But none of that mattered. He was alive and he was planning a wedding. Strange but true. He was going to marry Shannon Garrity.
“Do you think I should hyphenate?” Shannon asked, nibbling on her lip in a way that made him want to suck that delectable lip right into his mouth. “I mean, Shannon Buchanan, it’s kind of rhyme-y. Sort of like Julia Gulia, from The Wedding Singer.”
Penny laughed again and nodded. “Oh, my goodness! You’re right! That’s funny.”
Nolan looked to Shannon and a frown dipped his brows. “You’re carrying my name, woman,” he said to her. “I don’t care how it sounds.”
Shannon graced him with a stubborn look. “I think Shannon Garrity-Buchanan has a very nice ring to it,” she said with a sniff.
The truth was, he didn’t care if she hyphenated as long as his name was attached to hers somehow. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a resounding kiss. “It does,” he agreed. “As long as we’re together, I don’t care.”
“Ugh.” Vince rolled his eyes. “’Both my brothers have lost their balls,” he said, getting up to leave.
“Where are you going?” Nolan asked. “Aren’t you going to visit?”
“And talk about weddings and babies and last names? No thanks. I’d rather pull my eyelashes out.” Nolan sobered, knowing his brother felt alone now that both Dillon and Nolan had found someone. He could only hope that someday his beloved twin found the same level of joy but Vince was so closed off, he might not even know it if it were staring him in the face.
“You’ll be at the wedding, right?” Nolan asked.
Vince paused and cast him a look filled with love even though they were men and not supposed to be pussies about that kind of stuff. “I wouldn’t miss it,” he answered gruffly and then walked from the room.
“I don’t think he likes me,” Shannon said quietly. Penny, Dillon and Nolan knew Vince’s attitude had nothing to do with Shannon and everything to do with the pain he carried around inside himself but Nolan didn’t want to reveal Vince’s private business.
“That’s just Vince,” Nolan said, forcing a smile. “In his own way, he’ll grow to love you. He already adores Aubrey.”
“It’s true,” Penny agreed, rubbing her enormous belly. “He tries to hide it but Vince has the softest heart. He’s going to drive all of us crazy by spoiling the kids rotten.”
Shannon smiled, relieved. “Oh good. I thought it was me.”
Nolan appreciated Shannon’s concern for his twin, knowing how close he was to his brother. Vince would come around, eventually. And it was true, Vince loved Aubrey to distraction.
“So did you ever figure out who sent that anonymous letter in the first place?” Penny asked, intrigued. “Who knew they’d be a blessing in disguise.”
“Actually, I did find out,” Shannon answered, shooting a glance at Nolan. “It was CeCe, my intern. She found out through a friend of mine, did a little research and when she discovered Nolan, she thought if I were embroiled in a custody battle, I wouldn’t notice what she was doing behind my back, which was trying to steal my job.”
“What a dirty little you-know-what.“ Penny gasped in outrage.
“Yes,” Shannon agreed. “I would’ve never known if I hadn’t stumbled upon a few slips of paper that she’d apparently practiced her letter statement to Nolan on. Dumb girl left the rejects on her notepad on her desk. I guess she was so busy trying to take over my job she forgot about it. I went into her area to find the stapler-remover because she was always taking it and forgetting to return it, that I found the notepad under a stack of papers. Once I had the evidence in my hand, it was hard for her to refute. I took great relish in letting her go.”
“Wow. That’s crazy,” Penny said. “Sometimes women can be really catty when it comes to other women. But, in a way, she brought you two together.”
“True,” Shannon agreed, smiling. “I wish her the best but I’d never work with her again.”
“Well, of course not, you can’t trust her farther than you can throw her!”
Shannon and Penny laughed and the conversation moved back to wedding details, which was a perfect excuse for Dillon and Nolan to excuse themselves without getting an earful.
As Dillon and Nolan enjoyed a little Irish whiskey in the study, Nolan said, “I never thought I’d find anything remotely close to what you and Penny have.”
Dillon lifted his glass in salute, agreeing, “We’re lucky men.”