Page 84 of Summer Love

I also wanted to be proud of my work while preserving the Kingston name. I didn't think Jonathan would want his sons to be part of a media frenzy over which one was the most dateable.

Kinsley approached us with a clipboard held tight to her chest. "Dalton is ready to talk to you. But he wants to keep his private life out of the story."

"Is he the one who got a girl pregnant?" Valerie asked.

I let out a breath slowly. "I think that's something they're trying to figure out."

"Everyone wants to know the story behind it. See what you can find out," Valerie said to me, and I grabbed Kinsley's elbow, steering her toward the tent.

"What are you going to do? Valerie seems like she wants a much more salacious article than you were planning." Kinsley's face was lined with concern.

"I don't know. I want to keep it as classy as I can."

We maneuvered around various staff members to get to Dalton, who sat in a chair, getting his face brushed with foundation. He wore a short-sleeve white button–down, open so that his chest was visible, and black board shorts.

"Is this really necessary?" Dalton asked, trying to scowl.

"You want to look pretty, don't you?" the woman asked him, her voice dancing with amusement.

He grumbled but let her do her thing.

A few seconds later, she stepped back. "Gorgeous. Now don't move, or I'll have to fix it again." Then to me, she said, "He's all yours."

"I wanted to ask you a few questions for the article. Do you mind if I do it now?" It was easy since the brothers were all in one place and weren't distracted with anything else.

Dalton sighed heavily. "I already told Kins I didn't want to talk about my baby-mama drama."

I held my clipboard to my chest. "I won't ask you about that. It's personal. But I'd like the readers to learn what separates you from your brothers."

He nodded, relaxing slightly. "We can be separated into three sets. Brady and I are the youngest; Marshall and Hudson are the oldest and most responsible. Then there's the middle ones, Cooper and Shepard, who spent their lives vying for any attention they could get."

I set my notebook on a makeup cart. "What made you and Brady different then?"

"We were quieter, taking it all in. There was always so much chaos in the house that we tended to get looked over." His brow furrowed. "I didn't mean it like that. I don't want to make it seem like my parents weren't great, because they are. We were never neglected. It was just that by the time it came to us, parenting wasn't as strict, but at the same time, we were learning from our older brothers. They were tasked with keeping an eye on us, or not. And we became very independent, getting our own snacks and looking out for each other."

"Your brothers were supposed to watch out for you?" I asked, curious about their dynamic.

"Hudson and Marshall were good at that, but they were older by then, busy with sports, and they were already shadowing Dad at work. So it was Shep and Coop who were supposed to look after us, and they weren't great at it. They were too busy pulling pranks and getting into trouble."

"You and Brady are close," I observed.

"He's the one I go to if I need something."

"You'd turn to him over help with your girlfriend, not Hudson." I was asking more for my own edification then the magazine's.

"I'm not saying I wouldn't talk to Hudson, but Brady is the one that I spend the most time with. It's more natural to go to him."

I tucked that tidbit away for later. "Any hobbies or volunteer work that is different from your brothers?"

"I do woodworking on the side when I have time. Although I think that's going to fall to the wayside now that I'm going to be a dad."

I wasn’t supposed to ask about his personal life but he’d brought it up. "That's a huge responsibility, a big change. Are you worried it will affect your work with Kingston Construction?"

" My family will do everything they can to help me. I don't have any doubt about that."

"I bet your parents will be thrilled to have their first grandchild,” I said with a smile.

For the first time since we'd started talking, Dalton grinned. "I didn't plan for this to happen this way, but I can't say I'm not happy about it. And I'm positive my parents will be too."

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