Page 78 of Single Mom's Christmas Wish

“You think?”

“That’s your half-sister, right?” Donna asks.

I nod once. “Yeah, we met in some pretty unpleasant circumstances. I believe the guys told you about her as well.”

“She’s downstairs, playing nice,” Donna says. “A little too fond of the champagne for my taste, but she is about to kiss eighty million dollars goodbye, so I can’t exactly blame the girl. At least she’s showing up for you. It says a lot, given everything that has happened, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I agree. I’ve been trying to get the guys to understand that, too.”

Donna laughs. “My boys don’t trust anyone they don’t wholeheartedly love. In this scenario, the only people they wholeheartedly trust are you, me, and the children. Everybody else is subject to constant scrutiny, especially Callie, who has arecord of unsavory behavior toward you.”

“All I want is to make them happy,” I tell her.

“And you do,” Donna assures me.

It’s going to be a good day.

I can feel it.

28

Reed

It’s supposed to be a strategic move, this whole wedding thing. At least that’s what I have been telling myself lately, as if that’s going to stop me from catching more feelings. Who am I kidding? I’m deeply in love with Dakota, and so are my brothers. We’re helping her because we love her. Because we’ve never had such a bond with anyone before. Not like this, not at this intensity, and certainly not with the promise of a future together.

Therefore, I am nervous.

I’m pacing the groom’s chambers while Maddox and Archer are downstairs, taking care of the final details before the ceremony begins. The preacher is on his way. We should all be ready and gathered in the wedding hall in about an hour. Sunshine pours through the windows, bathing the room in a golden glow. It speaks of hope and promise, reminding us that while this may not have unraveled in a traditional way, it’s still taking us to where we’re supposed to be.

As I look at myself in the mirror, I recognize the man staring back at me on a deeper level, and I wonder if my younger versioncould’ve ever imagined I’d be where I am today. Dakota was an unexpected surprise, and this thing between us grew so fast, consuming us to the point where I know I’m going to give her a wholehearted “I do” before God and the church today.

All I can do is hope she won’t wish to get a divorce later down the line once she has her inheritance and her financial problems are resolved. I cling to the possibility that Dakota’s heart is in this as much as ours.

A knock on the door has me straightening my back.

“Come in,” I say, expecting to see my brothers or our mother. Instead, it’s Callie. “Oh, hey.”

“Sorry to bother you,” she replies with a faint smile. “Your brothers said I’d find you here.” She takes a look around before glancing back at the hallway behind her. “Do you mind if I come in for a bit? I just want to talk.”

“Sure.”

Her smile broadens as she steps into the room, and I notice two champagne flutes in her hands. The door closes, and I turn away from the mirror so I can face her. “Looking sharp, Mr. Faulkner. My sister is one lucky gal,” Callie says and gives me one of the glasses. “I figured we’d toast to the occasion.”

“We’ll be toasting plenty at the reception,” I reply.

Callie laughs lightly, throwing her head back in a way that causes her fiery red curls to dance over her bare, milky white shoulders. The dress she picked out is a tad too provocative for my taste. It’s delicate pink satin that accentuates every curve, the slit too high up on the thigh, and the cleavage plunging way too low. It is meant to provoke. My body and soul belong to Dakota, but evenI have to admit that Callie could have any man she wants with just the snap of her fingers.

And she knows how to dress precisely for that purpose.

“That’s true, but I’m just trying to have a conversation with my little sister’s future husband. Since she and I don’t have an older brother or a dad to give you that particular talk, I figured it falls on me.”

“What talk?” I ask, half-smiling as I sip my champagne. An underlying sweetness sits on the back of my tongue with each sip.

“The ‘you’d better not break my sister’s heart or else’ talk,” Callie replies. “I don’t know her as well as you do, Reed. Hell, I almost missed my chance at getting to know her altogether because I let my family’s venom infect me, but from what I’ve seen, Dakota is one hell of a woman. I hope you know that.”

“Oh, I do,” I chuckle softly. “She’s one of a kind. An unexpected surprise, one might say.”

“You two met at the community center, didn’t you?”

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