“I’m so nervous.” Shane looked like he was going to throw up.

Dylan, unfortunately, knew how he felt. They were both dressed in black tuxedos that cost way too much money. But Shane’s mother had insisted, saying, “You only get married once.” Then she’d looked right into Shane’s eyes, then Dylan’s, then Austin’s. “You boys make the right choice, and you’ll only get married once. It should be in a tuxedo.”

She’d paid for the clothes, and surprisingly, their father had offered to pay for all the food at Shane’s wedding dinner party, which would take place immediately following the ceremony.

“It’s fine,” Dylan said. “You’re fine.” He straightened his brother’s tie. “You love her, and she loves you, and you’re going to be blissfully happy in that huge homestead.”

Shane cocked his head. “Are you trying to talk me out of this? She hates the size of that house.”

Dylan chuckled. “Not everyone can be comfortable in two hundred square feet.” He stepped back and looked at Shane. “Relax. This is a happy day. Enjoy it.” He turned and took the new cowboy hat from Austin. They’d bought it together for their oldest brother, the man who had given up a lot of his own dreams to make sure the brothers all had this opportunity to be at Triple Towers, together.

“We got you this.” He dusted some invisible lint from the stunning black velvet cowboy hat. He beamed at Shane. “It’s your day, brother.”

Shane took the hat, a sniff the only indication of his emotion. He fitted it onto his head, completing the cowboy groom look so well that Dylan just knew Robin would be thrilled to see him at the end of the aisle.

Three knocks sounded on the door, and Shane nearly jumped out of his boots.

“Relax,” Dylan said one more time, knowing that it was so much easier to say it than to actually do it. Austin opened the door and murmured something through the three-inch gap.

“They’re ready for us,” he said.

Shane took a deep breath and lifted both arms so his brothers could come to him. They formed a triangle, their arms making the sides as they leaned in. Dylan remembered each and every time they’d done this. As boys, before their sporting events. As men, right after their father abandoned them. Again with every ranch they went to. And minutes before they signed the paperwork on their ranch.

Emotion filled Dylan. “You deserve this, Shane,” he whispered.

“We all do,” Shane said. “And we’ll get it.” He met Dylan’s eye and then Austin. “I love you guys.”

Dylan and Austin repeated the sentiment, and they left the room to take their positions at the front of the chapel. Dylan sat between his mother and Hazel, leaning over to kiss his mom on the forehead before taking Hazel’s hand in his.

His throat felt like sand and he wasn’t even planning to propose until after the party. Austin sat on the other side of Hazel, with several cowboys filling the row and leaving just enough space for Dylan’s dad and his new wife on the end.

Dylan hadn’t seen him much since he’d only arrived in town that morning. Shane had put his foot down and said he didn’t want him at the rehearsal dinner, but that he could attend the wedding and the party following it.

His father hadn’t argued, and Dylan thought he was probably realizing the damage he’d inflicted on his sons sixteen years prior.

His mother leaned over to whisper to him. “How is he?”

Shane stood ten feet away, a bundle of nerves.

“He’s fine,” Dylan whispered back, willing Shane to calm down. “Or he will be, once Robin comes out.”

As if Dylan could command things, the music switched to the wedding march, and he twisted toward the back of the chapel, standing a moment later as Robin appeared in the doorway, Dwayne on her arm, both of them beaming down the aisle.

She didn’t know who her father was, and she was an only child. But she’d found acceptance and belonging with Shane and the cowboys at Grape Seed Ranch, just like Dylan and his brothers had.

When Dwayne passed her to Shane, he leaned in and said something that made Shane grin. As Dylan had predicted, Shane calmed as soon as Robin was at his side.

Pastor Gifford started the ceremony, and Dylan didn’t hear too much of what he said. He got swept away in the romance of the wedding, and he stood and cheered when Shane dipped Robin back and kissed her.

Hazel cuddled into his side, and Dylan imagined himself at the front of the crowd, kissing her as his wife. The dryness in his mouth disappeared. He wanted her to wear his diamond, and he suddenly found himself wishing the party was already over.

And it hadn’t even started yet.

An hour later, he paced in the reception center, which smelled like flowers, freshly baked bread, and Hazel’s iced peach skin. “They should be here by now.”

“They’re on their way.” Hazel didn’t even look up from her phone. “Five minutes out.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats.” Robin’s mother stood at the microphone, as she was the emcee for the evening. She grinned at the double doors, but they stayed stubbornly closed.

Dylan took his seat at the table with Dwayne and Felicity, Kurt and May, and Austin and his mother. Austin had his eyes glued to the table next to them, and Dylan followed his gaze to find him frowning at Shayleigh Hatch. She didn’t even glance at him, her arms crossed tightly across her body.

Dylan elbowed Austin and lifted his eyebrows. His brother shook his head, looking more disgruntled by the second.

“May I present Mister and Missus Shane Royal!” Robin’s mom had a great announcer’s voice, and she was clearly enjoying her part of the wedding.

The double doors opened and Shane and Robin entered, lifting their hands as the crowd cheered. She wore a bright blue party dress that fell to her knees, her white-blonde hair spiked up in her funky style.

They made their way to the head table, where they would be the only two sitting. They seemed to shine like gold, and Dylan was overjoyed his brother had finally found his way to happiness.

Dinner was served, and then the DJ started with the music. By the time Shane and Robin made their big departure, Dylan was dying to get his proposal out.

“Want to dance one more time?” he whispered to Hazel. People were starting to head out, and there was no music. She looked at him, a sparkly curiosity in her eyes.

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

“All right.” She stood and turned toward the dance floor. Austin slipped him the ring box and Dylan managed to get it in his pocket before following Hazel out to the floor.

A song began to play, and Dylan nodded to the DJ, who had obviously been alerted to what was about to happen.

Dylan swayed lazily with her a few times, gathering his courage the way she’d taught him. “Hazel,” he said.

She lifted her head from his chest. “Hm?”

Without hesitation, for fear he might abandon his plans, he dropped to one knee and pulled the ring box from his pocket. A hush fell over the remaining crowd and the DJ silenced the song.

“I’m in love with you. I want to dance with you every day of my life. Will you be my wife?” He hadn’t intended to rhyme—all his carefully practiced words that made the perfect proposal—and vanished the moment he’d taken her in his arms for this “final dance.”

He opened the lid on the ring box as her hands clutched at the collar of her dress. They shook, and Dylan loved that about her. Her golden eyes shone like stars as she nodded.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Relief rushed through Dylan and he stood, pulling the princess-cut diamond out of the box and slipping it onto her left ring finger. “She said yes,” he called to the crowd as he lifted her now diamond-laden hand into the air.

Cheering and applause came from his friends and family, and Dylan couldn’t believe he was here, in this moment, experiencing such a momentous occasion. Just two months ago, he’d wondered if he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by buying a ranch and letting Hazel get away from him.

The past seven weeks with her had been pure bliss, and he’d worked to make sure she was always at the top of his list.

He looked down at her, and everything—all the laughter, the music, the dim lights—fell away. “I love you,” he said.

“And I love you.”

“I’ll build you whatever kind of house you want,” he said. “One with a walk-out salon.” He bent down and kissed her. “Okay?”

“Okay.” She brushed her lips against his, a tease really, before saying, “I can’t wait to be your wife.” Then she kissed him in a way that truly testified that what she’d said was true.