by BJ Harvey
“I do like this place. It has a real homely feel about it.”
“Yeah. It’s really coming together better than any of us ever imagined. And that’s all because of you.”
Having Bry confess his biggest fear to me has reaffirmed my own need to prove to him once and for all that I’m here to stay, for now, and for always. He says he knows I’m not going anywhere—and I believe him—but I want to swing that wrecking ball. He went to such extraordinary lengths to show me he still wanted what we had, and I owe it to both of us, and our future, to return the favor.
Go big or go home, Dad used to say.
If I can pull this off, Bryant is not gonna know what hit him. What he will know, without a shadow of a doubt, is just how much I love him.
“So…” I say, reaching between us to wrap my fingers around his slowly hardening cock. His eyes flare, his fingertips flexing against my ass when I run my fist down to the base and back up again. “It would be a shame to waste the bath, especially since we can’t be interrupted. We can pretend it’s our wedding night and reenact how it could’ve been—”
He growls and lifts his head, meshing his lips with mine and cutting me off. Moving his hips, he rocks me back and forth with his hands on my ass as we set about christening the bathroom.
I mean, when the opportunity presents itself, make sure you take advantage of your naked and wet husband.
When Bryant is the husband in question, it’s not a hardship.
And christening the house over the following two weeks definitely isn’t a sacrifice either.
23
Faith
“Would you like to do the honors, Faith?” Jamie says, appearing in front of me and holding out a light bulb. Ezra and Cohen stand beside him.
“Huh?” I stare at him like he’s grown two heads.
Bryant chuckles and gives my waist a squeeze. “Babycakes, at the end of each flip, someone screws in the last light bulb. Then we eat and drink and celebrate. It’s a tradition.”
“Oh,” I reply. I look back to Jamie. “But why me? Shouldn’t Bry get to do it?”
“How many biologists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” Cohen asks.
“How many, Co?” Jax asks, joining us.
“Nobody knows because Bry and Faith can’t decide who’s going to do it,” he says.
I snort while the rest of them chuckle.
“So Co,” Jamie says, looking around the group before returning his eyes to the youngest Cook. “We’ve got a proposition for you.”
Baby Cook’s brows bunch together. “Yes…”
“Our offer on the three-flat property has been accepted. The owner called me yesterday.”
“Okay. You know I can’t take a break like twin one, and twin two did. Maybe in a few years but not right now,” Cohen explains.
“Yeah, we know. But you’ve been grumbling about living with the parents for a while now, and we were all thinking that you could live in one of the flats while we all work on it together. It wouldn’t affect your job, but it would give us someone on-site,” Jamie explains. “One tenant has already moved out, so that gives us a place to start. The other tenant has yet to give an indication either way as to whether she’ll stay and we renovate around her, or if she’d like to leave.”
“Okay. So where is it?” Cohen asks.
When Jamie rattles off the address Cohen’s eyes go wide as saucers before he shocks the shit out me and smiles… huge.
“Yeah. I can definitely do that.” He looks at Jamie. “Did you already know it was Skye’s building?”
Jamie grins by way of an answer. “It was Skye who put April onto the property. From there, it almost seemed like fate.”
Now my eyes are bugging out because all of this is news to me, and now my matchmaking brain has gone into hyperdrive.
“Jesus, Co. Don’t grin like that. It’s scary,“ Ez teases.
“Asshole,” Co mutters, his lips curving into a smirk as he shoulder-bumps my brother. “A change is as good as a holiday, right? And I need to get out of home. I need my space, and Mom and Dad definitely do.”
I study my youngest brother-in-law, my compulsive need to fix things sparking to life. I wanna know what’s going on with him and want to help him work towards wherever he needs to be. If it’s got anything to do with his love life though, I’ll be tagging Faith in. Cohen hasn’t had the best track record with women—and that’s just talking about the ones I know about.
“I’m surprised you haven’t needed therapy, living with our deviant parents,” Bry says with a laugh.
“Right?” Jax nods in agreement. “Last week I figured I’d be safe just popping in to raid their fridge and I—”
“Enough said,” Co says with a sigh.
“Please tell me Marcy and Rick have at least learned to close the curtains. I’m still scarred by their unfortunate lesson in human sexuality when I was seventeen and still living at home,” I ask with a wince.
The guys all shudder, Jamie grimacing.
“I heard the word sexuality. What did we miss?” Ronnie asks, entering the room arm in arm with April, having obviously finished their self-guided tour of the shack now that it’s finished.
“This place is amazing, by the way,” April says. “So different from when we first came to view it.” She sidles up to Jamie, who kisses the top of her head and pulls her in tight.
Jax claims Ronnie, moving her in front of him and wrapping his arm around her waist, his hand resting on her not-yet-showing baby belly. “This is the kind of place I could see us living in, Ken,” she says, looking up at her husband.
“Maybe we should buy it,” he says with a gentle grin so soft and sweet I wouldn’t have believed it possible in the past.
“Yeah, about that,” Jamie says, sneaking a glance down at April. “I’ve already had an offer on this place so I guess we can toast this place being sold now too.”
“What?” Bry splutters. “Already?”
“Yeah. They saw it, they liked it, they put an offer in, and they bought it,” Jamie says like it’s no big deal.
Bry looks at me. “We’ve got our plan. We just might need to give the tenants an update. If the timing’s not quite right, we could always bunk in with Co or stay with one of our par—”
My gaze turns razor sharp. “Hell no. If they’re deviants, then God knows what we are.”
“Sinners?” Ez says, with a shit-eating grin.
Bry shoots my brother a devious smirk. “Do you really want to know?”
“Dude, we had this talk years ago. I do not want to hear about that shit. Doesn’t matter if Faith is eighteen or eighty.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“All right. Are we doing this thing or what?” Jamie asks, bringing us back full circle.
“Faith?” Bry asks, tightening his arm around my waist and looking down at me.
“You do it,” I reply. “You started this—now I want you to finish it.”
His eyes flash as he doesn’t miss my double-meaning.
“Celebrate now in public, later in private?” he murmurs, dropping his lips to mine.
“Sounds good to me.” I touch the tip of my tongue to his mouth then pull away, stepping back with a slow-growing smile. Bry narrows his eyes, shaking his head at me before reaching out for the light bulb.
He moves to the center of the room and climbs the stepladder. Reaching above his head, he shoots me a soft shot-to-the-heart look before screwing in the bulb and lowering himself back to the ground.
“So that’s house six in the books,” Jax says, looking straight at Jamie. “Still happy you’re not driving boats for a living?”
“Considering I never would’ve met my wife if I was, which means you wouldn’t have met your wife, I think you know my answer to that,” Jamie muses.
“Well, not all of us meet their soul mate at eight,” Jax says, nodding at Bry.
My husband locks eyes with me across the room, and like many times before, it’s like everyone el
se fades away. “Yep. I’m one lucky son-of-a-bitch.”
“Does that make me a lucky daughter-of-a-bitch? Because I’m not sure Mom would appreciate that,” I say with a giggle.
“God!” Ezra says, breaking through the haze. “Sickly sweet loved-up newlyweds. Y’all make me sick.”
“You’ll get your turn, Ez,” April rubs my brother’s shoulder.
“Again,” Ronnie says, unable to hold back a snicker. That sets the rest of us off—including Ez.
Bry comes up beside me and curves an arm around my shoulders, moving me to face him. “You happy?”
“I’m with you. How could I not be?”
“Fuck. Now we have to kick everyone out so I can take you on the couch.”
“Again?”
He dips his head and brings his mouth to my ear. “When it comes to you, it’s going to be a lifetime of again… more… yes, please…”
Pulling back, I lock eyes with his and lick my lips. “Bring it on.”
24
Bryant
ONE WEEK LATER
We’re getting ready for dinner with all of my family to celebrate Jax and I turning thirty-five today. Mom gave us strict instructions to dress up, so I’m in a grey dress shirt and black slacks and waiting to see whatever my beautiful wife has chosen to wear.
Faith walks into the entryway, all hair and eyes, looking so fucking hot. “What do you think?’ One look and I’m ready to walk her right back into our room to show her exactly how much I like her dress.
“Uh-uh, Bry. We don’t have time to explore what you’re thinking of doing to me.”
“I’m way past thinking,” I step closer. “I’m planning for later,” I murmur, my eyes dipping down to admire her deep V neckline.
She licks her lips, and I know we need to leave before we don’t make dinner at all.
“We’ll resume this conversation when we get home,” I say, gruffly, my hard-on pulsing against my zipper and making my dick’s intentions clear.
Faith melts into me. “I hope there won’t be a lot of talking.”
I press a kiss to the soft skin of her neck, then move my lips to her ear. “My mouth will be otherwise engaged.”
Her breath hitches and she turns her head, leaning in so we’re half an inch apart. “Stop turning me on.”
“Never,” I rasp, grabbing hold of her shoulders and giving her a hard, meaningful kiss before pulling back. “We really better go.”
“Yeah…” she breathes, her cheeks gratifyingly flushed.
I give her a quick head-to-toe scan, a smirk curving my lips. “Worked up looks good on you.”
“I also look good on you,” she retorts before walking out the front door.
Damn, she’s good. In fact, she’s fucking perfect.
Twenty minutes later, I’m turning into my parents’ street, since Mom called and said they were having car trouble and needed a ride. Except their street is lined with very familiar cars—Jamie’s truck, Ronnie’s Prius, Cohen’s SUV, Ezra’s Audi, and other vehicles I recognize. I glance at Faith, who’s looking out the window. She’s wringing her hands in her lap, her body held tight.
“Everything okay, babycakes? We could’ve taken the edge off at home, you know…”
Her head snaps my way. “Huh?”
I pull into Mom and Dad’s driveway and bring Betsy to a stop in front of their garage.
Turning toward Faith, I reach out and smooth my hand down her leg. “You’re tense as hell. What’s wrong?”
I spot Jax coming out of the front door, Faith’s eyes drifting out the windshield at the same time. As if a switch has been flicked, a slow-growing smile transforms her expression.
She leans in and frames my face with her hands. I bunch my brows, wondering what the hell is going on. It’s like I’m in the twilight zone. Closing the distance between us, she presses a soft kiss to my lips before moving back ever so slightly. “I’m gonna go inside. I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay…” I mutter, completely lost. Jax opens the car door and grins down at us.
“Making out in the parents’ driveway. Kids these days,” he says, shaking his head, his grin huge.
Faith kisses me one more time. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
“Not possible. But you’ll realize that soon enough,” she says. Then I’m watching, dumbfounded, as she jumps out of Betsy and runs up the steps into my family home.
Jax is still standing in my open door, grinning at me. “Happy birthday, brother.”
“Right back atcha.” I narrow my eyes on him. “Now, are you gonna tell me what’s really going on?”
He shrugs, still looking like the cat that got the cream. “How about you just do everything I say and you’ll find out?”
“Do I at least get a hint?”
“Operation Wrecking Ball,” he says.
That confirms it. Everybody has lost their freaking mind.
Jax moves back so I can hop out of the car.
After shutting the door behind me, I lean back against it. “Now what? You’ve officially confused the hell out of me, so lead the way, crazy twin.”
“I prefer the term creative genius, but crazy works,” he muses. “C’mon, Romeo. We’ve gotta get you ready for your Juliet.”
“You know Romeo and Juliet didn’t exactly get a happy ending or did you sleep through that particular class?”
“Or I was macking on a cheerleader, hoping to get in her pants.”
I snicker. “Probably.”
He chuckles and walks ahead of me, leading me down the path along the side of Mom and Dad’s house. I hear voices and remember the last time we were invited to a dinner here, and how Faith had a panic attack.
I reach out my hand and grab Jax’s arm to stop him. “Hey, if this is a surprise party, that’s cool. Just tell me.”
“It is a surprise, but I know what you’re thinking, and no, Faith isn’t going to get overwhelmed. Well, at least not from this. She organized it all.”
“What is this?” I ask, getting frustrated. I hate not knowing what’s going on.
He tilts his head towards the backyard. “Go find out for yourself. But just know there’s a bottle of Jack with our name on it afterwards, okay?”
I frown. “After what?”
He shakes his head, his sly grin really starting to irk me, and Jax never pisses me off. “Just get your ass through that gate already.”
“Fine. I will.”
“Good. You do that.” He smirks.
I reach for the gate, expecting a roar of ‘surprise’ but instead I stop dead, frozen in place as I take in everything I’m seeing; friends and family members mulling around as far as my eye can see, five rows of chairs separated by an aisle in the middle, red ribbons and white roses marking the way down to a small stage and a large arch of roses at the back, facing the festivities.
This is not the surprise birthday party I’d expected.
It’s a surprise wedding.
A hand claps my shoulder from behind. “You all right there, Bry?” Jax asks, peering around to look at my face.
“She did this?”
“Yep,” He says, accentuating the P. “To renew your vows in front of your family and friends.”
I drop my head and snicker. Soon, I’m out and out laughing, earning me a puzzled grin from my twin.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m laughing because I was planning on doing the exact same thing once we got settled.”
My brother shakes his head. “We may have some weird twin sense, but you two have something more than that. I swear you were made for each other,” he says, all humor now gone. This is Jax, just stating facts.
“I never stopped loving her, and now I can’t imagine going back to a life without her.”
“She wanted me to give you this. All of our brothers have something each to give you too. The girls are upstairs helping Faith get ready, and I’ve been told my only job is to get you to the end of the aisl
e on time. So you better not disappear, because I’m also under strict instruction to tackle you if you run away.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.” He nods to the small box in my hand. “Have a look.”
I grab the lid and lift it open, trailing my finger over the faded, worn, seen-better-days beaded friendship bracelet I made Faith as a starry-eyed eleven-year-old boy who had his first-ever crush on the girl next door. I smile, remembering Abi losing her ever-loving mind when she found out I’d stolen her jewelry-making set.
Jax leans over to take a peek. “Oh shit, that thing? She kept that?”
Twenty-four years and here it is, something seemingly simple yet so damn meaningful. My heart is racing. It’s so damn full. It’s fit to bursting. I knew fate wasn’t fucking around when it brought Faith into my life not once, but twice.
Jax shakes his head, but his grin says it all. “Man, you’re totally fucked now. There’s no way you’re getting out of this. She’s got mementos.”
My head snaps up. “Why would I go anywhere when everything I want and need is inside that house, getting ready to marry me again?”
His smirk widens. “Just checking your feet are still toasty warm.”
“So hot they’re scorching.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to find everyone. You’ve got about twenty minutes before go time.”
I draw my brows together. “Since when do you use phrases like ‘go time’?”
A coy smile appears. “I’m practicing to be the cool dad.”
I catch Mom and Dad heading towards us. “Just be like ours, and you’ll ace it. Then again, I already know you’ll be an awesome dad. You won’t let yourself be anything less.”
“Shit. When did we get so gushy?”
“Love, man. It changes everything.”
“Amen to that,” he says, holding up his fist to mine. “I’ll round everyone up.” He goes to leave, but I stop him with a hand on his arm. His eyes snap to mine.
“You better be standing up there with me,” I say, gruffly.
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else than by your side,” he says, shooting me a grin and moving away.