special woman who’s got our little brother acting like a flustered dumbass?”
Corny as it was, a burst of happiness warmed Dylan’s chest. He’d probably never get completely used to having brothers who wanted to be a part of his life. Crazy to think that a short month ago the only one he’d had to keep him in line was his ma. Lord knows she’d be thrilled to know some of that burden had been lifted from her overworked shoulders.
“You plannin’ to settle down and become a family man?” Jackson asked before taking a draw from his longneck bottle of beer.
It took less than a second to come up with the answer to that question. “Hell, yes.”
He’d already lost three years. Although he’d never get those back, he had a lifetime of amazing memories ahead of him to create with Zoe and Hunter. And absolutely nothing would stand in his way of making that happen.
CHAPTER THREE
Two months later.
“Girl, when are you going to set a fucking date?”
Zoe winced, both at the question and Callie’s favorite F word. “I swear it’s a miracle you don’t scare off your clients with that vocabulary of yours.”
Her grin unrepentant, Callie Rogers spritzed a finishing gloss over Zoe’s newly applied lavender streaks. “Still here, aren’t ya?”
“Only because you give me a discount.”
“Aw, you know you love me.” Callie fluffed Zoe’s hair, admiring her handiwork. “ Rawr . If I was a lesbian I would do the hell out of you.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “I’m asking Santa to bring you a boyfriend this year.”
“Just make sure he’s packing some serious meat downstairs. No wimpy frankfurter either. Anything less than a bratwurst and he’s gettin’ sent back to the North Pole.”
Zoe slid a look sideways and caught Rori’s grin. “We’re never letting her loose in Santa’s workshop. Could you imagine the toys she’d cook up?”
“Only the best kind.” Her laugh wicked, Callie freed the Velcro on the barber drape and whisked it off of Zoe. She twitched her nose. “Some of us have a standing daily date with our battery operated boyfriends instead of hunky Walker men. We need world-class equipment.”
“ Daily ?” Zoe blinked.
“Hey, I cut back.”
“From what ?” Zoe held up her hand. “Never mind. Forget I asked.”
Callie tossed the drape over the neighboring stylist chair before going to check on Rori’s nails. She clicked off the UV light with a hum of approval. “That color is hot .”
Zoe sent Rori a warning look. “Careful, she’s two seconds away from making an indecent proposition.”
Waggling her eyebrows, Callie uncapped the bottle of Opi polish and added a few artistic daisies to Rori’s manicure. “But getting back to my original question. You need to set that date soon so that we can start plannin’ your shower.”
“You guys don’t have to go to that trouble.”
Callie and Rori gave her twin looks of disbelief. Rori was the first to respond. “Why in the world would we not plan one?”
“And let’s not forget the bachelorette party,” Callie added.
Zoe gave her friend the stink eye. “You are definitely not doing that.”
“Lord, girl. You are the biggest wet blanket.” Callie pursed her lips into a pout. “Great, now what am I gonna do with that Pin the Dick on the Hunk game I bought for your party?”
“Please tell me you didn’t.” Zoe groaned as she grabbed her purse and fetched her wallet.
“Yes. And I already have dibs on the ten incher.” Callie returned the polish to her caddy. Once Rori’s nails were dry, Callie lifted from her seat and made change for them. Pointless, considering that both Zoe and Rori immediately stuffed it in the tip jar.
Zoe led their small entourage upstairs to the main living space in Callie’s colonial in the Creek View subdivision. Hunter raced toward her the second they stopped outside the kiddie playroom. She took one look at the bundle of fluff in his arms and shook her head adamantly. “Not