She was right about the adventure part.
He couldn’t wait.
“It is going to be something,” Bentley said, giving her a hug.
He’d been brother-less for too damn long.
And that was about to change.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Terrace Glen
Almost Seven
Rehearsal
They were all in the garden, waiting for everything to begin.
Dante and Steele were standing at the makeshift altar, which had been set up beneath the one tent, and they both looked a little nervous. It appeared to be pre-wedding jitters.
In the chairs, the rest of the family was sitting down as they watched the rehearsal for the big event. This wasn’t the first wedding for the family, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Dimitri was beside his two sisters and Sam, and they were each flanked by the men who loved them.
Katerina was rubbing her hand over her belly, trying to soothe the baby as her wounded husband sat beside her, his arm in a sling.
Curtis was looking better, and for that they were grateful. Bed rest, a fulltime nurse, and the best medical treatment had helped him along.
Was he back to perfect?
No, but he’d only been shot less than a week ago. It was going to take time.
Natasha was holding her boyfriend’s hand as she kept leaning into Chris to whisper in his ear. He was grinning and whispering back.
It was a beautiful thing to watch.
They’d found each other, and it was perfection. Chris Ford had his girl, and the girl had a man who would protect and keep her safe.
It was going to be a bright future.
If Kat, Nat, and Dimitri’s brother didn’t get to them first.
Dimitri, who was earlier a mess, was now calm because he had the most amazing family in the world. Yes, he and his sisters went through hell, but here was their prize for being strong.
They had love.
It was a beautiful thing.
He also had a child who was relying on him. Sam’s adoption had been rushed through with a little help from Greyson, and he was now part of the Gideon family—and the Croft family too.
The boy no one wanted had found a safe, stable place to call home.
But he wasn’t happy.
Sam was bitching, but not about being adopted, but because Emma had told him he had to wear a tux the next day.
Everyone knew he didn’t really mind, but he liked to bust her ass. It was sweet. He was adjusting and finding his place in their world.
Their families were happy.
And growing.
Paris Archer was sitting in a normal chair, after he’d strolled down the aisle with his wife. He was still trying to stand for longer periods of time, but it wasn’t easy. He knew if he fell, his family would catch him.
After all, they’d done so much. Tessa’s first invitro fertilization with Greyson’s ‘borrowed’ sperm was in two days. They’d be heading back to NY, the big man himself in tow, to give his donation.
Emma too.
She was onboard and supporting them.
It was insane that, someday, they were going to have a child—thanks to the family that had taken them in. With the legal paperwork all handled, they were on the fast-track to getting pregnant.
Maybe they’d have more than one child.
Only fate knew.
Yes, it was a little weird that the baby would be Tessa and Greyson’s, but Paris knew that blood only went so far. Family was chosen, and that mattered. He could raise a child that wasn’t his and love it just as much.
For his wife.
For him.
For that child.
Beside him sat Tessa, and for the first time in a while, she was smiling.
It was beautiful.
She saw the light at the end of the tunnel, with his kind offer to allow them to freeze some sperm, they didn’t have to rush and panic.
There was time.
It was also special that if they had multiple children, all of them would be biologically related, and because they were technically Greyson’s, they’d be well taken care of in their futures.
That had been part of the agreement.
While they weren’t his, they were.
Greyson Croft wanted to ensure they had every opportunity his child would have. It had been Emma’s idea, and it proved she was on board.
As Dante and Steele stood at the altar, flanking them were the two ‘best’ men. One was Greyson, and he stood there for his brother.
Beside Steele was not a man, but Emma. She was smiling and already sniffling up a storm.
They were going to witness the wedding and stand up for the two men.
As the minister walked them through it, there was a lot of laughter. Then again, with this group, there always was.
Dante was trying to make Steele laugh, and it was working. Now he could joke around, simply because if he didn’t, he’d weep.
It had been a long road for them.
For the longest time, he believed it was never going to happen. He’d nearly lost Steele to death twice, and that was something he’d never forget.
Each moment was precious.
Their small, intimate affair was full of family. Sitting behind the Archers were Greyson and Dante’s parents. They’d quietly came in and watched them practice.
Christopher Croft was smiling.
His wife was not.
Reggie was bawling, and no one believed it was because she loved a wedding and was happy for the couple.
The woman was hell on wheels, and they all knew it. She wasn’t happy with anything that the family did.
Greyson being the mob.
Dante being gay—only she didn’t have the balls to say it.
Emma’s closeness with so many men and how she was in control of the family.
For Reggie, it was a nonstop battle. It was her way or the highway, and that didn’t work for any of them.
Greyson loved his family.
And he loved his wife.
There was no way he would let his mother usurp this wedding, or his wife. There were rules, and she would have to comply.
Or…
It would get ugly.
Speaking of his wife, he was blowing her kisses and wiggling his eyebrows at her.
It made her smile, and that made his heart skip.
They had love.
Their hope was Dante and Steele would have it too.
What really excited him was that they also had their wedding coming up in a couple months. Yes, Emma would be pregnant when they walked down the aisle, but he didn’t care.
She was going to marry him all over again.
It was going to be beautiful.
“When do I get to swap spit with my husband?” Dante asked. “That’s the part I want to practice. I want to get it right.”
The minister laughed.
As did the whole family.
“It’s right after you exchange rings.”
Dante pulled his off his right hand and gave it to the minister. Steele did the same.
“Come to daddy,” he said, lecherously.
“He is his brother’s brother,” Emma stated. “I’ve heard that before.”
Greyson laughed as his brother kissed Steele. He even dipped him much like he did with Emma. The Croft men had swagger when it came to their significant others.
Still, Greyson teased his brother. “He stole my moves. That’s not even right.”
The minister broke the two up. “Save it for tomorrow when you have to impress the crowd.”
Dante would do that.
“Or take it down a notch. We get the point. You’re getting married,” Reggie said.
Everyone looked over at her and there was that hush that was followed by some verbal altercation. They were all waiting for it on baited breath. No one doubted it would be coming.
“Mother,” Greyson warned, silencing her.
/> She pursed her lips and said nothing more, but they all knew she wanted to do it.
They also knew it was only a matter of time. Reggie was a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off on her gay son.
As the housekeeper exited the house, she had someone with her.
“Ma’am, there’s someone here to see Mr. Steele and Mr. Dante,” she said. “He said he was expected.”
Steele’s heart thumped. “Thank you, Magda,” he said, walking toward the man.
Dante had been right.
They looked alike, and he could see the same worry in his brother’s eyes. He was expecting the worst.
Well, Steele wasn’t going to be like the people who gave birth to him. He wouldn’t reject someone who had his blood. He’d embrace it.
The Croft family had taught him that.
The housekeeper headed back in, and left Bentley standing there as the two men approached.
He held out his hand. “I’m Bentley Herron, but my friends call me Ben. I can see the family resemblance,” he said, checking his brother out.
Steele’s one eye filled with tears. “You’re really my brother.”
He nodded. “I am.”
Steele ignored the hand and hugged the man. The two of them embraced, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
Emma was crying, and all the women were wiping at their eyes too.
This was so beautiful, more so, since they knew what Steele had battled through to get to this point. He’d nearly lost, and this was poignant.
It was also the best gift Dante could have given him. The man was definitely a Croft to his core.
“I’ve always wanted someone to call my own,” he said to his brother.
Ben held on. “I’ve always wondered if I’d meet you. I knew about you for my whole life. I wanted to find you, but your mother saw me once and told me you never wanted to meet me. I stayed away.”
Steele stared into his face.
“I didn’t know. I had no idea you even existed.”
“You know now, babe,” Dante said. “That’s what matters. You can start now.”
He hugged his brother again. “I already love you. I’m glad I have you. I watch my fiancé with his brother, and I always wanted that kind of connection. I want that with you, Ben. I hope you want to be part of my life.”
Ben held onto the man. “You can have that. You can have whatever you want from me. I’m here for you.”
Steele tried to hold it together, but it was so damn hard. This was the most miraculous thing to him—well, next to falling in love with Dante.
Emma knew she needed to do one thing to make this perfect. Heading toward the two men, she waited until they were done.
Steele glanced over at her.
“Forgive me, but I have to do this,” she said, squeezing his hand.
“Ben, I’m Emma. Steele is so very important to me, but this doesn’t feel right.”
They all watched her.
“What are you doing, Emma?” Steele asked.
She was doing what was right.
“Tomorrow, I’m not going to stand up there for him. I can’t.”
Steele stared at her. “Emma! Why?” he asked.
She pulled a rose off one of the vines and tucked it into Ben’s lapel. “Because, tomorrow, your brother will be your best man. I’ve had the last few years. He deserves tomorrow, and so do you.”
Steele wept, as he hugged her. “I love you so much. God! You’ve saved me so many times, and now I have this forever.”
She hugged him back. “I know, sweetheart. I know. Now, introduce your brother to our family. It’s time for dinner, and we would like to invite him to be part of us too.”
He grabbed Ben’s hand and couldn’t wait. “I want you to meet the people I love most in the world. I want them to meet my brother.”
Ben smiled. “I would really love that.”
And he would.
This was a new day for him.
A new beginning.
For years, he was alone. Now he had a brother to call his own.
“This is Greyson Croft.”
“I’ve seen him on the news,” Ben said, holding out his hand. “It’s a pleasure, sir.”
Greyson hugged him instead. “Welcome to our family. Don’t believe everything you’ve seen on TV about us.”
“I won’t, sir. I already doubt some of it.”
Still, Greyson could tell the man was wary. Honestly, he didn’t blame him.
“This is Doctor Paris Archer and his wife, Tessa,” he said, introducing them.
Paris shook his hand.
“I’m a doctor, too, or I will be as soon as this rotation is over. What do you practice?” he asked.
“I’m a criminal psychologist. I help with profiling and some cases for the local hospitals.”
“I’m going to be a pediatrician. I love kids.”
Tessa hugged him. “Welcome to our family. There’s going to be lots of business coming your way,” she teased.
And it was true.
Katerina, Emma, and hopefully, herself would need to have someone they could trust.
“Awesome. I will make house calls.”
And that was even better.
Steele led him toward Reggie and Christopher Croft. “These are Dante and Greyson’s parents.”
He left it at that.
Christopher shook his hand and smiled. “Welcome, son. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Reggie, in her normal bitchiness, simply shook his hand.
That said it all.
Dante gave her the dirtiest look he could possibly give her, and it was backed up with Greyson pointing at her. The sons in her life were NOT amused.
There was her warning.
Steele led his brother over toward the Gideon’s.
“This is Dimitri. He’s our family, but he’s also in charge of our security.”
They shook hands.
“Welcome, Mr. Herron.”
“Ben, please.”
Dimitri made a mental note to do a search on him later—just to be safe. It appeared he was feeling a little better.
“This is Katerina Croft. She’s Dimitri’s sister, and she’s married to, Curtis, Greyson and Emma’s son.”
He tried to keep track.
“We like to keep it all in the family,” Curtis teased. Then he realized how that sounded.
His eyes got huge.
“Wait! I didn’t mean it like that. I’m on pain meds. Ignore me,” he said, pointing at his sling.
Ben laughed. “Can do.”
Katerina hugged the new member of their family. “Welcome, Ben.”
Ben smiled as he mentally tried to build the family tree in his head. “So, that makes Curtis, your fiancé’s nephew?” he asked, trying to keep it straight.
Yeah, it wasn’t easy.
Steele laughed. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later after dinner.”
Ben was good with that.
“This is Natasha, and she’s Dimitri’s other sister.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand.
She hugged him like her sister had. “It’s our pleasure, Ben. This is my boyfriend, Christopher Ford,” she said, enjoying saying the words.
She loved saying boyfriend.
He loved saying girlfriend.
They were both stupid in love.
Chris shook his hand. “I’m Emma’s brother, and her bodyguard.”
He was trying to keep track. “So, you’re related to her, he’s related to them, and… yeah, you do like to keep it in the family. Maybe it’s not the meds.”
“He’s not related by blood,” Reggie stated. “They worked together. It’s this farcical relationship.”
Again, there was silence.
Emma glanced over, and she wasn’t having it. No one was being excluded from their circle because they lacked the same blood.
That’s not how they rolled.
“He’s my brothe
r, Reggie. Chris is mine, and if you don’t mind, we’ll keep it like that.”
It shut her up.
For now.
Greyson agreed. “Chris isn’t related by blood, Ben, but he’s the one my wife has chosen to call brother, like I feel about Dimitri. We are all family.”
Ben was cool with that. He was just so glad to have an actual sibling, it didn’t matter to him.
“And you are?” he asked Sam.
“I’m Sam Gideon. He’s my dad,” he said, pointing at Dimitri. “The babes are my sisters, so don’t be getting any ideas or I’ll break your kneecaps.”
“It’s dislocate,” Dimitri stated.
Then Emma pointed at him.
“What? He needs to know!”
She snorted and gave up.
Kat and Nat both found it sweet how Sam was already trying to protect them. So, they gave the kid a kiss.
“You heard him,” Dimitri said, winking at the man. “He’s lethal with the ladies.”
Ben raised his hands and played along. “I will mind my manners.”
Steele dropped his arm over his brother’s shoulder. “Why don’t we have dinner?” he asked. “I want to hear everything about you, Ben,” he said.
The man smiled and wrapped his arm around his brother’s waist.
“I want to hear about you too,” he said, as they headed inside.
Emma headed straight for Dante. As soon as she reached him, she gave him a big kiss right on the mouth.
“You did something good.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m getting lots of lip action today,” he teased. “The ladies and the men love me.”
Greyson laughed.
“Are you fantasizing about Dimitri again? Didn’t we talk about that?” he asked, throwing his brother under the bus.
That had Dimitri’s attention. “Pardon?”
Dante laughed. “Asshole.”
“Pain in my ass,” his brother said back.
Emma cut them off or it would never end. Brothers liked to pile it on, and with this many ‘brothers’ in the family, it could be a melee.
“You gave him a huge gift,” she said. “You are going to be an amazing husband,” she said. “Your brother taught you right.”
She followed the family in to get the chef to start serving. It looked like tonight was going to be perfect.
Just like she’d planned.
Wedding of Our Dreams: Dante & Steele (Croft Family Mob Series Book 0) Page 9