Laney glanced toward the concession stand, watching the brothers together for a moment. All four of them were impossibly tall, broad-shouldered, and way too good-looking. Between them, they probably also had enough money to buy several small countries and yet, right now, they were shoving each other playfully, laughing and looking relaxed as they tried to balance too many snacks.
“They look so normal,” Laney said as if she’d plucked the thought right out of my head. She turned to glance at Sadie and me as we took our seats. “Don’t be fooled, though. They’re not. Harrison is next and he doesn’t have as much time as he thinks he does.”
When the guys reached us, it seemed all that playful shoving and laughing had been because they were teasing him about that very same thing. Jameson rolled his eyes and smirked at their youngest brother as he dropped into a chair next to his wife.
“Dude, you might as well go see a man about a tux and book a honeymoon,” he said. “Get a head start on this thing, you know?”
Harrison scoffed and handed over Sadie’s slushie before he collapsed into a chair next to Sterling. “The only thing I’m booking is Christmas in the Maldives. That way, I won’t have to spend the holidays with you assholes. I have years before Dad calls me in forthetalk.”
Callum and Jameson exchanged a look. Sterling simply arched an eyebrow at Harrison, shaking his head as he turned toward the ice. “Keep telling yourself that if it helps, but you know we’re right. It’s not like any of us were expecting it either.”
Laney’s jaw dropped open in mock outrage. “You mean you didn’t see it coming that you were going to have to strongarm some poor, unsuspecting business owner into marrying you within a week?”
“It wasn’t a week,” he retorted playfully. “It was, like, at least two. Maybe three. Besides, it all worked out pretty well for you, didn’t it?”
She winked at him, her thumb absently stroking her swollen belly. “If by working out pretty well for me, what you mean is that I’ve been nauseated for months, then sure. It’s been working out great.”
He laughed, bending closer to whisper something in her ear that made her blush. Sadie shook her head as she watched them, but there was a smile on her lips. She launched into telling me all about her and Jameson, and how they’d gotten started.
The more I listened to them, being included in their conversations and made to feel like an actual part of their group, I started thinking that maybe this wasn’t so crazy. Maybe marrying into this family didn’t mean I was signing away my sanity for going about this the way we were.
Maybe it just meant more people around. More chaos, I was sure, but also more shoulders to lean on. Laney and Sadie had recently been through this themselves and they looked spectacularly happy with their men as the game got started.
Callum shouted encouragement to Brody. Jameson, Sterling, and Harrison were as loud and excited as he was. I realized that they had already accepted us as part of their family and they didn’t seem to mind it. Warmth spread through me, making me feel—for perhaps the first time since I’d walked into that bar to see whose ad I’d answered—like this wasn’t crazy at all.
The Westwoods stayed for the entire game and it ended in a blur of cheering, skates scraping ice, and Brody’s triumphantgrin after netting a goal. He barreled into me after, sweaty, flushed, but so freaking happy.
“We did it, Mom!”
Callum clapped him on the helmet, pride clear as day all over his face, and my chest ached at how natural it all felt. “You did, buddy. That was amazing. You guys are coming together as a pretty awesome team.”
I smiled, deciding to try on their family’s apparent love of banter and teasing for size. “You’re only saying that because you’re the one who made the call about him joining said team, aren’t you?”
The others laughed and surprise registered on Callum’s features, but then he grinned, one of his shoulders lifting in a shrug. “Hey, I believe in credit where credit is due. The boys deserve all the credit, but it’s nice to know you remember who’s responsible for bringing them together in the first place.”
I chuckled, sliding my arm around his waist. He fitted his around my shoulders. For a beat, I wondered if his family was going to call us out on our first official show of affection in their presence, but no one said anything.
They took it as if they’d spent the last few years watching him hold me, but when we said our goodbyes outside, both Sadie and Laney gave me their phone numbers. Callum noticed, sending me a small, sidelong smile. He, Brody, and I climbed into his truck.
We spent the afternoon together, running a few errands and picking up some groceries. Callum insisted on cooking dinner, brushing off my protests with a cocky, “Trust me, I’ve got some skills. Not many, but they do exist. Plus, I’ve been studying.”
“Studying?” I asked as we walked back into my house, everyone shrugging off coats and boots. Callum hung his jacket up right next to mine, and again, I was struck by how easily thiswas all happening. It felt like he was meant to be here with us. “What have you been studying?”
He pumped his eyebrows at me. “Just some recipes. Prepare to be wowed, Morgans. Now, you go relax while I get started.”
Brody raced to the living room, kicking his feet up on the couch and switching on the TV to play one of his games. Since this was his Saturday afternoon TV time, I left him to it and followed Callum into the kitchen instead.
As we worked, the sun started sinking lower, but the light also shifted, the gray of early evening softening into something paler. I frowned as I stared out the window, trying to figure out exactly what that meant, but Callum quickly distracted me with stories of himself and his brothers growing up.
In turn, I opened up a bit about my own family life growing up, telling him what it had been like to be the little sister to twin older brothers and all the ways in which they used to both tease and protect me.
By the time dinner was finished, the whole house smelled like garlic and herbs, a comforting scent that I hoped would linger for at least the rest of the night. Callum leaned back in his chair, smug as heck as he watched me lick the last of my sauce off my fork.
“Okay, okay.” I laughed. “I’ll admit it. Your studies have paid off. That was delicious. Thank you.”
His grin widened. “Finally, the official seal of approval. I’m excited.”
“Whoa, there, Gordon Ramsay,” I teased. “You do know that making one decent meal means you won’t have any excuses from now on, right? That means we now know you’ve got it in you, so you’re going to have to do a lot of cooking for us in the future.”
