Page 10 of An Enhanced Wedding and other stories

“Thank you,” Liam whispered and flung his arms around Talon’s waist. Finn beamed and Talon rolled his eyes, pretending it was no big deal, but he hugged Liam back just as hard.

He shoved Liam back and looked at him. “So, what did we learn?”

Liam smirked. “That enhanced have exceptional hearing?”

“No!” Finn scolded, laughing.

Liam broke off from Talon and gave Finn a hug. “That if I have any problems, I should just tell you guys.” he added quietly.

“Exactly,” Finn sighed with relief and they both watched as Liam hurried to join the new friends that were waiting for him.

“You big softy,” Finn said and prodded Talon’s bicep.

“Mmm,” Talon replied noncommittally, then turned to the Lenco. “I could get on board with this school thing.”

“You could?” Finn asked, looking hopeful.

He nodded, trying not to grin. They didn’t have to be back at the office for an hour and hedefinitelyhad some homework he thought Finn could help him with.

A Five Minute Proposal

ItwasThursday.Itwasn’tjustThursday though, Talon thought to himself as he stared out of their bedroom window. It was also their second Valentine’s Day together. Finn had loved the meal at Betty’s last year, but this year he was going all out. It wasn’t going to be last minute or rushed; it was planned with precision down to the finest detail.

Absolutely nothing would go wrong. Talon simply wouldn’t permit it.

His fingers clenched around the small velvet box in his pocket. Sizing the ring to fit Finn’s finger had been an exercise in frustration, and in the end, Marie had asked Finn to help her choose an outfit for the Valentine’s dance she was attending. Finn—of course—had taken the request seriously and Marie had taken him into all the accessories shops for something to match her newly colored pink hair. And Finn being Finn needed no encouragement.

Getting Finn to wear matching pink jewelry so she could see what it looked like on a larger finger—a gift for her boyfriend—was a piece of cake.

Talon had booked a table at Arabella’s seven months earlier, and it was only because the lieutenant—Vance’s dad—knew the manager that he’d been able to do that. The restaurant had Valentine’s tables booked out sometimes up to two years in advance.

Finn knew they were going out, but there was no way he would expect this. He’d even arranged for Gregory to keep him a little later so Talon could get home first and make sure everything was ready. The champagne was on ice, and his brand-new suit was laid out. Talon looked at his watch. Finn would be leaving work now. Another ten minutes and he was going to run a bath.

Talon chewed his lip and took a quick glance around the apartment. He had something else to show him as well and patted his other pocket. The realtor had been working around the clock for him. Talon was sure Finn was going to like the house. Olly would definitely like the yard, but he’d have to wait and see. Of course, if Finn didn’t like it, they would look at something else. Because as far as he was concerned Finn could have whatever he liked, and if that was a family home Talon was all in.

The doorbell surprised him and he checked his watch again. Then felt stupid because there was no way Finn would have rung the bell. He walked to the door and swung it open without thinking about it and gaped at the man standing in front of him in fatigues. “Richard?”

To say Talon was stunned at seeing his older brother was an understatement. He stepped back automatically to let him in, but Richard didn’t move, and Talon paused, discomfort crawling up his spine. He recognized the defeat he saw in Richard’s face because of the number of times he’d seen it on his own.

Richard was four years older than Talon. There was only a year between Richard and Ethan and growing up, Talon had always paired up with Sam, his younger brother by one year. Or, as much as their mother allowed it, because setting up one brother against another had been a favorite pastime of hers and obviously that was before he woke up to the worst day of his life, and…

Talon swallowed. Because no, he didn’t think it was the worst day of his life. Not anymore. And the man who was on his way home had a lot to do with making a lot of days the best instead.

“Are you coming in?” he asked calmly.

Richard met his gaze. “Am I welcome?”

Talon nodded and stepped away, leaving the decision up to him. He was mildly surprised that Richard had acknowledged their general dislike for each other. A long five seconds passed before he heard Richard step inside the apartment, and Talon released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Richard dropped the bag he’d been carrying with a thud and Talon switched on the coffee machine. “It seems odd, Gran not being here,” Richard said wistfully. The apartment had been left to Talon when his grandma died. She’d been the only one in his corner for a lot of years, and never cared about a scar on his face.

“You home on leave?”

Richard was doing the family ‘service requirement.’ Someone had to be in the military to fit in with his mother’s political aspirations. For a long time, Talon had wanted that, but obviously that door had slammed shut in his face as well. Richard had seemed to be doing well, though.

“I’m out,” Richard said, and Talon did a double take.

“What, like for good?”

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