“I am not harassing anyone,” I say, offended.“Okay, look, can I see your dads, please?”

“Well, mine is a retired math teacher currently on a fishing vacation in Vermont,” the one with the gray eyes says, then offers me a smile that confuses the heck out of me.How can he look so charming and charismatic but also behind the silver sparkle in his gaze, so equally cool and sharp?

“Mine just closed his dental practice and plans to become a beekeeper in his retirement,” the green-eyed one says.

“And mine is retiring at a Buddhist retreat in Nepal,” the stern brown-eyed one says as he slips his hands into the pockets of his trousers, his legs braced apart.I shudder at the formidable sight he makes.They’re all three formidable.

“So, our dads aren’t available, nor do they have anything to do with the running of Manning, Edwards, and Nash.But if you’re looking for three daddies, you’ve come to the right place.”










Chapter Three

––––––––

Dean

––––––––

So, this is our bridein the flesh.Haley Jensen, who just happens to be a regular Mary Poppins—umbrella attached to her skirt and everything.I mean that quite literally.A white blouse peeks out from her coat, buttoned up to the top, a long, thick, flowing skirt, a hat fashioned with daisies and berries, and soot smudged on her face.

I’m the last person to judge anyone’s kink, but I’m very, very curious.

I glance at the two men I’ve grown up with, the only men I trust with my life, and my business partners, Wesley Manning and Camden Nash.

“What do you get when Mary Poppins—” Camden can’t help himself, adding a teasing lilt to his voice.But she cuts him off before he gets to the good part.

“No,” she says, waving her pretty index finger at us, warning Camden not to go there.

“In my defense,” she continues, “I’m running on fumes from my day job.I also have a family name I’m solely responsible for upholding, a mother to placate, a father to piece together, and a charity on the side to run.

“So excuse me if I went from work as a matchmaker, where my temperamental dog, Cass, otherwise known as Cupid’s Ass, and I cautioned a client that the guy she’s interested in isn’t interested in her.That involved an entire box of tissues' worth of tears.

“I then skipped lunch, attended my cousin’s baby shower, ran late, showered in ten minutes, dressed, and went to my costume ball charity event for animal rescue—the one night a year we make the most money from donors.

“By the time I got home, my mom’s eyes were rimmed red, my dad had already sunk half a bottle of whiskey into his system, and my gran was waiting for me withthenews.

“From a pool of prospective husbands for her to choose from, mine were selected.Except, newsflash: I won’t have just one husband.Or two.Try three and see how that fits.”