Page 1 of Seven of Hearts

1

LOGAN

“Kylie has always been more than a sister to me,” I said, holding a glass of overpriced champagne. “When we were younger, we tried to convince people we were twins since we were so close in age.”

Laughter erupted among the wedding guests across the ballroom as I flashed a cheeky smile at my sister and her new husband.

“She was my first friend. My oldest friend.” My vision blurred as memories of Ky and me as children floated through my mind. “And I couldn’t think of anyone better to put up with her for the rest of her life than Bryan.” Laughter rose up as I toasted the happy couple. “May your days be long, your problems few, and your home be happy. Cheers.”

Someone took the microphone from my hand as Kylie stood in her marshmallow of a dress and hugged me.

“Thank you, Lo.”

I chuckled. “You made me promise not to pull out any embarrassing stories.”

Kylie gingerly dabbed her eyes with a linen napkin. “You promised you wouldn’t make me cry.”

“Sorry. Life’s full of disappointments.”

She let out a blustering laugh, then turned to Leah, her maid of honor. “How many more speeches? I need to pee, and I’m gonna need help with the dress.”

I eyed my new brother-in-law warily. “Please don’t tell me you need help with your tux. I don’t think that’s a two-man job.”

Bryan raised his hands in surrender. “I’m good.”

“One more speech,” Leah said to the three of us. “Then it’s just dancing.”

I took my seat beside Leah and made a move for my fork so I had something to do with my hands. “Thank God."

Leah let out a light laugh, tipping her head back as her soft blonde hair spilled down her back in gentle waves. “Oh, come on. Being attached at the hip all day hasn’t beenthatbad.”

I had known Leah Holloway since we were kids. She and Kylie had always been thick as thieves. Leah had been one of the few friends to stick around after we went from median riches to trailer park rags.

Being attached at the hip all week was the furthest thing from ‘bad,’ but I couldn’t tell her that. She was my sister’s best friend, which meant she had always been off-limits.

Static from the microphone crackled over the speakers as Will—my brother-in-law—stood to his feet.

He looked a little older than he did eleven years ago when he started dating my oldest sister, Kristin. A little grayer—though that was probably from helping raise Kylie, Hunter, Zoey, and me.

Now, he wasn’t just my brother-in-law. He was my boss.

“Good evening, everyone,” Will said as he immediately traded his handwritten speech for a tissue. “My name is Will Solomon. A little over eleven years ago, I met the love of my life in this very hotel.” He looked at Kristin and smiled. “It took a lot of coaxing on my part, but Kristin finally agreed to let me meet her siblings. I was in foster care growing up and never had much family of my own. But the moment Kristin opened the door and introduced me to Kylie, Logan, Hunter, and Zoey, I knew I had found mine.”

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath as I reached for a napkin.

Leah beat me to it and offered a tissue from a packet she had stashed beside her bouquet. “I always get choked up at these things,” she said with a kind smile that softened the corners of her eyes.

Will composed himself and continued on with his speech. “The day that Kylie told me she wanted to follow in her brother Logan’s footsteps and change her last name to mine when she turned eighteen, was one of the highlights of my life. Being able to watch her grow and take on the world with unmatched tenacity has been an honor. And as sad as I am that she is changing her last name again, I couldn’t think of a better man for her than Bryan.” He lifted his glass. “To the new Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster. Love you, Kylie. Cheers.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the ballroom.

Kylie and I didn’t change our last names to Solomon when we were eighteen because Will was rich and we wanted a piece of the pie. It was more than Kristin and Will getting married, and us wanting to have a united family name. We did it because he had raised us to be good people.

Maybe it was a little strange to think of my sister and brother-in-law as the heads of our family, but they were.They had done more to raise Kylie, Hunter, Zoey, and me than our parents had.

The only thing I could do to pay them back for everything they had done was to not fuck it up.

The goal I had set for myself at eighteen floated through my mind as I watched Kylie sway across the dance floor in the arms of her new husband.

---