Noah had gone to daycare since he was two months old. Sheri had enrolled him at the same time she’d gone back to law school.
His son was a happy-go-lucky, well-rounded little boy.
Noah was going to be just fine.
Taking a moment to himself, he glanced around his backyard at all the familiar and unfamiliar faces eating and enjoying themselves. A warm wave of contentment washed through him that he hadn’t felt in a long damn time.
He was with his brothers. He was home.
And when several of those bulky brothers moved to grab beers from a cooler sitting against the house, Dante caught sight of a few of the newcomers again, but this time, he locked gazes with one of the women and his pulse tripped.
Something it hadn’t done in years.
Was that Emily?
Damn. If it was, Holden was one lucky SOB. She was stunning. Hell, every woman in his yard was beautiful, but there was something about this fair-skinned beauty and her incredible eyes. They were a light gray or green, he couldn’t tell from this distance, but they were definitely mesmerizing.
Not good.
He ordered his pulse to slow and his gaze back to his plate.
He hadn’t had any feelings for a woman since Sheri. Sure, he’d had a few hookups over the past year, but for physical release only. None of it involved his heart or any movement in that area of his body.
Until today.
Great. He didn’t need it now, especially for the wife or girlfriend of one of his brothers.
After he finished his pizza, he threw his plate in the trash can near the beer and was about to head over to Noah when Holden set a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on,” he said. “I want to introduce you to Emily.”
A shard of dread sliced through him. Dante nodded, silently hoping his buddy would lead him to some of the other women he hadn’t met yet that were sitting near Dex and his wife, Rylee, and their two-month-old little girl, and Stefanie and Mac, who was holding his young son. He estimated the little boy to be around the same age Noah had been when he’d lost his mother.
Before that thought even had a chance to settle, he was tugged by Holden in the other direction.
The one that led to the beauty with the gorgeous eyes.
Swallowing down a silent curse, he followed, noting that the woman stood next to another newcomer with curly brown hair and warm brown eyes. Both females were beautiful, but only one affected his pulse, which increased with each step as they neared.
To Dante’s surprise—and relief—his friend slipped his arm around the pretty woman with the warm brown eyes.
“This is my fiancée, Emily,” Holden said. “This is Dante.”
Recovering quickly, he held his shock in check and shook the woman’s outstretched hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Emily,” he said. “Thanks for the pizza and anything else you’ve done here.”
“No worries. My pleasure.” She smiled, releasing his hand before motioning to the woman at her side. “This is my sister, Amanda. She just recently moved to Harland too.”
Dante braced himself before turning to face the beauty, acutely aware that his friend was observing him closely. Damn, he knew he should’ve slid his aviator sunglasses on.
His buddy’s scrutiny didn’t stop his pulse from jumping when he met the woman’s incredible gaze.
Green…
Now that he was up close, he noted her eyes were a light green that faded into gray with a dark ring around the iris, and all of this was emphasized by her sun-streaked, light brown hair.
Breathtaking.
“Hello, Amanda,” he finally said, offering his hand since he’d just completed that ritual with her sister and didn’t want to appear impolite, even though he knew instinctively that touching her would be a big mistake.