“Would you like to meet Brie?” Ryker motioned toward the back yard.
“I really can't today. But next time I get a break, maybe we could do dinner or something?” Elias cautiously offered the suggestion as if Ryker would bat it away like a foul-smelling fish.
Ryker smiled. “We'd like that.”
“Yeah?” Elias' smile rivaled Dimitri’s.
“Definitely. You name the date, and dinner is on me.”
“Thank God. Medical residents do not make a lot of money.” Elias gave him another hug. “See you soon.” He turned and jogged back to the car they drove up in.
Ryker motioned to his two brothers. “Time to meet the rest of the family.”
Brie sat in one of the Adirondack chairs under the weave of fairy lights that her mother loved so much. The day had been long but perfect. Ryker and his brothers had learned to relax around each other as the day wore on. The laughter from the picnic tables where the men gathered brought a smile to her face.
“Goodness, Brie, you didn't find one fantastic man, you found four!” Tara sat down on the lawn with her glass of wine.
“Five. He has four brothers. The youngest is a medical resident and couldn't get away.”
“A doctor?” Bekki claimed an empty chair. “Yummy. So, the Terrell brothers are smart and good looking.”
“Not Terrell, their last name is Ganas. They're half-brothers.”
Bekki choked and wine tipped from her glass as she coughed. Brie leaned and whapped her sister on the back. Erin McBride grabbed Brie's arm and stopped her. “You're going to kill her before she catches her breath.”
Bekki nodded, still coughing but holding her hand up to stop Brie from pounding her on the back again.
“What's going on?” Caitlyn McBride dropped into another chair.
“Brie is trying to kill Bekki,” Erin explained. “Where are the rest of the chicks?”
“Oh. Brie, stop trying to kill Bekki." Caitlyn waved at the house. "Kallie and Amber are keeping the moms and kids occupied in the kitchen while they visit with Kimberly. She's nice and digs the moms. Hey, do you know if any of Ryker's brothers are married?”
“I don't think so. Why? Which one are you targeting?” Brie spoke as she watched Bekki wipe her eyes.
“All of them.” Caitlyn and Erin said at the same time. She pointed across the lawn. “Is that Dimitri? He's been talking to Dawn for almost an hour now.”
“Reeeaaaallly...” Tara drew out the word. “That should upset the scales.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Brie leaned forward and looked around the bush that hid the table where Dawn and Dimitri were sitting.
“You really haven't been around lately, have you? Blay and Dawn are like two magnets that are trying way too hard not to get together if you ask my opinion.”
“Blay?” Brie laughed. “No way. Blay is a player. They probably are discussing schedules. Blay sometimes picks up Gage and watches him when he's not working.” She shook her head. “I saw Blay the other day, and he was heading to the Celtic Cock to meet some woman from work. You're way off base.”
Tara took a drink of her wine and sighed. “I think those two would be fantastic together.”
“Stop. You sound like the moms,” Caitlyn groaned. “Please don't turn into a matchmaker. You remember how much you hated it, right?”
Brie raised her hand. “I hated it and I found someone without my mother's help, thank you very much.”
“Speaking of Ryker, when are you getting married?” Bekki croaked the question, still coughing a bit.
“This spring. I want to get married here in the backyard when all the flowers are blooming.”
“Oh, man, the moms are going to freak. I can see it now. Our get-togethers will be scheduled around making centerpieces and flowery shit.” Erin rolled her eyes.
“As long as I can drink, I can work a glue gun.” Brie held up her almost-empty glass. “Thank you in advance for the slightly lopsided centerpieces, the fact that you'll all have to find and wear dresses in shades of yellow, and deal with Hover Mother and her sidekick, Glarin' Sharon.”
They all raised their glasses in unison. Brie took a sip and glanced at her watch as Ryker's brothers stood. He motioned for her to join him and she smiled. They'd say goodbye to the brothers and then she was going to take her man home and make love to him. Now that his arm was gaining strength, the nights were becoming more... animated.
Tara leaned into her and whispered, “I know what that smile means.”
Brie glanced at her friend. “Did I hear grandma has Colleen tonight?”
“Oh, yeah.” Tara wiggled her eyebrows. “Should we go snag our men?”
Brie stood and offered her friend a hand up. “Let's go.”
Brie smoothed her brush through her hair and stood back away from the mirror. The new lavender camisole and boy shorts were nothing but lace. She smiled at the way they fit. A small dab of expensive perfume on her wrists and she was ready to play a little game with her man. She was probably going to make a damn fool of herself, but whatever.
She called through the door, “Ryker?”
“Yeah, babe?”
She drew a breath and pushed down the nerves. “What are you doing?”
“Laying down. Do you need something?”
“Yeah, would you come here for a moment?”
She grabbed her phone and connected it to the wireless speaker in the bedroom. She pushed play and opened the door. At the first beat of Mother Freedom, she started dancing.
Ryker froze, standing gloriously naked beside the bed. His eyes widened and his mouth opened. She'd taken dance lessons when she was little and more recently pole dancing classes at her gym. It was so easy to sexualize the moves she remembered. She weaved closer to him and shimmied away when he reached for her, his shell-shocked expression still very much
