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“You’re dying ?” Robbie Perrine asked, rubbing at the thick dark beard that obscured half of his face. “Brain cancer?”

Robbie looked like Jason Momoa, with a few less tattoos.

He had been an Army Ranger with Chase. The two of them had retired after fifteen years when an assignment went very wrong.

Retirement was the best option, knowing he and Robbie had put a stain on their Ranger unit and would hurt their buddies’ chances for advancement and challenging assignments.

They couldn’t do that to their brothers.

Instead of going back to Georgia where Chase was a welcome guest with each of his friends’ families but not truly family, Chase had relocated to an out of the way valley in Arizona and gotten a job as an officer with the Jade Valley police department.

It was a hefty drop in challenge, prestige, and pay, but he liked the mountainous red cliff valley and most especially the people.

“Yep.” Brandon’s perma-grin didn’t waver before, during, or after the pronouncement of his imminent death. “I’m feeling fabulous at the moment, but the doctors who have been privileged to study my big brain claim I’ll go downhill quick at the end.”

“No reason to look so happy about it.” Emmett tried to lighten the mood. He was the athlete, a wide receiver for the Texas Titans.

“Nothing gets me down. You all know that better than anybody.” Brandon spread his hands, looking like the multi-billionaire he was. He came from generational wealth, and not even the playboy could burn through the passive income accumulated by generations before him.

Chase loved Brandon, as he did all the men seated around the table.

Despite Brandon’s privileged upbringing and the gaggle of giggling women following his friend around, Chase had never been jealous or wanted to step into his friend’s fifteen-thousand-dollar Lucchese boots.

He only knew the price tag and brand of Brandon’s boots because his friend loved to brag about inconsequential garbage like that.

Brands, status, posturing, and money had never been important to Chase.

That was fortunate, as he’d never attain any of them.

Squadron 7 had been fiercely loyal to each other since they started playing football together in middle school in Marietta, Georgia.

They were a diverse group, and all had each other’s backs, but he couldn’t say he trusted Brandon as implicitly as he did the other five.

Their ringleader usually had a trick up his sleeve, and he always got the last laugh.

Of course Brandon would be smiling about his imminent death. Unless … could the prognosis be a false claim, a ploy to get them all to do something they’d never be able to live down?

Chase pushed that ungracious thought from his head. Who would do that?

Brandon would.

He had asked them all to get two weeks off this June, flew each of them to Dallas in first class, and promised them the ‘trip of a lifetime’.

Their group attempted an annual get-together in June for a few days every year, had even dubbed it the Squadron 7 Bye Week.

They usually spent the time together in Brandon’s Park City home—golfing, playing pickleball, hiking, mountain biking, and eating out.

Chase, Robbie, and Rockwell had missed several of the yearly reunions during their time in the military.

Brandon had begged everyone to make this two weeks a priority, and everyone had.

His imminent death was a spin on things nobody had expected.

Apparently Brandon had planned the longer two-week trip because it would be his last hurrah. That stunk.

“I get dibs on Madelyne,” Parker, the brilliant jokester of the group, quipped.

Everyone groaned and gave Parker disgusted but not surprised looks. Brandon’s grin only grew.

“Seriously, Parker,” Nelson, the well-liked, down-to-earth construction owner, muttered. “Not chill.”

“Come on; tell me you weren’t thinking it,” Parker protested. “The hottest woman on earth will be single soon.” He winked at Brandon, who didn’t look bothered at all.

“Some of us know the meaning of the word tact ,” Nelson said. He brushed a hand at his hair. His Stetson sat on the end of the table. He reclined back and crossed one leg over the other, revealing nice Tecova dress boots but not a fifteen-grand price tag like Brandon’s.

It was the flash of ire in Rock’s dark eyes directed at Parker that surprised Chase. Built like a lethal weapon, larger than even Robbie, Rockwell had been on the elite Delta Force. He’d surprised all of them by retiring last year and choosing to be Brandon’s head of security.

Chase knew Brandon and Rock were close, but it appeared maybe the Rock had grown close to Brandon’s ‘assistant’ AKA ‘model-gorgeous girlfriend’ Madelyne as well.

Was Rock hoping for a chance to date Madelyne after Brandon passed like Parker had joked about?

That was morbid and didn’t fit Rock’s mode of operation at all.

“What can we do for you?” Chase asked Brandon. He was considered the ‘nice guy’ of the group. Very few people outside their former Ranger unit knew he excelled at hand-to-hand combat and small arms. He’d only needed his specialties a few times in Jade Valley.

He often wished he could erase and forget the kill list he’d compiled as an Army Ranger and keep the connections he’d made.

His Ranger unit and these six men were his brothers.

He’d never known a solid, loving family of his own being shuffled through foster care until he aged out.

If not for these guys and their welcoming parents and siblings, he’d most likely be on drugs or in prison.

“Ah, Chase. I knew you’d be the one to ask that question.

” Brandon rounded on him, his smile so wide his cheeks crinkled and his eyes almost disappeared.

Brandon wouldn’t be considered classically handsome by anyone with his craggy face and prominent chin, but his wealth and confidence made him ‘magnetic’ to most of the female population in the world.

Brandon pulled out a chair and plopped down on it, shocking all of them. He rarely sat. He leaned onto the polished quartz table with his elbows and zeroed in on Chase. “My favorite friend …”

Parker hurled his water bottle at Brandon, and Nelson groaned good-naturedly.

Brandon deflected the water bottle and chuckled.

“Okay, okay, one of my favorites of my six lifelong friends.” He looked carefully around the table.

“This all has to stay between us. If the word spreads, my stock will go to pot and then how will I afford to jet set around the world with my lovelies?”

“Rough life,” Emmett said.

Everyone but Rock hid a smile.

“Someone has to live it.” Brandon spread his hands and grinned.

“So, what can you all do for me? Thank you for so generously offering, Chase. I appreciate each of you being willing to do a favor for me the next two weeks.” He drew out the suspense, and Chase shifted in his chair.

He’d asked in genuine concern; only Brandon would twist the question into something they were already committed to.

“You can each take a two-week European vacation with the perfect woman for you, a woman so ideal you never thought to dream about her in most cases,” Brandon said. “And if you make her fall in love with you …”

Chase groaned inside, and Nelson groaned out loud across the table.

“I’ll throw in a million dollars. You’ll all get more money when I die, but this is just one of those friendship dues, pre-will-reading, strings-attached type of gifts.”

Robbie muttered an oath.

Chase wasn’t certain if this scheme of Brandon’s sounded like a dream come true or a nightmare. He did fine financially with his military retirement and income as a police officer, but a million dollars would give him investment opportunities for when he truly retired.

It most likely didn’t matter as he’d never really dated a woman seriously or had a woman fall in love with him.

Even if this was his ‘ideal woman’, he doubted love would happen, and there were two huge problems he could see.

Two weeks wasn’t enough time to fall in love even if this was his perfect match, and …

“Who chooses our dream woman and what are we supposed to do with her for two weeks?” Nelson demanded, echoing the question in Chase’s mind.

“Of course I get to choose, with Madelyne’s expert womanly advice.”

“No,” Robbie said in his deep, commanding voice as he sprung to his feet and shoved his chair back.

“I’m sure you can find plenty to entertain you in the European locations I’m sending you to with a beautiful woman for two weeks,” Brandon said, smug and gleeful, ignoring Robbie’s reaction completely.

“Of course, Madelyne will have booked you on various day trips and spa and restaurant reservations. It’s going to blow your minds.

” He rubbed his palms together as if he were the one going on a dream trip with his supposed dream woman.

How did Brandon and Madelyne think they knew which women would appeal to each of them and, more importantly, who each man would appeal to?

Chase was confident in other aspects of life, but not around women.

He’d heard he was decently handsome, and everybody said he was kind, but women didn’t flock to him.

He hated the thought of disappointing some woman with his lack of relationship experience and charm.

He certainly wasn’t looking forward to being alone with some woman he didn’t know for two uncomfortable weeks.

Even to make Brandon’s last wish happen, experience unique European adventures, and maybe be gifted a million dollars.

This was a disaster in the making.