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Did Marlowe intuitively know what to say to make everyone in the family like her? It was especially ironic that Carson thought she liked cheap clothing. So far, none of the clothes Jace had bought her had been cheap.

He turned to his twin. “What’s your opinion of Marlowe?”

Lucas pretended to consider her. “She’s beautiful, funny, interesting, and gets along with the family. All in all…” He looked upward for a moment, drawing out his answer. “I think she was worth missing the SAT for.”

Lucas’s assessment made Jace smile. “That’s high praise coming from you.”

“Yeah,” Carson said. “Just don’t let Mom hear you mention the SAT. She might remember that she still hasn’t forgiven Marlowe for that.”

Jace went back to watching Marlowe. When he first told his family he was dating her, he’d done everything he could to make them disapprove of her, and yet they liked her anyway. That was the thing about Marlowe—she easily won people over.

She was all the things his brothers had said and more. And she wasn’t really his girlfriend.

A voice sounded behind them, “Did you guys save any food for us?”

Jace turned to see Kye and Elsie walking up. They were holding hands and both grinning from ear to ear.

“All the good stuff is gone,” Lucas said, “but you’re welcome to some of Carson’s organ meat.” He waved his hand in the direction of the coolers where they’d put the leftovers. “There’s nothing like some liver or kidneys smoked on the barbie. And when I tell you to eat your heart out, I mean it literally because he’s got one of those in the cooler too.”

Elsie wrinkled her nose. “Is he still a football player, or has he become a serial killer?”

Lucas shrugged. “Too many similarities to be certain.”

Jace didn’t join in with the ensuing list of similarities because he’d seen what his brothers hadn’t. A ring on Elsie’s finger. A diamond. It was no doubt the reason for her continual grin.

He stood and hugged his sister. “Let me be the first to congratulate you, because I’m obviously the most observant in the family.”

She hugged him back. “You are. Thanks.”

He turned to Kye next. “You’ve always been like a big brother to me, probably because you were always hanging out with my actual big brother and were usually nicer than he was. Welcome to the family.”

This sentence brought Lucas and Carson over. “Wait, what did I miss?” Lucas asked.

“Why are we welcoming Kye to the family?” Carson asked.

Elsie fluttered her hand to show her brothers her engagement ring. “I was going to wait until everyone was together to make the announcement. You weren’t supposed to notice this yet.”

“Your grin gave you away,” Jace said.

Lucas’s gaze bounced between Elsie and Kye, and his mouth made an “Oh” of astonishment. “Whoa, you guys aren’t wasting any time.”

Kye took her hand again. “I had to make my offer quickly before some college boy convinced her otherwise.” He turned to Elsie, his smile teasing. “And I need to make sure that when she graduates, she comes back home instead of taking a job halfway across the country.”

Elsie beamed, glowing with happiness. “I was easy to convince.”

Carson hugged Kye and shook his head, at a loss for words. “Wow. Okay. I guess I can stop worrying that I might have to hurt one of my best friends because he broke my little sister’s heart.”

“My heart is unbroken,” Elsie said.

Kye sent Carson a challenging look. “Are you so sure you could take me? I wrangle cattle for a living and have been known to take down real broncos, not those two-legged fake Broncos like your teammates.”

Carson stretched out his shoulders, smirking. “Do you want to put that to the test?”

Elsie stepped between them and shook a finger at her brother. “There will be absolutely no wrestling with my fiancé. So help me, I will set Mom on you if you try.”

Carson lifted his hands in a placating gesture and moved away from Kye. “Fine. Fine. I wouldn’t want to mess up your fiancé before the wedding. Am I going to be your best man?”

“Wouldn’t have anyone else,” Kye said.