All settled. All happy. All having overcome the main obstacle thrown in their path, Robert Dare’s betrayal. Watching his family now, Ian thought, his role in their lives was complete. He’d stepped up, taken over, and made certain each one of them had everything they needed. He’d never considered it at his own expense, but once Riley had burst past his well-built defenses, he’d realized how precarious life was. How easily he might have pushed her away instead of pursuing her, and missed out on the family he now had.
Nobody knew, but Riley was pregnant again. They didn’t want to reveal the news and spoil his mother’s special day. Of course, Emma would think another grandbaby was her wedding present, but he and Riley wanted to keep the news to themselves awhile longer.
He whispered a prayer of thanks that his brothers had found what Ian had. A woman who could share life’s burdens and joys. He’d never considered himself sentimental, but after watching Scott and Tyler fall over themselves not to let their women get away, Ian patted himself on the back for the example he’d set going after Riley.
And then there were his sisters. His pride and joy. Olivia and Avery, who Ian would kill to protect, had also finally put their father’s betrayal behind them enough to open their hearts to good men.
Ian shrugged, and while he was at it, he patted himself on the back for that too. He grinned and looked over as his mother and Michael danced in the corner, lost in their own world. He couldn’t take credit for their happiness, but he was damned glad his mother could have a second chance after raising her kids. Because no doubt about it, she was the driving force behind the people they’d all become.
“What are you grinning at?” Ian turned toward a man he hadn’t seen in years, Kaden Barnes, software billionaire and one of his college friends. Kade was in town for a business meeting with Ian, and true to her giving nature, Emma was all too happy to invite his old friend to her wedding.
“I’m just taking in the changes in my family,” Ian said.
Kade’s gaze swept the room. “They’re all married off. Have you all lost your minds?” Kade’s icy blue eyes flashed with more seriousness than humor.
“You still haven’t met the one, or you wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss settling down,” Ian replied.
The other man raised one dark eyebrow. “I’ll take your word for it, thanks.”
Ian shook his head. “Can’t be because you don’t have your choice of willing women. I’d bet they’re all over you in the city. Hell, they were back when we were in school and you weren’t half as bulked up as you are now.”
“I work out.” Kade grinned, flexing his arm with an arrogant grin. “And can I help it if I’ve got good genes? Now I’ve got the personal bank account to match.”
Ian knew Kade was touchy about his father’s wealth and riding his daddy’s coattails. He’d been determined to make it on his own and he had. He and his partners had developed a revolutionary cell phone app that’d made him wealthy beyond imagination.
Unfortunately he was involved in an ugly dispute with a fourth man that threatened everything they were building. Kaden Barnes had a lot on his plate. Maybe he really had no time for a relationship. Or maybe he was jaded.
“Wealth like yours makes it hard to tell what’s real,” Ian said, because he knew how that felt. Until he’d met Riley, that was.
He glanced over at his wife. Was it his imagination or did her breasts look bigger already? When she was pregnant with Rainey, they’d been large, luscious, and tasted fucking delicious. He mulled over the notion of pulling her into a private room before thinking better of it. Later tonight, he’d have her all to himself.
“Are we still on for our meeting Monday?” Kade asked, breaking into his thoughts.
Kade, along with his business partners, Derek West and Lucas Monroe, lived in New York, eschewing Silicon Valley for the Big Apple. They were all in town to recruit potential investors for when they took their company public.
Ian nodded. “Gabe’s in town for the wedding, so he’ll join us instead of having a separate sit-down with you in Manhattan.”
Kade picked up a whiskey he’d left on a nearby table and took a long drink. “I like your cousin. We hung out often. Or at least we did until…”
“I got my chance with Isabelle?” Gabe asked, joining them, with his beautiful wife on his arm.
“Yes, that,” Kade said with an eye roll. “However, you are stunning, Mrs. Dare,” he said, taking Isabelle’s hand and kissing the top. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Oh, he’s still a charmer,” Isabelle mused, her brown eyes dancing with amusement.
Gabe stiffened and pulled her closer. “Hands off my wife, Barnes.”
Kade laughed and raised his hands in the air. “No harm meant. I want your money more than anything else you might … possess.”
Ian grinned. Apparently Kade knew of Gabe’s dominant proclivities. It ran in the Dare men’s genes. Ian figured Kade, with his self-assured, cool personality, would be equally controlling with whatever woman finally tamed the bad boy he liked to claim he was.
“Kade, one of Olivia’s friends would like an introduction,” Ian’s sister Avery said, passing by as she headed for the dance floor with Grey.
“Only if she’s into one-night stands,” Kade muttered under his breath, but Ian caught the low words.
“How’s keeping your women at arm’s length working out for you?” Isabelle asked. Obviously she’d heard him too.
Kade rolled his shoulders. “I can barely keep a secretary. I don’t have the time or the inclination to try and keep a woman happy.”