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several months later

It was times like these when Ryden thanked the universe for his good fortune. A great deal had happened in the last few years, and his life had taken a drastic turn for the better. It had been challenging, but he’d been determined to make the most of his second chance.

Ryden took a sip of his soda, his heart full as he watched Jay, Leo, and Joshua running around the beach playing with Chip, Cocoa, Duchess, and Cookie, who was off duty. It always amazed Ryden how Gio’s Golden Retriever switched from service dog to playful pup with just one word.

Chip was a maniac, like always, and Ryden expected nothing less from Joker’s Belgian Malinois bestie.

Cocoa had gotten so big, so fast, but as a German Shepherd, that had been a possibility.

There was a good chance he might end up bigger than Chip.

For now, despite his size, he was still in his puppy phase, all legs and no coordination.

Duchess, the standard poodle, had the most graceful little trots.

Mostly, Ryden loved to hear Jay laughing, pure joy radiating from him.

Even at the beach, Jay looked gorgeous. His hair was windswept, his cheeks pink from the Caribbean sun, and he wore designer pink tropical swim trunks with a matching top.

Jay had even gotten them matching outfits, which made everyone say, “Aw,” when they saw them, and Ryden didn’t even care.

He and his boyfriend looked damned good.

“Hey.” Saint sat down on the stool next to Ryden and leaned against the bar.

“Um, hey.” Ryden peered at his best friend. “Is there a reason you’re grinning at me like the Cheshire Cat?”

“Yes, there is. I just wanted to say, I told you so. Also, I knew it. And, oh yeah, I was right. Plus, oh my God, I told you so.”

“Really?” Ryden shook his head at his best friend. This was his twelfth “I told you so” of the night.

“Yep. It’s not every day I get to rub such an epic fail in your face.” Saint ordered a drink from the bartender before turning back to Ryden, his smile still huge. “Did I mention I told you so?”

“Wow. I might trade you in for a different model. Where’s Finch?”

Saint laughed. “Ass. But seriously. I’m happy for you both.”

“Thanks.” Ryden was happy for them, too.

“What’s it like going from driving each other batshit to being all kissy and romantic?”

“Is that what you are with Val? Kissy and romantic.”

Saint waggled his eyebrows, making Ryden laugh. “He would call it something else, but yeah.” His gaze went to his beefy boyfriend sitting on the large half-circle outdoor couch beneath the shade as he talked and laughed with Red, Frank, Nash, and Bibi.

Finch headed their way, beer bottle in hand. He stopped in front of them. “So this is how the other half lives, huh? Just hop on your private jet to your private island?”

“This is how Ace lives because he’s married to a billionaire,” Ryden said with a chuckle.

“Never knew anyone who owned an entire island,” Finch murmured, looking around. “It’s wild.”

Saint nodded in agreement. “Ace said Colton got the idea after the last barbecue at their house when the dogs knocked him into the pool while they played. Said our family had outgrown their mansion and they needed something bigger.”

Finch stared at Saint. “Bigger than a mansion?” He turned, taking in the twenty-two people in attendance, along with the four dogs.

And that was without Bibi and Nash’s girls, who were visiting the Cuban Mom Mafia while their parents were on a much-needed mini-getaway.

“Then again, you could populate a small town.”

Ryden snorted. “Don’t give Ace any ideas.”

“Not gonna lie,” Finch said with a chuckle. “I had to take notes on my phone. I need a diagram to remember who everyone is and how they’re connected.”

“Really? It’s easy,” Saint said, waving a hand in dismissal.

“Ace met Colton on the job. Colton is best friends with Gio, who won Joker at a bachelor’s auction at one of our charity events.

Laz is Gio’s brother, and he met Red at a party at Colton’s.

Fitz is Laz’s best friend, so that’s how he met Jack.

Joshua was in Frank’s club when he met Colton and Frank.

Bibi is King’s sister and Nash is her husband, Leo is King’s husband.

He and Leo met in a government black site.

Lucky knew Mason through Ace, who had dated Mason before Colton.

Colton and Mason are now good friends. Ry met Jay when he started working for the Kings, and I met Val at Frank’s.

And Kazi works for Val at the tavern. See? Easy.”

Finch blinked at Saint. “That’s…I don’t even know what to do with that.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Ryden laughed. Finch had been invited to the family barbecue because of Jay, but Ryden had a feeling King was sizing up whether Finch would end up part of the Kings’ family.

“Hi.”

They all turned their attention to Leo, who stood next to Finch. It was cute, their size difference. Leo had to look up at him while Finch looked down.

“Oh. Hi.”

“Goldfish Cracker?” Leo held out his bag of favorite snacks.

“Hell yeah. I love these,” Finch said, extending his palm to Leo.

“Really?” Leo asked, his smile wide.

“Are you kidding? Cheesy, crunchy goodness with the bonus of being shaped like a smiling fish? What’s not to love?”

Funny thing was, Ryden believed Finch was serious. Especially since this was the first time the two were meeting face to face. Saint looked as surprised as Ryden felt.

Leo narrowed his eyes at Finch. “How do you feel about the pretzel ones?”

Finch wrinkled his nose. “Nah. I mean, if I wanted pretzels, I’d have pretzels.”

Leo beamed at him. “Right! That’s what I said!” He turned, calling out to King as he ran to him. “He hates the pretzel fish too!”

“What just happened?” Finch asked, confused.

“You just became Leo’s friend,” Ryden replied with a chuckle.

Finch might not yet grasp the significance of that, but he would soon enough.

It was sweet the way King’s features softened with Leo.

He chuckled at Leo rambling excitedly at him, then lifted his gaze to Finch and, with a smile, gave him a nod.

“Holy shit,” Saint murmured. “You got a smile and a nod?”

“Damn,” Ryden shook his head in disbelief.

“You know how long it took me to get the nod? I still haven’t gotten a smile.

Maybe. I don’t think I have. I thought maybe he smiled at me like two months ago, but it turned out to be a grimace from something he’d just eaten.

Six years, man. And you get both in like a month. ”

Finch looked from Ryden to Saint and back. “I don’t know what any of that means, but I’m assuming it’s good.”

“It’s really good,” Saint reassured him.

Jay headed their way, and Ryden put in an order for his boyfriend’s favorite cocktail from the bar. He handed it to Jay when he got there.

“Aw, thank you,” Jay purred, kissing Ryden. “I think I’ll keep you.” He took the cocktail and sipped. “Mmm, tropical goodness.”

“Your brother got a smile and a nod from King,” Ryden said, motioning to Finch.

Jay gaped at him. “No way. Both? On the same day?”

“Okay, you all are freaking me out,” Finch grumbled. He fixed Jay’s shirt collar, which had flipped up on one side, then strolled off. The guy had no idea all the little things he did that showed he cared.

“Is it weird?” Saint asked Jay. “Having your brother around after all this time?”

“A little,” Jay admitted. “It’s like we’re getting to know each other again.” He smiled warmly. “If he’s made friends with Leo, he’s doing something right.”

The sound of glass shattering and a loud curse grabbed everyone’s attention. Something had happened to Finch’s beer bottle, and his hand was bleeding.

“Shit. I’ll be right back.” Jay placed his cocktail on the bar and hurried over, but Kazi was already there with the first aid kit.

Ryden sometimes forgot that Val’s tavern manager had been a paramedic before joining Val’s team.

None of them knew why Kazi had left that life and ended up at the Red Ax Tavern, but that was Kazi’s story to tell.

Kazi got to work quickly and efficiently, cleaning Finch’s wound. He shook his head, so Ryden assumed Finch wouldn’t need stitches. Ryden couldn’t hear what Kazi was saying to Finch, but it was clear Finch was a little smitten. He said something that made Kazi laugh.

“Do you see what I see?”

“Holy shit!” Ryden threw a hand over his heart, Saint jumped as well. “Where the hell did you come from?”

Ace grinned. “That’s not important. What’s important is that you see what I do.”

Ryden followed Ace’s gaze to Finch and Kazi, who were very obviously flirting with each other. “Oh no.”

“Nope. I know where this is going.” Saint jumped down from his stool. “I’m out of here. Plausible deniability.”

“New model,” Ryden called out, smirking when Saint flipped him off. He groaned when Ace rubbed his hands together with glee.

“Leave it to me, I’m an expert at this.”

“At meddlin’?” Ryden nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, you are.”

“No. At matchmaking. It worked for you, didn’t it?”

Ryden stared at him. No way. “What’re you talkin’ about? You had nothin’ to do with me and Jay gettin’ together.”

“Didn’t I?”

“No.” Ryden eyed him. His friend was full of it.

“If you say so. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go fan the flames of a budding romance.”

“You disturb me,” Ryden muttered, shaking his head as Ace walked off.

The best part of Ace meddling was the fact that Colton had developed some killer instincts when it came to his husband’s shenanigans, and before Ace could reach Kazi and Finch, Colton swooped in.

Ryden had to hand it to the guy; he was smooth.

The way he distracted Ace with a kiss and a few whispered words in his ear? Ryden needed to take lessons.

“I have something for you,” Jay said, approaching him with a small pink box. He placed it on the counter next to Ryden. “Well, it’s not for you , but it’s for you.”

“I’m very confused.”