I’M NERVOUS AS hell about meeting my family. Dillon and I aren’t alone in the world anymore, which is an odd thing to wrap my mind around. I’ve always wondered if we had any siblings, but I figured if we did they would be years younger than us. Instead, Dante is exactly Dillon’s age, while Damien and Spencer are younger than Dante, Dillon and me. I’ve been a little sister my entire life. And now I’m a little sister twice over and a big sister twice over as well. I can’t wait to meet them, but I’m nervous they won’t like me. I said as much to Minnie when I was unloading on her, but she wasn’t having that at all.
“I love you, and they’re going to love you too,” she assured me. “My brothers and Spencer are so amazing! I promise, you’re going to be so happy to have them in your life. The only problem is…”
I immediately panicked. “Oh my God… There’s a problem?”
Laughing at me she said, “Yep. Sure is, and I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you the bad news. The problem with the three of them is they’re very overprotective. You’ve always just had Dillon. Now you’re going to have four alpha male, hot-headed brothers. I fear for your sanity. You have no idea what you’re in for. They’re going to drive you insane.”
It sounded pretty good to me, which helped push some of my nerves away. In my heart of hearts I’ve always wanted a bigger family, but I never thought it could happen. Now I’m minutes away from meeting three new brothers and all of their women.
Dillon and I agreed to meet with them all at Dante’s house and I’ve been a fidgety nervous wreck for the entire ride. As usual my brother is my rock.
“Lee, it’s fine,” he says soothingly. “They’re going to love you almost as much as I do. You don’t realize how lucky they feel to have a new sister. Remember, they found us because they wanted to. They could have chosen to keep it a secret, but they genuinely want us to be a part of their family.”
He squeezes my hand tighter and looks at me for a second before putting his attention back on the road. “They want you to love them. Hell, I want you to love them—but my status as your favorite brother better never change. You and I have an unbreakable bond. No new family can ever alter it.”
I have told him a hundred times since we found out that no matter what he will always be my favorite brother. As excited as I am about having three more, the bond Dillon and I have can never be broken, but it’s clear he needs reassurance and I don’t blame him. Dillon has always been my rock and my protector—having three more men taking on the role of brother in my life is freaking him out.
I squeeze his hand back reassuringly. “No matter what,” I remind him, “you’re always going to be my big brother—the one I look up to the most, the one that I love the most, and the one that knows me the best. What you and I have been through together is something no one else who didn’t live it could ever understand. You’ll always be my favorite bro-tato chip.”
When we pull into Dante’s driveway, my heart is racing at top speed. As expected, Dante’s house is gorgeous, which makes sense considering the fact that he’s the president of one of the biggest building companies in the world. As beautiful as his house is, even from the outside it feels like a home as opposed to a picture perfect creation on the cover of Architectural Digest.
There are almost a dozen cars in the huge driveway, a reminder to me that not only are all three of my new brothers in the house, so too are their extended family. For someone used to having such a small circle, this is uncharted territory for me. Even though Minnie asked Dillon and me not to let on that we have actually known her for years, it’s definitely helping to know she’s inside the house waiting with the others.
As we walk up the driveway I clutch Dillon’s hand and try to calm my nerves. My mind wanders and I’m transported back to the day the two of us had arrived at our first foster home. I had been so scared I was shaking like a leaf and the only thing that gave me a sense of security at all had been holding onto my big brother for dear life. The one constant in my life has always been him, a truth that has gotten me through many difficult times.
Before we are even all the way to the door it flings open and a tall man with dark hair and the same shocking blue eyes as my brother comes out to greet us. I see he’s nervous, just like me, and it makes me feel better to know that Dillon and I aren’t the only ones starting something new.
He shakes Dillon’s hand and thanks him for coming before he turns to me and smiles, introducing himself to me as Dante Hart. I smile back hesitantly as I take in and catalogue every one of his features, and my heart melts when I see that he’s choked up. He swallows nervously before blurting, “Can I hug you?”
Since the rape it’s been very difficult for me to be touched in any way by men other than my brother, but I don’t feel strange about saying yes to Dante at all. I nod once before he wraps his arms around me and gives me a tight hug.
“You look just like Spencer, only beautiful,” he says with a laugh.
I didn’t expect to get emotional, but I choke back a sob as I answer him. “You and Dillon have the same eyes.”
Before I can say anything else, two more men come out the front door. I immediately know which one is Spencer Cross because Dante is right, we do look a lot alike. He’s “built like a brick shithouse” as my foster mother used to say, but I can see the resemblance between Spencer, Dillon and me. Spencer hugs me as well, and he is over-the-moon excited about having a sister, something that puts me at ease and makes me feel giddy. He’s the only one out of us all who had been an only child, and even though he has the Harts, he’s excited to have official siblings.
Spencer literally beams as he tells me that I am going to be an aunt soon, because he and his fiancée are having a baby. I act surprised and congratulate him with a big smile, but of course I already know his fiancée is pregnant because Dominique is so happy her twin is having a baby.
Out of the corner of my eye I see my third new brother, Damien. He’s standing stiff and aloof next to Dante who’s talking to Dillon. I am surprised Damien seems so standoffish, mostly because Minnie talks about him like he’s the best thing since sliced bread. In her eyes, Damien can do no wrong and I’ve been anticipating someone friendly and funny. He doesn’t look thrilled to have us here, and it dawns on me that maybe not everyone wants Dillon and me around. My heart beats funny in my chest as I wonder if the whole thing is going to turn into a foster care situation where the newbies get hazed by the biggest bully.
My mini panic attack goes on until Spencer notices that I’m looking at Damien, and he quickly gets his attention and pulls him over to introduce him to me. I go tense all over as Damien swivels in my direction, but I relax when I see his eyes melt when he looks at me. When he envelops me in a hug and tells me how happy he is to have a big sister, I can tell that he means it. I wonder why he looked so unwelcoming at first, but then quickly write it off as being a case of me imagining things.
Once our initial introductions are over, Dante takes us all inside to meet the rest of the family. It’s overwhelming to meet so many new people all at once, and I try to keep up. Aside from Minnie, (or Dominique as I have to call her in front of the family) there is her twin sister Delilah, Dante’s wife Sabrina, Damien’s fiancée Brooke, and the woman who raised Dante, Damien, Spencer, Delilah and Minnie after their parents died, Sandra Thomas.
I also meet the twins newly found brother, Flynn, as well as his father, Todd, and his grandparents, Sylvia and Mason. It’s practically a full-time job keeping my eyes in my head and my jaw off the ground when I meet Flynn and realize who he is. Minnie has been talking about him practically non-stop, but never once did she mention that her brother Flynn was Flynn Rand…lead singer of the Renegade Saints. Just looking at Flynn reminds me of Gavin and I have to force myself to stay cool. The world is too small sometimes.
Meeting all of the new and extended family members is overwhelming, but in a positive way. Dillon and I have been alone for so long and suddenly, boom, we are part of a larger unit. The best thing about it is that the unit we are a part of includes my best friend, which is the cherry on top of the sundae as far as I am concerned.