We stood in a tight little crowd outside of the judge’s chambers. Beau and the guys had left the little ones home with a sitter, but we were still a pretty large group with all seven of us—or eight if Ethan arrived, which I doubted at this point.

“You look nervous, hon. You aren’t having second thoughts or anything, are you?” Dallas’ words were light, but I could see a hint of concern in his eyes.

I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his neck before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. “I’m not ever going to have second thoughts about you. I’m just getting a little antsy because we were supposed to have been in front of the judge twenty minutes ago.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Houston waved a hand. “He probably got tied up in court or something. Honestly, if you’d wanted to have your marriage ceremony done on time, you’d have had an actual wedding instead of this janky little thing at the courthouse.”

Lukas bumped his shoulder against Houston’s. “Don’t make me put you in check today, bitch.”

Houston smiled at Lukas’ playful jab, but didn’t react like he normally would’ve. I was concerned about him. He’d been making a big show of being positive lately, but I couldn’t help but worry about how sad he seemed.

Gideon was trying to climb Beau like a tree after the flirting they’d been doing while waited, when the door to the judge’s chambers finally opened. The judge was a slightly older alpha with graying, ginger hair. I felt sorry for him having to wear that black robe, because it really washed him out.

I bit back a laugh when that occurred to me, because I’d obviously been spending too much time with Houston. Still, there was something about the judge that was familiar. Had I met him before? I was puzzling over how I ever could have met a judge when Dallas tugged on my hand.

“Earth to Kyle. Hello, are you back with us now?” He laughed as he put an arm around my shoulders and guided me into the chambers. “You were in space somewhere, hon.”

I leaned in close enough to whisper. “It’s that judge. It’s driving me nuts, but I’m almost positive that I’ve met him before.”

Dallas glanced over at the judge who was looking over our marriage license. “You’re right. He looks totally familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it either.”

Our conversation was interrupted when the judge looked around our group with a smile. “So, who’s the lucky couple?”

“That would be us, your honor,” Dallas said proudly as he lifted my knuckles to his lips for a kiss. His brothers all stood quietly for once and watched as we had our big moment.

“Ah, yes. Young love. I don’t suppose it has anything to do with that bun in your oven, does it?”

I blushed furiously as I looked down at my seven-month baby bump. “Not completely, your honor. Although she may have helped move things along a little faster?”

The judge chuckled. “Kids have a way of doing that.” He clapped his hands together with a bright smile. “Alright, shall we begin?”

The ceremony was quick, efficient, and should have been completely unromantic. But as I stood there holding hands with Dallas and looking into those soulful eyes, the rest of the world melted away and it was just the two of us as we made our promises to each other.

When we shared our first kiss, I was only vaguely aware of the loud cheering section behind us when his brothers finally made themselves known. I was still lost in the moment as we pulled away, until my eyes happened to land on a family portrait hanging on the judge’s wall. Without thinking, I held up a trembling finger and pointed at it.

“Holy shit, that’s Henri.”

The judge paused mid-signature where he was bent over his desk signing our marriage certificate. He looked up at me with surprise. “You’ve met my son? Hopefully he made a better impression on you than on some of the other people he’s known.”

Dallas snorted. “Not hardly. But if you wouldn’t mind finishing that signature before I tell you what I really think, that would be great.”

The judge barked out a laugh and finished his signature with a broad scrawl. He passed the pen to me so I could sign while he shook his head at Dallas.

“How exactly do you know my boy, young man?”

“Let’s just say that my new husband here was the omega he replaced when Kyle’s cheating ex moved your son right in on them. He claimed that the guy had been kicked out of his family’s home and had nowhere else to go but there.”

The judge shook his head. “I’m sorry to hear that. I love Henri, don’t get me wrong. But I’m ashamed to say that my son is a narcissist, just like his mother. He’s a pathological liar, for the record. And I’d also like to make it clear that Henri wasn’t kicked out of my home. He ran away with who he told me was his widowed boyfriend after I cut up his credit cards because he wouldn’t quit running up debt.”

While Dallas took his turn signing, I turned to the judge. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand why he was even spending your money in the first place. He’s a classically trained chef, right? Why didn’t he just get a decent job in the industry? Heck, I didn’t go to the Cordon Bleu like he did, but I have a degree from the CIA and I’ve been doing okay with the catering business I started on the side.”

“I’m sorry, did you say that Henri was Cordon Bleu trained? Not hardly. Remember when I told you that my son was a pathological liar? It sounds like he’s been at it again. He’s taken a few community center classes, but most of his cooking was learned at home. His mother is French and the one good thing she did was teach that boy to cook.”

I was stunned and not at all sure how to even begin to process that information. The judge took one final look at our marriage certificate and passed it to his secretary who had been standing there quietly watching the whole time.

“Notarize this for these fine gentlemen, if you wouldn’t mind, darlin’.”

While she stamped and initialed our document, the judge motioned between Dallas and me. “I’m sorry that my son broke up your last relationship, but it appears that everything worked out in the end. I wish the two of you a lifetime of happiness. Please don’t let who my son is ruin your memories of today.”

Dallas put his arm around me while I shook my head at the judge. “Far from it, your honor. If anything, I’d like to thank you. I’ve dealt with a lot of self-esteem issues over the years. It was hard knowing that I was being replaced by who my ex considered to be a better chef. As petty as it sounds, it does make me feel better to know that your son isn’t certified or professionally trained.”

“I beg your pardon, your honor,” Dallas said softly before we left. “I would like to give you a heads-up, if you wouldn’t mind. At the risk of being accused of libel, you should probably know that Kyle’s ex was abusive. Your son probably thinks that he can control him, but he’s living on a powder keg.”

The judge looked concerned as he shook our hands a final time and thanked Dallas for his candor. On our way out of the courthouse, Lukas was walking beside me. He seemed to be deep in thought before he finally reached over and snagged my hand.

“Look, I know that stupid fuck used to make you give him all your money. I just want you to know that I’m proud of you for not making any excuses or covering for him after he hurt you and for moving forward with your life. I’m happy for you, Kyle. It sucks that you went through everything you did with Fred, but at least now you can finally be happy.”

I gave his hand a squeeze and smiled. It occurred to me that he’d made a good point. Fred had made me give him all my money. And if he’d been dating Henri for a while before he’d moved him in, he’d basically been duping me to help support his extracurricular activities. I started to get angry, but the baby chose that moment to kick.

Rubbing a hand over my fluttering belly, I decided that Fred and Henri didn’t deserve another moment of free rent in my head, as Dallas would say. I wasn’t going to dwell on them or their shitty behavior anymore. Lukas was right; now I was finally happy. I could breathe a sigh of relief because my life was pretty damn good these days.

I glanced over at my handsome husband and hooked my arm through his as we made our way to the parking lot. Yes, life was definitely good.