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“Now don’t you go and make me cry at this happy occasion,” Sherman told her, a suspicious sparkle in his eyes.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Chloe told him. She wiped a tear from her own cheek before turning to gaze at Dakota. Her eyes widened, and then her grin grew.
“Where have you been?” she asked, and Dakota found herself squirming on her feet. She didn’t like being the one under the lens of the . . . telescope. She’d much rather be the one looking through the magnifying lens.
“Not that it’s a national secret or anything, but I was lending a hand to your new brother-in-law,” she said. She found herself unable to keep looking into Chloe’s eyes.
Her best friend laughed, which immediately drew Nick to her side. He wrapped an arm around her, and then Dakota had four sets of knowing eyes on her. She put her trademark smile on her lips and faced them all with her shoulders squared.
“I’m sure Ace was mighty pleased to have a helping . . . hand from you,” Nick said with a pause and a laugh.
Dakota sent him a warning look. “I took you down once, Nick Armstrong. Don’t think I won’t do it again, even on your wedding day,” Dakota threatened.
Nick held up his hands and laughed. “You are scary, woman. You win,” he said. Chloe couldn’t stop grinning.
“What would a wedding be without some family drama?” Chloe asked. “And I just have to point out how much I love saying the word family.” She choked up at the end of her sentence, and Dakota admired how Nick pulled her closer to him and kissed her cheeks as his eyes sparkled.
“We are so blessed to have you with us,” he assured his new wife. Then he turned to Dakota. “And you are just as much a part of us now.”
Dakota moved forward and hugged Nick. “I love all of you,” she told him.
“What’s going on here?” The entire group turned as Ace approached. He had a cautious look in his eyes, which intensified when he found himself the target of their gazes.
“We’re just having some sentimental moments,” Sherman told his nephew. He stepped right up to him and slung an arm around Ace’s wide shoulders. Ace seemed uncomfortable for a moment, but then he forced himself to relax. Dakota didn’t miss a moment of it, and his reaction only stiffened her resolve to learn about this man.
“Sentimental moments are for fools or those who can’t stand the reality they live in,” Ace said.
Joseph looked at him as if he were insane. “Now that’s just not the right kind of attitude to have, boy,” Joseph told him.
Ace knew better than to argue, so he just shrugged his shoulders. Dakota didn’t miss how he stepped closer to her. He was already leaning on her, whether he knew that or not. She’d have to be careful to be there for him without it leading to more than what it was. She wasn’t sure how not to cross that line—not with this man.
“Did you know Dakota is going to be taking flying lessons as she embarks on her new career?” Sherman asked, changing the subject. The man obviously knew his nephew was uncomfortable, and he was trying to steer the conversation in a new direction.
“Yes, I can’t wait,” Dakota said with honesty. “All of my brothers fly, and they have a total god complex because of it, so I’m determined to not only become a pilot but to be better than all of them,” she said.
Nick laughed. “You go, squirt,” he said.
“Oh, Nick, don’t you mock me or my dreams,” she told him.
“I’m not mocking you,” he assured her. “Flying just isn’t as easy as you might think it is.”
“The best things in life are the hardest to learn and require the most endurance to achieve. The harder it is to fly, the more I’m going to enjoy it,” she told him.
“The problem is that the pilot I had all set up to train her broke his leg,” Sherman said.
“You have a replacement, don’t you?” Dakota asked. She had been excited about this for a while, and th
ere was no way she was letting go of this dream of hers.
“Well, since you brought that up,” Sherman said with a grin before he looked at Ace. Dakota caught on really quickly to what was happening, and she wasn’t sure she liked the direction of his thoughts.
She definitely felt drawn to Ace, but that didn’t mean she wanted him invading every aspect of her life. The flying thing was something just for her. But she couldn’t say that with all eyes on her and Ace.
“What?” Ace asked, looking confused.
“You still have your instructor’s license, don’t you?” Sherman asked.
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” Ace said.
