Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Anya didn't hesitate. "No way. I'm free tomorrow morning, and I actually like sleeping with the baby."

Mia grinned. "Just let Anya crash with me tonight. She's always stuck at home with Leo breathing down her neck, barely gets to snuggle her own kids. Let her cut loose for once! Besides, you've got work in the morning-get some proper rest."

Molly yawned as she pushed open the door to her chosen bedroom. "Night, everyone."

Aimee scooped her son into her arms and headed for her room, but Mia called after her, "Hey, don't even think about giving the kids a bath! Every time you do, they get all riled up and won't sleep."

Molly just rolled her eyes. "I can barely drag myself to the shower, let alone bother with Wayne's."

Aimee laughed. "Exactly! So he smells a little-it's my own kid, I'll live."

Annie smiled. "Alright, goodnight, everyone."

The living room was a mess-half-finished board games, a trash bin stuffed with skewers, and beer bottles scattered across the floor. They'd bought a whole case

of beer, but honestly, it just looked impressive; nobody drank much.

One by one, they crashed for the night, slipping into sleep.

It was late, at the Cedillo house.

Two men bumped into each other in the kitchen while grabbing water.

"Andre, you're still up?"

Andre didn't look the least bit tired. "Yeah. It's weird with all the kids 'missing'—I can't sleep."

Officer Chad took a sip from his glass. "I got the team to

check-nobody checked into any hotels. Molly's not exactly a

mastermind, and Ms. Aimenet

just a guest, doesn't really know her way around. So, I'm guessing. He trailed off, already pretty sure it was Andre's clever wife behind it all.noveldrama

Andre leaned on the counter, Andre leaned on

frowning. "Where did Mia take

everyone, anyway?" Mia was way

sharper than Molly, plus she wanet

friends with Aimee and had lived in Havenbrook her whole life. She probably knew every back alley in town.

Chad added, "By the way, Andre-your dad didn't come home tonight, either."

Andre: "..." So busy tracking the kids, he'd completely forgotten about the family's biggest troublemaker!

Andre called his father. The phone rang several times. Hansen glanced at the caller ID, immediately muted the music in the KTV lounge, and tossed his phone aside. “Shh, pretend we're asleep. Didn't hear a thing."

For the first time ever, the Havenbrook karaoke bar was hosting a wild bunch-the average age was seventy-five. They'd booked the biggest, fanciest room in the place.

Their ringleader strutted in with a

cane, full of swagger. "My kids keep telling me bars aren't for us oldies But if you want to party, KTV is. where it's at! This is what young people do for fun these days right? Anyone here tried it before? No? Great-I'll lead the way." Hansen marched ahead, cane clicking, looking like he owned the place.

Nearly ten seniors shuffled in, totally clueless about the high-tech karaoke system. They gathered around, poking at the controls, trying to figure it all out.

A server walked in, genuinely surprised. “Uh, sir, want me to show you how this works?"

Hansen waved him over. "Come on, we're not that helpless. We used to run companies, top Forbes lists, boss people around you think we can't handle a karaoke machine? Just show us once, we'll get it."

The server thought he was just bragging, but kept it friendly and walked them through the basics.

Two hours later, they had it down-some even figured out how to queue songs from their phones.

Hansen pulled out his phone. "Hey, kid, come hook this up for me. Grandpa's picking his own playlist tonight!"