan hooted and highfived each other.
âYeah?â Liam leaned back and shifted his gaze between the three other men at the table. âBut the fact is, you guys know zip about either.â
Aidan and Connor blustered, but it was Brian who shut them up with a wave of his hand. âExcuse me?â
âOh, Iâm willing to acknowledge your military commitment. God knows I spend enough time praying for the three of you.â His gaze drifted from one to the other of the triplets. âBut this is something different. Harder.â
âHarder than going into battle?â Connor took a sip of his beer and leaned back. âPlease.â
âAnything you can come up with, we can take,â Aidan said.
âDamn straight,â Brian added.
âGlad to hear it.â Liam leaned his elbows on the tabletop and gazed from one triplet to the next as he lowered his voice. âBecause thisâll separate the Marines from the boys.â He paused for effect, then said, âNo sex for ninety days.â
Silence dropped down on the table like a rock tossed from heaven.
âCome on,â Connor said, shooting his siblings a look of wild panic.
âNo way. Ninety days?â Aidan looked horrified.