Page 26 of Kissing the Wrong Mountain Man

But I don't care what anyone says. No one else is in my heart, no one else feels the love and peace and safety Brock gives me, no one else knows that despite our wild start, this is the man my soul has spent three decades searching for. I'm in love with Brock, and I know this is only the beginning of our happily ever after.

We're almost home, approaching the back porch, when I hear what sounds like a sneeze. "What was that?"

Brock's eyes slide to the back door. "What was what?"

"That noise."

"Oh, that was Willow. She coughed."

"I heard a sneeze." I grab him by the arm, my instincts on high alert. "What are you up to, mister?"

"It wasn't my idea," he says, then grimaces. "I mean, nothing."

"Brock Matteo Palladino," I keep my voice murderously low. "Tell me right now what is going on."

"You can't hit a man holding a baby," he retorts.

I unclip Willow from his front carrier, and take her in my arms. "Oh, look, you're baby-free. Now spill!"

Brock

"Surprise!"

Everyone springs out from their hiding spots, and to her credit, Schapelle does a good job of acting surprised, even though I revealed on the porch her sisters had approached me about throwing a surprise, several-months-belated 30th for her since she was heavily pregnant at the time of her actual birthday and didn't feel like doing anything.

"Oh, you guys!"

I move out of the way as Schapelle and Willow get swamped by a flurry of hugs from her parents, her sisters, and a bunch of friends who have flown in from all over the country.

My eyes sweep across the room. I spot my youngest brother, Culver, and his wife, Hannah.

"Glad you guys made it," I say, giving them both hugs.

"We're happy to be here," Hannah says, smiling.

Our family has known Hannah's family forever, and I'm so happy Culver married his best friend. She really is terrific.

On the other end of the spectrum…

"Where's Malik?" I ask.

My second oldest brother married a woman who, try as I might, I just can't make myself like. "Over there." Culver tips his head to the corner of the room where a clearly intoxicated Bianca is trying to…Oh. No.

"Is she twerking?" I ask.

Hannah tilts her head. "Yikes. Looks like it. Malik needs backup. I'll go, you two stay and catch up."

She kisses Culver then marches over to Malik. I'm glad our siblings could make it. Well, most of them. Our other brother, Farrow, is a firefighter, and his wife Sandy is a vet. They're both on-call this weekend and couldn't get out of their shifts. Neither could Schapelle's other sister, Allie. She's currently in Australia, training an A-lister to get him in tip-top shape for an upcoming action movie he's starring in.

"Hannah's so great," I say, handing Culver a beer.

"Yeah, she is," he replies with a huge smile. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

I cough into my fist. "Second luckiest."

Culver pats me on the back and smiles warmly. "I can't tell you how good it is to have you back, man. We were all so worried about you."

I take a sip of my beer. "I had some stuff I needed to get through."

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