I adjusted the frown on my face, turning it into the best smile I could manage before facing my mother.
“You look ravishing, Mother.” I grinned in her direction.
In spite of herself, she smiled. “You always were my favorite.”
I nodded. “That’s what I’ve always told them all.” I nodded in the direction of my brothers, all three of which were on the dance floor, in the middle of my parent’s massive back lawn at Townsend Manor. Joshua and Kayla had opted to have their reception here, which came as no surprise since it’s where both Carter and Aaron had their own weddings. Townsend Manor spanned nearly six acres, hosted a lake out back, and had plenty of greenery and space for a dance floor and children to run about.
“Don’t get too full of yourself. I tell that to all four of my boys when they look as down as you’re looking.”
For the first time since that morning, a sincere grinned touched my lips. Leaning down, I placed a kiss to my mother’s rosy cheek.
“I’m fine,” I assured her. To my dismay her frown deepened.
“My Tyler would never say something as dull asI’m fineif he were actually doing fine.” She pointed her head in the direction of the dance floor where the children were running around the couples who were dancing. “You’ve barely played with the children. Diego keeps asking me what’s wrong with Uncle Ty.”
Damn, even the children noticed my sour mood.
“Our boy is fine, Deb.” My father’s voice interrupted my mother and I.
She turned to him, frowning. “He’s not f—”
“No, but we’ve raised a good boy with a good head on his shoulders.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Even if he is a smartass at times.”
“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” I retorted.
My father grinned. “See?” He lifted an eyebrow in my mother’s direction, bending low to kiss her lips. “I think Kennedy wanted to tell you about the latest book she picked up from the library,” my father told her.
Mother looked over at Kennedy who, much to her delight, had her head stuck in a book, at one of the tables. My mother laughed before giving my father and I one last look and moving toward her only granddaughter.
I took a sip of the champagne I’d swiped from one of the passing waiters. It wasn’t scotch but it’d do for now.
“Want to tell me her name?” My father’s deep voice broke the silence of the moment.
Instantly a picture of Destiny filled my mind. I no longer saw Joshua dancing with his new wife, or the large pond beyond the greenery, or the blue sky that was broken up by the reds, oranges, and yellows of the changing fall leaves. Just Destiny’s smiling face.
“Keeping it to yourself, I guess,” my father murmured. “I’d always knew you’d be the youngest when you married.”
That comment was what made me turn back to him. I lifted an eyebrow.
“You need the stability of your own family more than the other three,” he continued.
“How so?”
“You’re my wild child but a family man at heart. Only a strong woman with a big heart could settle you down. However, I knew you’d find her early on. Probably your crazy antics that kept you from finding her sooner, but alas, it looks like she’s giving you a run for your money.” He had the damn nerve to chuckle.
The frown was back on my face instantaneously.
“One more question, is she falling for you the way you’ve fallen for her?”
I stared into my father’s brown eyes and swallowed, contemplating that question. “Yes, she is,” I answered with certainty.
“Then you better make fucking sure you catch her,” Carter’s voice suddenly filled my presence.
I glanced from my father to my eldest brother who was standing next to him, arms folded, same intense expression on his face as his eyes burrowed into mine.
