“How many boilermakers have you had?”Nic asked.
Jamie slung an arm over his husband’s shoulders.“Don’t ask that question.”
“Shut it, Whiskey.”Aidan rolled his eyes, then withdrew a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to Nic.“I don’t think this is necessary anymore.”
Nic unfolded the sheet, eyes scanning down the increased insurance certificate he’d given Aidan when he’d moved in with Cam.Another piece of paper appeared over top of it.“Unless, of course, you want to carry that much extra insurance on your own house.”
Nic gasped, staring wide-eyed at the deed in his and Cam’s names.“Talley, are you sure?”
“Am I sure I want to sell—because you are gonna pay market value—my first home to one of my best friends?”
“And to my best friend,” Jamie added, likewise grinning.
“Yes, Dominic, I’m sure.”Stepping out from under Jamie’s arm, Aidan pulled him into a hug.“After all, it’s staying in the family.”
Nic didn’t have the words, so he held on tighter, looking again at the deed over Aidan’s shoulder.
To his and Cam’s home.
They’d made it that already over the past year and now it truly would be.“Thank you,” he said, drawing back.He folded the papers and tucked them inside his jacket, next to his heart.“We’ll take good care of it.”
Aidan cozied back up to Jamie’s side, slinging an arm around his waist.“I’m sure you will, though maybe don’t kill the kitchen again.”
“It’s his kitchen now, Irish,” Jamie said with a wink over Aidan’s grumbled objections.Until Danny shouted for another round at the bar and Aidan enthusiastically heeded the call, dragging the big man behind him.
Laughing, Nic turned, seeking out Cam and coming face-to-face instead with the troublemaking foursome that had become fast, extremely talkative friends, frequently blowing up Nic’s phone with group texts.Eddie’s and Garrett’s uniforms did nothing to hide the servicemen’s devious expressions.Nor did Lauren’s and Lette’s party dresses and matching clover tiaras make the arm-locked duo any less suspicious.
“Keg’s tapped,” Eddie said, giving him a thumbs-up.
“And that”—Lauren tossed a dark velvet pouch at Nic—“should be sized right.”
“How’d you manage?”he asked.
“Pretended it was a piece of evidence.Told him his hands were close to the same size as our suspect’s.”
“You pulled a fucking OJ on him?”
She waved her hand in the air, fingers dancing.“Except the glove fit.”He hadn’t intended for Cam to see it but if he hadn’t known what it was, maybe Nic could still pull off the surprise he had planned.
“Can I steal you for five minutes first?”Lette said, interrupting his thoughts.
He held out his elbow, Lette transferred from Lauren’s arm to his, and they walked together around the edge of the crowd.The overhead lights caught the ruby of his class ring around her neck, and he couldn’t help teasing about another childhood relic.“You and Lauren exchange BFF necklaces yet?”Not that he minded.The more he got to know his sister, the more he liked her, and he already thought the world of Lauren.
“Do keys count?”She drew a shiny new one out of her pocket, brandishing it between them.“I can’t wait to be her roommate.”
Nic’s step faltered.“Her roommate?”
“I wanted to surprise you.A gift on your big day.”She smiled, big and bright, just like her mother.“You remember that job I was out here interviewing for?”
“You got it?”
“Damn right I did.”Every bit as cocky as both her brothers too and that was just fine with Nic.Better than, and he couldn’t wait to have her in the Bay Area full time.
“Congrats, Lette.”He clasped both her shoulders, squeezing, and she barreled into his arms, hugging him tight.“Aww, look who’s gettin’ all sappy.”
She reared back, playfully slapping his biceps.“And to make even more trouble for you, Garrett’s put in for a transfer out of the Marines to the Coast Guard unit here.You can thank your boy Eddie for that one.”
His reconnected family here, with him, but it wouldn’t be complete without...“Victoria?”
