Page 58 of Brokered Betrayals

Sawyer inhaled slowly. “I’d better stay right here.”

“Smart.” Royce retrieved the bowls from the pantry and set them on the island. “This is quite a spread. I’d like to thank the people who invented the modern grocery delivery systems with—”

“Careful,” Sawyer cautioned.

“—a friendly handshake.”

Sawyer nodded his approval. “Let’s call them all in for dessert.”

“Yeah. Then they can go home, and I can possessively lick you all over.”

Sawyer moaned softly before tearing himself away and walking toward the living room. “Dessert is ready.”

Their guests didn’t exactly stampede into the kitchen, but they moved with purpose. The Sutton brothers led the charge,which meant they had a front-row seat to Dane’s reaction, and it didn’t disappoint.

“A brookie!” Dane’s face lit up with joy. “They’re my favorite. I need to take a quick picture. Alec has never had one of these. I keep telling him we’ll share one when he gets back to town.”

Beside him, Sawyer snapped a discreet photo. Royce knew he’d send it to Alec later.

“Dude,” Cayden said. “Don’t worry about angles and lighting. You’re not a foodie influencer on Insta. And don’t drool on the brookie. The rest of us want some too.”

Sawyer chuckled as he typed furiously on his phone. He hit Send and tucked his device away without Dane noticing. “Let’s make sure Dane takes home the leftovers.”

“Fine,” Royce grumbled. “We’re keeping the ice cream.”

Evangeline and Jooohed andaahed when they stepped up to the sundae bar and perused the options. The overhead lights caught the diamond solitaire on Jo’s left ring finger.

Eddie, you sly dog.Royce didn’t draw attention to it since the engaged couple hadn’t announced the news, but he’d mention it to his father when he could talk to him alone.

“Nice spread,” Jace said as he piled three different scoops of ice cream on his slice of brookie. He looked over his shoulder at Holly, who was carrying Harper on her hip. “Want me to make one for you?” Jace asked her.

Holly made a weird noise, turned an awful shade of green, and thrust Harper into his arms before bolting from the room. Jace grimaced as his wife left, then turned to Royce. “Do you have any saltines?”

Royce retrieved a sleeve from the pantry and handed them to his brother. “Does this mean what I think it does?”

Jace smiled impishly. “She’s hit that rough patch in the first trimester.”

“Congratulations,” Royce said, hugging Jace and Harper. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks. I’ll be even happier when Holly feels better. If this pregnancy is like Harper’s, that should happen in about two weeks.” He tucked the sleeve of crackers under his arm, picked up his sundae, and went to find a place to sit down.

Eddie worried his bottom lip between his teeth when he stepped up to the sundae bar. “Probably should stick to the fruit with a little whipped cream.”

“I almost forgot,” Sawyer said. “I got something special for you, Eddie.” He retrieved a special carton of ice cream that better aligned with his dietary needs.

Eddie smiled down at the thoughtful gesture. “You’re a damn good son.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t suppose you have a low-carb, low-fat cookie thing somewhere?” Eddie asked.

“No, but I plan to cut off a small sliver of the brookie and crumble it on top of my sundae.”

“Perfect idea,” Eddie said. “I’ll do the same thing.”

“And I’ll eat enough for all three of us,” Royce said.

Eddie aimed a fork at him. “Better watch yourself, or you’ll end up like me.”