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11
June
Four months later
The day dawned perfect. Trees opened his eyes, vowing this was the last time he’d ever wake up in his bed alone.
Today, Laila would finally become his wife.
She’d spent last night at a cozy bed-and-breakfast doing “girl things” with Valeria, Kimber, and Tessa—who had recently returned from her honeymoon—along with Brea Walker and the bosses’ wives, Kata, Tara, and Bailey. Laila had called around eleven last night, seeming very carefree and something he thought he would never hear his bride-to-be sound like—giggly.
Apparently, all the wives had started dishing their best marital advice, some of which had been hysterical. Then Alyssa Traverson had stopped in with a decadent dessert from her restaurant, Bonheur. Delaney Murphy tagged along because she’d needed a break from the testosterone overload at her house, where she and her husband were raising their boys—ages four, two, and nine months. Then she’d announced that the baby she was expecting was another boy. Amid the hearty congratulations and good-natured teasing, Delaney had laughed and swore she felt blessed.
If Trees had his way, he and Laila would have a big family. He’d already made plans to expand the house—and none too soon. They hadn’t told anyone except Valeria, Zy, and Tessa, but Laila was eleven weeks pregnant. Finally, the morning sickness was nearly over. Second trimester hormones had arrived early, and Laila was hungry for him all. The. Time.
Trees was the happiest bastard on the planet.
After a quick roll through his morning routine, he woke Zy on the futon in his home office. Barney loped into the house after his morning kibble and licked Kane awake on the sofa, who came up sputtering.
Holding in his laughter was impossible.
“Bastard,” Kane grumbled, but he was smiling as he petted the big dog.
Then Trees stood at the opening of his guest room and stared at the two people whose presence here surprised him most—his two brothers, Nash and Wade.
Trees hadn’t seen them in over a dozen years. When he’d left home, Nash had been a gawky fourteen, just beginning to grow hair in interesting places and sprout up. Wade had been a rambunctious twelve, still more interested in any sport with a ball than contact with a girl. Now they were grown-ass men—and about his height. It was a novel experience to walk into the room and not be the tallest dude there.
But while last night’s bachelor party of music, whiskey, poker, and horribly inappropriate jokes had been great, it was the deepening relationships—the roots—that made Trees happiest of all. He had family now. Real family, defined not only by blood but by loyalty, respect, and honor. That, along with Laila’s love, had mended the hole he’d carried in his heart since leaving home at eighteen. Not only were he and Zy closer than ever, but his circle was expanding. Kane was rapidly becoming both a friend he enjoyed and a peer he relied on. And having the contact with his biological brothers he firmly believed would go beyond this weekend was the cherry on top. And that wasn’t all…
“Up and at ’em, boys,” he called to his brothers.
They both jackknifed out of bed in their boxers, looking sleep-deprived and hung over.
“Holy fuck.” Nash gave a bleary-eyed glance at the first stirrings of sunrise out the window. “What time is it?”
“Oh-dark-thirty.” Wade winced. “My goddamn head…”
Trees just grinned. “What time did you boys finally turn in?”
They looked at each other, then Nash shook his head. “No comment. But we’ll try to keep the bitching to a minimum since it’s your big day.”
“Much appreciated.” Trees winked. “So who spent the night with the stripper?”
Everyone had pitched in to send him female entertainment. Trees hadn’t been interested in the blonde with fake assets. His very single brothers, on the other hand…
They exchanged another glance. “No comment.”
He held in a laugh. If they’d tag-teamed her, he didn’t want to know. “You’re picking up the folks at noon?”
“We’ll be at the church no later than twelve thirty,” Nash promised. “Kellyanne and Wren flew in last night, too, so we’ll bring them along.”
Trees was really looking forward to seeing two of his sisters. In fact, his whole family had been thrilled when he’d reached out with the news of his engagement. And so welcoming. Though his other three sisters—Audrey, Lydia, and Daisy—were unable to attend the wedding due to jobs or family obligations, they had sent their well wishes and love.
When his parents had arrived, their reunion had thankfully been more sweet than bitter. They were in a different phase of life now and had apologized for their shortcomings decades ago. Their words and assurances—along with Laila’s devotion—had gone a long way to assuring him that he was wanted and loved. Forgiving his parents had been easy. Becoming a family again had been even easier. And his parents absolutely adored Laila.
His whole life was coming together. Now the day just had to hurry up so the most incredible, brave, clever, beautiful woman he knew would finally be his wife.
A text alerted him that he had company at the outer perimeter of his security. He pressed a few buttons to let Matt in, then met him at the door.
“Hey.” Trees stuck out his hand. “Welcome back.”
Matt shook it, pulled him in for a bro hug, then handed him a box of donuts. “Whew. I wasn’t sure I’d make it back to town in one piece.”
“Since when is a tech conference dangerous? Something go down in New Orleans?”
“Not like you’re thinking, but every time the client turned his back, his just-turned-forty-and-so-fucking-horny wife jumped me. Dodging her wasn’t fun.”
Trees laughed. “Used your evasive maneuvers, huh?”
“I had to. Jesus, the number of times she grabbed my junk in the car…” He sighed. “I need to get laid. I’ve batted a huge zero in this town since I rolled in.”
Mostly because he hadn’t had time to troll the bars, Trees suspected. Matt was a good-looking SOB. The quiet cowboy thing would get a lot of female attention—as soon as he wasn’t working all the damn time. “Well, weddings are a target-rich environment, my friend. You never know.” Then he realized exactly who Matt needed to meet. “Remind me to introduce you to Madison.”
“The girl Tessa offered to introduce me to after she turned me down?” Matt didn’t look thrilled.
“Madison is cute and really sweet.”
“No, thanks. I’m not up for a pity date, man.”
Trees thought Matt was missing out, but he just shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
All the men congregated in the kitchen. The remnants of last night’s cigar-and-booze fest had been cleared away. They all chowed down on coffee and donuts and some bacon that Kane and Zy nuked. His brothers opted for java with an ibuprofen chaser. Then after showers all around, they were off to the church, tuxedos in protective bags.
