Page 47 of Ten Hammers

“Love, you seem to be in a trance,” Leo says, shaking me out of my thoughts.

“I want to do it,” I say again, and laugh at my choice of words again. “That is… if all of you still want to do it with me.”

I expect silence, for them to weigh the pros and cons, and question what an insane idea it is. I’m overwhelmed by an instant, enthusiastic chorus of LET’S DO IT!, as if they’d rehearsed it, as if they’ve all been waiting for it. Even Max is grinning.

I’m swept into a Hammer group hug so fast I don’t know who started it. Their hugs are the best thing ever. I close my eyes and am enveloped by each and every one of them, all muscles and squeezes and kisses on my brow. A kiss drops on my lips, now and again, as they surround me with their warmth and love.

Then I wake up.

No, then Jack says, “We’re gonna need rules.”

Everyone groans. But we all acknowledge that he’s right. Set rules are the only way to keep things friendly and fair and, hopefully, drama-free

Chapter 17

Winnie

Before my announcement, Jack had apparently been urging the others to eat fast so that they could get the reno started without any further delay. But after my announcement, the others teased Jack to no end while he, reno be damned, frantically dug through the garage in search of Anna’s old whiteboard, which probably hasn’t seen sunlight since she used to organize their activities as kids.

With an enthusiasm that makes my heart warm and my thighs clench with flared desire, the Hammer brothers immediately start making up rules as if this is going to be an actual dating competition. I roll my eyes, but I can’t stop smiling.

The final result is an agreed-upon list that Jack writes out and places on the top of the breakfast bar.

1. Everyone gets uninterrupted alone time for a weekly date they will plan for Win.

2. Numbers will be drawn to keep things fair.

3. No sabotage or undermining anyone else’s chance with Win.

4. STFU, you filthy braggart. Keep your time with Win private.

5. After the renovation is done, Win will choose her boyfriend, and there will be no hard feelings.

How will I choose? How will this end without any hard feelings? I really don’t know. But if the boys think I’m worth the risk, I can put my heart on the line for them.

Below the rules, a grid with each brother’s name across the top has been drawn, to record the dates they’ll have with me.

Dates with me so I can figure out which one of them will be my boyfriend. As they eagerly draw their numbers and fill in the grid, I have to pinch myself repeatedly.

“Well,” Jack finally says, grinning from ear to ear. Project planning has always been his happy place. Or it could be a grin because he used sleight of hand to steal the first date, and no one but me noticed. “Now that that’s sorted, who’s ready for one last reno?”

They all look at me.

“You ready, Pooh Bear?” Gav asks.

I nod. With all my boys… I feel ready for anything.

I clear my throat. “Just one thing first… if most of you guys don’t mind heading over to Gram’s… I need Mason and Cruz to stay here with me for a few minutes.”

For a moment I wonder if they might be concerned that my hesitation is about the reno, that I’m just dragging my feet, but I guess I overestimate them, because they all know why I am asking. Mason and Cruz are bombarded with nudges and winks and wolf-whistles. My face heats.

“Give me the pen,” I say to Jack, grabbing the marker, and I add one more rule to the list.

6. No bro-slapping!

I raise my brows, daring anyone to cross me. No one does.

Cruz is grinning at me bashfully, his cheeks a shade of pink I’ve never seen on him before, which is adorable because Cruz is anything but bashful. But he’s in a towel. He has it tied in a way that keeps it in place while his hands are crossed over his chest, but it’s still just a towel. Good Lord. That V-line, which disappears just below the edge of the fluffy cotton fabric…

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