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“I know.” She smiles, her eyes soft and loving. “And I love it ninety-nine percent of the time. But please let me be who I am, because at my core, I’m social.”

“Do your thing, baby.”

She winks and turns back to West. “I need to know exactly what you were thinking when you scored that goal against Toronto last week…”

They’re back to talking hockey, and suddenly I’m not jealous anymore.

She needs this to be happy, and knowing she’s happy is pretty much all I need.

I drop my arm over the back of her chair and watch as she talks and laughs with everyone. She’s one of us now, and it’s a beautiful thing.

I honestly didn’t believe the woman of my dreams existed, much less that she would be in the form of a beautiful and delicate movie star with a troubled past. Yet here she is, filling my life and giving me new reasons to wake up every morning.

After we lost Colt, one of the things that got me out of bed was knowing Frankie was on the way. Once she was born, she breathed new life into all of us, and while we still missed him, it started to get easier knowing there was this innocent little girl who needed us to focus our love and attention on her.

There’s going to be another baby in the mix soon, along with Aspen, Jade, and now Willow. It almost feels like we’re complete, like we’ve almost moved on from the trauma of losing Colt.

Almost.

Atlas won’t be an easy nut to crack.

I wasn’t sure there was a woman out there that was right for me, but I can’t imagine the type of woman who’ll put up with Atlas’s bullshit. If it wasn’t for us—our family—he would probably have no one in his life.

He has a ton of business associates, acquaintances, and women who want to sleep with him, but he doesn’t have… friends. It’s been like that since college. We had to drag him into our group kicking and screaming, but hockey forges bonds that would otherwise seem impossible. In retrospect, I can see how he needed us to adopt him, even though he would probably die before admitting it.

And very little has changed over the years.

He’s richer and more successful than the rest of us, but he’s lonelier than we are too. Again, something he’ll never admit, but I worry about him. Especially now that we’re all pairing up. I can’t help but wonder if there’s something between him and Briar. As her brother, that freaks me out, but as someone who cares about her, I’m not so selfish that I want her to be alone.

She needs someone to love her, be a full-time dad to Frankie, and give her the family she’s always dreamed of. Yes, we’re family, and that will never change, but I want her to have what Willow and I have. What Banks and Aspen have. And I worry that if there is something between Briar and Atlas, they’re afraid to act on it because of some misplaced fear that I—and the rest of the guys—will be upset.

In the past, I would have threatened him within an inch of his life, but Briar isn’t a child. She’s a grown woman with a daughter, a career, and a home. If Atlas is the man for her, I don’t want them to hide it because of me. That would be selfish as fuck.

As far as I know, Briar doesn’t date. And as much as I don’t want to think about my sister having sex, I know it’s not healthy for a beautiful twenty-six-year-old woman to have zero male companionship that isn’t her brother or his friends. I need to have this talk with her at some point, but I’ll have to broach the subject carefully. Maybe Willow will have some ideas.

“I think I’ve been recognized,” Willow whispers to me, snapping me out of my reverie.

I follow her gaze and see a few people looking at her, surreptitiously snapping pictures.

But that’s a good thing.

She’s not doing anything wrong, and if they want to post photos of her living her best life, I’m all for it.

“Are you okay with this?” I ask her.

She nods. “I’m great. I’m with my sexy boyfriend, hanging out with friends and making new ones. What else could anyone ask for?”

And just because I know people are watching, I lean over and press my lips to hers.

“Not a damn thing.”

Dylan Durand can suck a bag of dicks.

Thirty

Willow

“I love Gamebreakers,” I say, grinning as I flop back on the mattress.