to attention. “Whoa, what? My sister?”
“Why not?” Piper asked. “She’s smart, gorgeous, and has two kids who could really use a loving stepfather in their lives.”
“Yes!” Willow exclaimed. “Aiden would be perfect for Delaney. He took great care of Remi, even if he was overprotective. He had to be. Remi was in the limelight and Aiden’s instincts were right. After all, he found Mason. He’d be amazing with Jolie and Sophie.”
Remi cuddled closer to Mason and said, “He did find me the greatest man around.”
“Want to duke that out, princess?” Piper wrapped her hand around Harley’s arm.
“No way. I like my face just as it is,” Remi teased. “You’re right about Delaney and the girls, but Krista’s daughter, Brooklyn, could use a daddy, too.”
“What is this? An episode of The Bachelor?” Zane asked.
“Don’t you think Aiden might want to have a say in his life?” Harley asked.
Mason put his arm around Remi and said, “As my soon-to-be wife says to me often, ‘spoken like a true man.’”
The guys chuckled, and the girls went on about the ridiculous things men say. Piper was the ringleader of that conversation, and she had the girls in stitches.
“Don’t even try to tell me that Zane and Mason haven’t given you guys the old ‘I could have gone all night, but you know, babe, I figured you were tired,’” Piper said in a baritone voice.
“Yes!” Willow and Remi said in hushed whispers, as if their men weren’t able to hear them.
“Well, my man has never told me that,” Piper said with a proud lift of her chin and a wink in his direction.
He nuzzled against her neck, kissing her there. “Damn right, and I never will,” he said.
“Or when the dishwasher needs emptying and they coincidentally walk into the kitchen when you’re almost done emptying it and say, ‘I was just about to do that!’” Willow patted Zane’s shoulder and said, “My man is famous for that. But I told him he didn’t have to be good in the kitchen as long as he’s excellent in the bedroom.”
Zane bumped fists with Mason and Harley.
“Before we have too many drinks and I forget, can we count on any of you to help put together duffel bags and birthday boxes again? We’re shooting for two weeks from this coming Tuesday at six o’clock in our barn.” Volunteers gathered once a month to fill the birthday boxes and duffel bags with the donated items.
“I’ll be there,” Harley and Piper said in unison.
Harley had no doubt Piper would be there every time they needed help. Her generosity with her time was just one of the many things he admired about her.
“Us too,” Willow said. “We’ll be there.”
Remi clapped. “Thank you! Now catch me up with what I’ve missed since we last saw each other, and then I’ll tell you our big news.”
“You’re preggers,” Piper said as she reached for Harley’s glass.
Willow gasped, Mason shook his head, and Zane laughed. But as the others chatted about Remi and Mason’s real news, their plans to foster children soon after their wedding, which was taking place in August, all Harley could think about was Piper drinking his beer. He didn’t know why she hadn’t ordered her own drinks when she’d always done so at the pub. But he loved that she was sharing his, as she had done at the hockey game. He chalked it up as another way she was telling him that she was into them as a couple without having to actually say it. Another Piperism. Like those alluring looks she was giving him.
“That’s wonderful. Do you plan on having your own children, too?” Willow asked Remi, drawing Harley from his thoughts.
Mason looked lovingly at Remi as she said, “At some point, yes. But since Mason went through the foster care system, we really want to foster kids and give them the fantastic experience he missed out on. We might even foster to adopt or foster several children at once. We’re trying to figure out how we can make the most difference in kids’ lives.”
“I love that idea,” Willow said. “You guys will be great parents.”
Harley brushed his lips over Piper’s temple, wondering if she wanted children. She smelled like sunshine and unspoken promises. She slid her hand over his thigh, holding tight, and lifted her eyes to his. He had the urge to pull her into his lap and tell her how much he adored her, but she was finally letting him in, and he worried about pushing