David Jennings is the man who was convicted of kidnapping and torturing me as a kid—an injustice I needed to set right. Luckily, Dad left me a large inheritance, and I hadn’t dipped into the compensation fund David was forced to pay me—one I received when I turned eighteen—so I transferred it back to Jennings. With interest, it has grown considerably over the years, and I hope it helps compensate him in some way, for all the years he spent languishing in a jail cell.
Saint clicks his fingers in my face. “Earth to queenie. Where’d you go?”
“I drifted off, Saintly.” I poke him in the chest.
“You okay?” Concern stretches across his face.
“I’m perfect. I was just thinking of everything that’s happened since you guys left The Sainthood, we graduated, and we moved here.”
He tilts my face around as Caz approaches, carrying a platter of steaks. “You have any regrets?”
I tweak his nose. “Not a single one. I love my life.”
“Life is good,” Caz agrees, setting the steaks down as Theo materializes with an overflowing bread basket and a generous salad bowl.
Caz inserts two fingers into his mouth, shrilly whistling, drawing Galen’s attention. Galen strolls across the garden with his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
I slide onto the seat beside Saint as Theo and Caz distribute the food. They’re the unofficial chefs in the house, because the rest of us can’t cook for shit. I lower my face to the plate, sniffing the succulent chargrilled aroma. My tummy rumbles appreciatively. “This smells delicious.”
“Only the best for our queenie.” Caz cheekily grabs my boob, and I shoot him a faux glare.
“Hands off the girls.” I pin him with a seductive grin. “At least until we’ve eaten.”
“Fuck. Now I’m hard again.” He rubs at his crotch, rounding the table to sit beside Theo.
“You’re always hard,” Saint drawls, popping a piece of steak in his mouth. “You should get that checked out.”
“Nothing wrong with my dick.” Caz leans back, grinning smugly. “Maybe you should seek medical assistance for your erectile dysfunction.”
Theo almost chokes on his food. Caz chuckles while running a gentle hand back and forth across Theo’s back.
I pat the seat beside me when Galen approaches. “Sit here, babe.”
Waves of dark messy hair fall into his eyes as he ambles toward me, and my heart swells with love for my broody guy. Galen drops into the seat, and I grab his face, kissing him softly. “I love you,” I whisper, knowing he needs to hear that right now.
He pulls me to his chest, cradling me against him, his hand finding the nape of my neck as he holds me close. “Love you too, angel. More and more with every passing day.”
Fuck. These guys slay me in all the best ways.
“I don’t have erectile dysfunction, dipshit,” Saint growls, flipping Caz the bird.
“Are you forgetting that time you couldn’t get it up?” Caz grins, cutting vigorously into his steak.
“Are you forgetting I’d just come out of the hospital and had a reaction to the meds I was on?” Saint swiftly replies.
“How long are you going to keep reminding him of this,” I ask after chewing a piece of delicious steak. “Because Saintly’s likely to murder you if you don’t drop it, and I’m quite fond of your face.”
I know why Caz does it. Nothing insults my grumpy alpha husband more than questioning his manhood, and Caz just loves pushing his buttons.
“My face or my dick?” Caz asks, and Theo rolls his eyes.
“You have dick on the brain, dude,” Galen says. “Saintly’s right. You should get that shit checked out.”
Caz molds his mouth into an O shape. “Galen siding with his cousin. Shocker.”
“No one is taking sides; although, if you continue to poke the beast, I might need to incentivize you into towing the line,” I add, patting Saint’s thigh.
Caz relents, like I knew he would. He throws up his hands. “No need to invoke the cockblocking strategy, babe. You know I’m only yanking Saint’s chain.” He grins at Saint. “You know I love you, man.”
Saint rolls his eyes, and Caz chuckles.
“And I’ve always got your back,” he adds with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Next time it happens, we’ll fulfil conjugal duties on your behalf.”
Saint throws a bread roll at Caz’s head, and Caz’s chest rumbles with laughter, knowing he’s won this round.
Never a dull moment, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The conversation flows freely as we eat dinner after Caz quits winding Saint up, focusing on different topics.
“I heard from Diesel today,” Theo says, and Saint, predictably, scowls.
He can pretend he still doesn’t like him, but we all know the truth. There’s a begrudging respect between them now.
“Is he still overseas?” I ask, spearing a piece of lettuce with my fork
“Yeah. He sounds as busy as ever.”
“What’d he want?” Caz asks, pushing his empty plate away and rubbing his toned flat stomach.
“To offer me a job.” Theo beams.
“Get the fuck out.” Grinning widely, I stretch across the table to high-five my super-smart, super-sexy guy. “That’s awesome. I’m proud of you.”
“It’s only part-time, but it’s all stuff I can do remotely, and I want to contribute to the household finances.”
The only disagreement between us these past few months has been over money. Which I fucking hate, because it shouldn’t matter where the money comes from as long as we have enough. And we do. Between my generous inheritance and the sizable sum Galen got for the sale of his grandma’s house and land, we have more than enough to last us a lifetime even after purchasing this house, the garage business, and paying college tuition.
The guys donated all their savings to charity, because they didn’t want money that had come from illegal activities. They split their funds between a leading addiction support center with branches in Lowell and Prestwick and a new charity called Moonlight that provides a safe haven and support services for victims of sex trafficking.
“Plus, I can start paying you back,” Theo adds, challenging me with a look.
“Cool.” I don’t give a rat’s ass that I paid for Theo’s tuition—especially since Mom insisted on paying my tuition—or need him to pay me back, but I’ll take his money if it makes him feel better.
Initially, Theo tried reaching out to his parents, hoping they might support him financially after he landed a place at Brown, but after the media coverage of what went down with The Sainthood, they want even less to do with him now.
Fuck them. It’s their loss.
“Did Diesel mention anything to you about Christmas?” I ask Theo, and he shakes his head.
“We only talked business.”
“Work on him please.” I know it’s months away, but we’ll need months to convince him to join us, because Diesel never takes a break. “Mom and Lincoln are coming here to celebrate with us, and I’d really love him to come. I miss him.”
Saint harrumphs, and I slap his thigh in warning.