Page 83 of To Hold and Protect

“When you gonna tell Willow this house is hers?” Kade asked.

“Tonight.” He tore his gaze away from Willow in a bikini and grinned at seeing that Kade’s eyes were glued to Harper, also in a bikini. He glanced at Tristan, and his grin grew. Tristan’s attention was on his bikini-clad almost-wife.

He and his brothers were kicked back on the deck with a beer and munching on the snacks the chef he’d hired for the week had brought out for them. The women and Everly were having a blast playing in the water. They’d given up on trying to build a sandcastle since the dogs thought their job was to tear it down as soon as a castle wall went up. Even somber Ember was letting loose and finding her inner puppy.

They’d talked about a destination wedding, but he, Tristan, and Skylar couldn’t all be gone at the same time for two weeks, and he hadn’t been agreeable to going to some other country for less than two weeks. So, they’d created their own wedding venue, and as far as he was concerned, this beat any destination wedding they could have had.

“Yo, cuddle bunny,” Kade yelled when Harper bent over to pick up a shell. “Looking good there.”

She looked between her legs and stuck her tongue out.

Kade laughed. “That woman gets me all hot and bothered without even trying.”

“I think we could all say the same about our lady,” Tristan said. “I’m thinking Skylar needs a nap so she’s not too tired to get married.”

Parker snorted. “Nap? Is that what we’re calling it these days?” Although he’d love anap.He’d have to get Everly to take an actual nap, though, which she’d fight.

“It occurs to me that you and Willow will have the beach house, and Kade and Harper have the lake cabin,” Tristan said. “Skylar and I need a special place.”

Parker pointed a thumb behind him at the house. “You know you can come here anytime you want to.” Tristan and Skylar had sold their downtown loft and had moved into Willow’s house because they wanted to be closer to the rest of the family. It was almost like having a family compound now, and Parker loved the idea of that.

“I do, and we will, and I appreciate it, but the more I think about it, the more I want something special that’s ours.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe a place in the mountains around Asheville. Something on a good-sized, fast-moving creek.”

“Do it,” Kade said. “Then we’ll have three great places to go. The beach, the lake, and the mountains.”

Parker thought back to their early years after their mother had dumped them on her sister’s doorstep with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, and then had disappeared from their lives. They’d each dealt with her abandonment in different ways, and they’d come a long way since then, had become men they could be proud of. And now, each of them had found a woman who made them want to be even better men.

Life was good.

After an early chef-prepared dinner, Parker was back on the porch with his brothers. The girls had kicked them out of the house so they could dress. They’d chosen early November for the triple wedding since Florida started cooling down around that time and they wouldn’t have sweat dripping down their faces as they got married.

He and his brothers were a colorful bunch. The girls had bought shirts for each of them, lavender for Kade, pale blue for Tristan, and pink for him. They’d refused to let the guys see their dresses, but Parker guessed that the shirts matched their respective bride’s dress. They each had been told to wear white pants and no shoes, and Parker loved the idea of getting married barefooted.

Kade looked down at his shirt. “I’m having trouble computing that I’m wearing a lavender shirt and drinking brandy out of an actual snifter. I’ve never in my life worn anything lavender.”

“Lavender’s definitely your color, brother,” Parker teased. “Shows off your eyes.”

“Fuck off.”

Parker laughed as he glanced at Tristan. “Kade said a bad word, and he’s being mean to me. Make him stop.”

“I keep hoping the two of you will grow up someday,” Tristan said.

Kade snorted. “Where’s the fun in doing that?”

“A toast.” Parker held up his snifter. “To putting the past where it belongs. To a future that’s better than any one of us thought to dream. To the beautiful women who love us, although I’m not sure why.”

“Speak for yourself. Mine loves me because of my big—”

Parker saw that mischievous glint in Kade’s eyes the second that Tristan did, and he laughed when Tristan slapped his hand over Kade’s mouth.

“Don’t finish that,” Tristan said.

Kade pushed Tristan’s hand away. “I was going to say my big heart.”

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