Page 10 of Ten Hammers

“I don’t care about any of that,” I tell Jack, though I do. I just happen to care more about their secret meetings. “Cruz, can you make a replica of the chair? We need to replace it, obviously.”

Cruz’s chestnut brown hair flops into his soft brown eyes as he nods.

Ignoring how cute he looks, I return to the more pressing matter. “You guys were having a secret meeting without me?”

I try unsuccessfully to keep the hurt out of my voice. Gav immediately steps up.

“Hey,” he says, reaching up to tuck a particularly boingy curl behind my ear, his thumb brushing my sensitive earlobe as he does. “We will tell you everything as soon as we wrap, okay? It’s all about a surprise, for you, or we would’ve looped you in.”

I’m skeptical. “You swear?”

“We could never keep anything important from you otherwise, Pooh bear. I promise.”

Gavin has a way of instantly making anything better. He could promise me the moon and I’d unquestioningly believe he could deliver.

I relent. “Okay.”

“Now give me one of those smiles I love,” he says and my face obeys without any input from my brain.

“The Taylor family is ten minutes out!” someone calls.

My smile wavers as reality hits.

“This is it, guys. Everybody, bring it in,” Axel says, his voice growing thick.

My eyes begin to mist over as I’m enveloped by all of the brothers.

One last group hug. One last reveal.

It’s been all about lasts, lately, and I haven’t had a spare second alone with Max to talk to him about that very significant first I am still determined to make happen.

To keep myself from dissolving into a puddle of tears at the reality of it all being really and truly over for 1 Girl, 10 Hammers, and this entire chapter of our lives together, I wonder if perhaps the surprise they have for me is the kind where we’ll all be naked.

Mmm… They’ll line up in front of me so that they’re all looking at me, as they’ve always done, and I’ll lose my virginity to them all. Each taking turns thrusting into me, all hands and mouths and hard, hard bodies worshiping mine until I yell “next!” for the Hammer to pass me on and…

“Did you just moan, Win?” Cruz asks.

“I was holding back a sob,” I reply, and my voice is shaky enough to be believable.

There are so many muscular arms around me, I don’t know which one is connected to the hand that grazes my ass. The graze turns into a playful squeeze.

Please, oh, please, let their surprise be of the sexy variety.

While I had allowed my imagination to go buck wild, cooking up a full-blown orgy, what the guys actually had in store for me wasn’t sexy at all.

“No,” I say flatly.

We’re in a hotel together, taking up the penthouse floor. Production wanted to keep us around a few days to film some extra this-is-the-last-show-ever footage. I’m sitting on one of the beds in the room Theo and Leo are sharing, waiting for room service to bring up the feast we’d ordered to share, family-style. I’ve never been claustrophobic before, but in this room, with all ten of the Hammer brothers and their way-too-big idea, I feel like the walls are closing in on me.

“Come on, Win,” Diesel says. “Just hear us out. You usually love our surprises.”

No, I always love their surprises. But then Jack dropped the bomb. And now he’s got them all defending it!

“One last renovation - the true ‘best one yet.’“ I repeat Jack’s words, dully. “You seriously want us to renovate Gram’s house.”

“We do. Before summer ends, before we all go our separate ways.” Jack’s eyes are earnest, eager, even, as my stomach twists with knots. “Our parents will be leaving for that 40th anniversary tour of Europe we set up for them, so it will be just us. Say yes, Win.”

Ten pairs of eyes search mine, and I see in each of them a mix of apprehension and hope. I shake my head, but stop because I’ve grown dizzy.

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