Chapter 6

CHAPTER

SIX

SCOUT

O ur flight to Italy didn't leave until Monday, so after spending our wedding night at the hotel, Trey and I went back to our new house in The Fan to let the caterers in so they could set up for brunch. The house was more than a step up from the apartment we'd lived in before—hell, it was an entire staircase. If it had been up to me I might have turned down my parents' offer to buy us the place, but after listening to me agonize over it for a day, Trey had stepped in front of me where I was pacing, sat me down, taken one hand between both of his, and said, "Babe. Let your parents say they love you by buying you this ridiculous house, okay? It's the only way they know how."

How could I say no when he put it like that? And of course, he was right. Trey had gotten good over the years at helping me get out of my own way when I was overthinking shit. It was just one of the reasons I loved him.

I made sure that the caterers had everything they needed before checking the time. I liked that the first time we entertained it would be for our Alpha Tau brothers, and I was looking forward to catching up with everyone properly—not that I'd ever tell them that. I had an image to maintain .

"Do we have tater tots or something for the kids?" I asked. "Kids eat tater tots, right?"

"Tell me again how you don't care about anyone," Trey said with a smile.

"Shut up."

The caterer gave us a strange look. "Um, yes. We have plenty of child-friendly finger food."

"And the donuts? You added those, right?"

"Babe," Trey said, taking me by the elbow and steering me away. "Let the people do their job in peace."

"But what if?—"

"It's brunch, not one of your fancy work fundraising dinners. We're gonna shoot the shit, and hear all about Archer's new job and Marty and Dalton's kids, and hang out."

"Yeah," I said, letting out a long breath. "I guess I got so used to everything being a big deal around the wedding, I forgot how to relax."

Trey was good enough not to point out that I'd never relaxed in my life. Instead he grinned and draped his arms around my neck, pulling me close. "I know a way to get rid of some of that tension."

I checked my watch. "I don't think so. I still have to change."

He smacked me on the ass as I headed for the stairs, and I almost reconsidered. Then I tried to imagine the kind of shit we'd catch if any of the guys turned up early.

It wasn't a risk I was prepared to take.

By the time I'd fixed my hair and decided which of my blazers was best for a post-wedding Sunday brunch—linen, in case you were wondering—it was time for everyone to arrive.

Archer and Eli were first, and Eli stared, wide-eyed around the high-ceilinged foyer. "Um, do you live here?"

"Of course we live here," I said, cocking an eyebrow. "Do you think we broke in before dawn, murdered the actual owners, and this is part of some elaborate scam to fool our social circle into thinking we're rich? "

Eli blinked at me. "Not until you said that, no."

"What's our endgame?" Trey asked.

"We ask them to invest in our ponzi scheme over mimosas," I said. "Obviously. Then we take all their money and flee the country."

It was Archer's turn to blink.

"Come on, guys," Trey said. "I'll give you the tour."

"This place is wild. When we move into our house and we give you the tour, it's gonna take like, seven seconds," Eli said as we made our way up the staircase.

"Oh, you guys found somewhere?" I asked.

"Yeah, we've got a little place in Hopewell lined up," Archer said. "It's great."

"I guess you two will be the next ones tying the knot," Trey said in a teasing tone.

Archer and Eli both grinned, and Eli said, "You got any pointers for a proposal?"

"We don't talk about the proposal," I said stonily, before Trey could answer.

"O-kaaay," Eli said, and smiled brightly. "So, how many bedrooms does this place have?"

Trey shot me a grateful smile before answering. "Six. So if you guys are ever in town you're welcome to stay." He led the way along the first floor landing,

"Does Scout have a special room for his clothes?" Archer teased. "A walk-in closet you need a map and compass to navigate? A color coded sweater shelf? A shoe rack that takes up an entire wall?"

"Don't give him any ideas," Trey said.

Too late. When we got back from the honeymoon, I was going to make some calls.

We were only halfway through the tour when the doorbell sounded, so I headed back downstairs to answer it. It was Marty and Dalton and the kids and, pulling into the driveway behind them, Briar and Casey, with Charlie and Tanner in the back.

I opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch, and before I knew it they'd all swarmed up the steps. I felt like being a human pinball as I was buffeted back and forth between them as they hugged me in turn.

Once they'd all done their thing, I led them through to the dining room, where Trey was waiting with Archer and Eli, and then we had to go through another round of hugging and back slapping and congratulations.

I didn't hate it.

Once we'd settled in and the server had brought out a pot of coffee for the adults and juice boxes for the kids, Marty looked around and said, "Maybe I need to become a prosecutor like Trey."

"Oh, this place has nothing to do with me being a Commonwealth's Attorney," Trey said. "This is our wedding present from Scout's folks."

I straightened my blazer and flicked a speck of dust off my knee. I hated talking about my parents. Well, to be more accurate, I hated talking about my privilege, which was the same thing. I had no issues leveraging that privilege when it came to fundraising for my charity, but I didn't like to be reminded of it when I was hanging with friends. I'd never been very good at just being one of the guys, but being around my brothers from Alpha Tau was the closest I got.

"A wedding present? Holy shit," Marty said.

"Holy shit!" yelled Amina, beaming proudly.

Marty burst out laughing.

Dalton pinched the bridge of his nose for a second, then he shrugged and said, "You know what? She's engaging. I'm taking it as a win."

"She's adorable," I found myself saying, and not just to change the subject. "They both are. "

Dalton's expression softened. "Yeah, they're pretty amazing." He ruffled Nasr's hair and Nasr leaned into the touch.

Trey put his hand on my knee and squeezed.

"I can't believe you have kids ," Charlie said.

Dalton's smile grew. "We had to jump through a lot of hoops, and there were a few times I wondered if we could make it happen, but luckily Marty's never backed down from a challenge."

Marty patted his stomach. "Lassiter competitive hot dog eating champion, two years in a row."

"Only two?" Tanner asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I started dating a future doctor, and he made me read a whole bunch of articles about things like stomach perforations and aspiration pneumonia," Marty said blithely. "So that was kind of the end of my competitive eating career."

"You're welcome," Dalton said wryly.

"Bro, it was free hot dogs! And speaking of free food, can we eat? I'm getting kind of hungry."

I would have taken it for Marty just being Marty, except I caught the grateful look Nasr shot him. Since I knew there was no way that any kid of theirs would be allowed to go hungry, I guessed that, like me, he just wanted something else to do apart from being made a topic of conversation.

Just then the servers came into the room carrying several large platters, which they set down on the table. "Oh my god," Tanner said when he spotted a tray of danishes. "I missed pastries so much!"

Charlie laughed and grabbed one, feeding it to him. "Here you go, babe."

"So what are you gonna do now you're not playing ball?" I asked.

Tanner swallowed before answering. "I've put some feelers out to see if I can get into broadcasting. I know some people. But there's no rush, not now that Charlie landed that job at Le Febvre. "

Charlie elbowed him in the side. "Babe, I haven't officially heard."

Tanner shrugged. "If Scout says it's a thing, it's a thing. Now we just need to find somewhere to live."

Trey and I exchanged a look and he cleared his throat. "About that. The thing is, we've only just moved in here and we don't know anyone in the neighborhood. At least, not well enough that we can ask them to keep an eye on the place while we're on our honeymoon."

"Oh hey, I know someone who can watch the place for —ow!" Marty glared at me when my foot connected with his shin, and I glared right back.

"Anyway," I said quickly, "You guys would really be doing us a solid if you stayed here while we're gone. We're away for a month, so I know it's a big ask."

Charlie shot me a disbelieving look. "We're doing you a solid? You are so full of shit."

Tanner choked on his pastry, but Trey thumped him on the back before Dalton had to intervene.

I arched my brows and met Charlie's stare with one of my own.

"I mean, we'll do it, and thank you," he said, "but, Scout, you are so full of shit."

My mouth twitched; that was all the acknowledgement he was getting that he might have had a point. It wasn't all the acknowledgement he was giving though. A second later my lap was full of a tall, gangly redhead who was hugging me so tight it might have been an attempt at suffocation.

"Use the spare room furthest away from the main," I said. "If we get back and you still haven't found a place, I don't want to run into you in the hallway and have to exchange smalltalk. This isn't Alpha Tau."

"What Scout is trying to say is that you're welcome to stay as long as you need," Trey said. "As you can see, we have the room."

"That's not what I'm trying to say at all," I lied, and Charlie hugged me even more tightly, like a boa constrictor who could sense lunch just around the corner. "Just keep your cat out of my closet. Now get off me, you're wrinkling my blazer."

Charlie sat back in my lap and ruffled my perfectly styled hair. "You really don't think we know you're a marshmallow, Scout?"

Trey laughed. "He's onto you, sugarplum."

I scowled at him as I finger-combed my hair back into place. "I'm not your sugarplum, and I'm not a marshmallow."

"Ooh, can we buy marshmallows?" Tanner asked, his face splitting into a grin.

I took a pastry, and glared at them all while I ate it.

It didn't take long for the conversation to slide into reminiscing.

"You remember the dumb games Casey used to make the pledges play?" Marty asked. "The ones where you had to tape a celebrity's name to your forehead and ask other people questions to find out who you were?"

"That's actually a hell of an ice breaker!" Casey protested.

"Or the trash roster," Briar said. "Hey, Scout, does Trey still make up a trash roster?"

I zipped my lip, which made everyone laugh.

"You know what, though?" Archer asked, in that earnest tone of his. "I mean, when I arrived at college, I thought I was already an adult. But living at Alpha Tau, with all you guys, with all our chore rosters and Walmart runs and checking in with each other...well, we did it right, is all I'm saying. Alpha Tau did it right. It taught me how to be the man I am today."

Eli smiled at him broadly. "Y'all weren't like most frat boys, that's for sure."

"And now here we are, all grown up," Charlie said, eyes wide as though he couldn't quite believe it. "I wonder who's gonna get married next. "

Casey and Briar exchanged a glance. Briar's eyes shone, and Casey flushed and ducked his head.

"Is it Eli and Archer?" Charlie asked. "I mean, you guys just bought a house together."

Eli snorted. "Uh, how about Marty and Dalton. They have kids ."

"Come on," Marty said. "It's obviously Casey and Briar. Obviously ." He grinned, holding out a grape quarter for Amina to try.

"Is that right?" Trey said, cocking a brow at Casey. "You gonna propose, Case?"

"Um," Briar said, shoving his hand into the pocket of his jacket. When he pulled it out he was holding a black velvet box. "He kind of already did."

He flipped the lid open to reveal a gold band studded with diamonds, and hitched out a laugh. "It was the worst proposal ever! He asked me in the parking lot of a Sheetz."

"And you said yes anyway," Casey said, "but you also said we had to keep it a secret until after the wedding so we didn't steal Scout and Trey's thunder."

Briar extended his left hand. "And now they've had their moment. Bling me."

Casey laughed softly, leaning over and plucking the ring from the box and sliding it into place on Briar's left hand.

Briar grinned so widely I thought his face might split as he waggled his fingers, showing the ring off.

"Ooh!" Amina cooed. "Pretty!"

Briar beamed at her.

"I hope you're not planning your own wedding," I said with a smirk, "because the world is not ready for that level of Groomzilla."

"That's what Casey said when he proposed," Briar said. "He insisted I had to hire someone else."

"I'm sorry, Casey told you something and you listened? " Trey chimed in.

Briar shot him a look, but there was no heat in it. "Just this once." He wiggled his fingers again and let out a happy sigh. "Anyway, when the rest of you do get around to tying the knot, just know I'll take care of everything. All your weddings will be awesome, and I won't even charge my usual fee."

"Sweet!" Marty said, grinning. "Except me and Dalton are already married."

Let me tell you, being the bored, disaffected one in this group of idiots could be hard work, especially when Marty dropped a bomb like that, but I liked to think I held my composure while everyone around me lost theirs.

"No way!" Casey exclaimed. "What the hell do you mean you're already married?"

"Bro, it is super hard to adopt kids," Marty said. "And it's like slightly easier if you're married. And with the situation with Nasr and Amina, you'll take any advantage, right? So we did the whole courthouse wedding thing in Calais. It still counts as romantic though, because it was in French, and French is the language of romance." He shrugged. "And also that porno we accidentally saw that time."

Dalton gave Marty an easy smile. "It was the best day of my life."

"Aw, boo, that's so sweet! It was a great day though. We got married, and then got doner kebabs for lunch. It was awesome."

I imagined how horrified my parents would have been if I'd had an impromptu courthouse wedding. It was not the done thing at all. And yet, I tried to picture it anyway. I thought back to yesterday, and how happy I'd been. How happy I still was. I couldn't imagine that happiness would have been lessened in any way if Trey and I hadn't stood up in a church to say our vows, and then danced in front of hundreds of our family and friends under a chandelier. I would have been just as happy with a marriage certificate from a courthouse, and a doner kebab.

"I want to hear more about this Sheetz proposal," Eli said, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Was it really the worst proposal ever?"

"It was unplanned and badly staged," Briar said. "We didn't even film it for my socials!"

"I had a plan." Casey said, "but you know how it is. Things went sideways. And now you have a great story to share with your clients. It'll make you relatable."

Eli turned to me. "What about you guys? You never told us how you got engaged."

Trey opened his mouth.

"We don't talk about the proposal," I said, narrowing my eyes at Eli.

"Holy shit, Scout," Casey said, laughing. "Did you mess it up? Just tell us!"

"Did you give Trey the ring under the table and tell him not to wear it because you didn't want anyone looking at you?" Briar asked, grinning.

"Oooh!" Marty said. "Did you send your chauffeur to ask Trey on your behalf, because you were getting a manicure?"

"I don't have a chauffeur," I said, my voice flat. "And I would never propose to anyone at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday, which is when I always schedule my manicures."

"You do have amazing cuticles," Briar said. "Give me your guy's name."

"Don't let him change the subject with nail tech recommendations," Casey said. "Scout, what happened with your proposal?"

"Did you send Trey an appointment request for his own wedding? Like, please respond if you wish to be my husband on the above date," Archer said. "Because that would track, honestly."

"Y'all are acting like Scout has no romance in his soul," Trey said, coming to both of our rescues. "There was a ring, and a proposal on a damn pier on bended knee, and it was romantic as shit , thank you very much."

"Exactly," I said, and glared at the sea of disbelieving faces.

Nobody needed to know the details.

Ever.

That night, when everyone had gone home—except for Charlie and Tanner, who were now our houseguests—and I'd finished packing for tomorrow morning, I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling while Trey read. The light from his bedside lamp made a circle of light on the ceiling that made me think back to the illuminated dance floor at the wedding reception. I reached out and took his left hand, pulling it over onto my chest and threading our fingers together so I could admire our rings.

"Gonna need to turn the page in a minute, baby," he said, but didn't pull his hand back.

"It's not my problem that you don't read on your phone like a person from this century."

"No screens in bed is good sleep hygiene."

I rolled my eyes. "It was fun today."

Trey closed his book and turned his head to show me his smile. "It was great to catch up with the guys. We need to make time to do it more often." Then he snorted. "I can't believe Marty got married and didn't tell anyone."

"That is actually on point for Marty." I squeezed his hand. "And it was for the adoption. I'll bet Briar will talk them into a renewal ceremony. Maybe this time the kids will wear something other than Hawaiian shirts."

"You loved it," Trey said, his mouth twitching.

"I didn't not love the expression on my parents' faces," I hedged.

"I always knew there was a rebel inside you just itching to get out."

"My mother said, ‘Their little family is very diverse , isn't it?' Just, you know, a heads up for if we ever have our own little diverse family to add to our little diverse marriage."

Trey hummed. "I think we can deal with your mother. Your parents are actually pretty okay. They didn't even blink when you started up a non-profit."

It was true. Apart from their initial surprise, my parents had been very supportive of my work with the foundation. And it had been a learning curve for both of them, since they both thought that "charity" meant paying ten thousand dollars for a table at a fancy fundraiser and then bragging about it to their friends. Neither of them had ever really considered the actual work that went on behind the scenes.

But after seeing the way Charlie and a few of the other brothers had struggled to make ends meet, I'd decided there were already enough lawyers in my family, and maybe it was time to use my name and connections to do some good in another way—scholarships. Fortunately, my parents still got to pay ten thousand dollars for a table at a fancy fundraiser, with that cash now going to the Every Student Foundation to cover accommodation and other associated living costs that weren't included in many other scholarships. The irony of the fake scholarship I'd dreamed up for Charlie back when we were at Lassiter going on to become an actual thing wasn't lost on me.

We'd started off small, but I had big plans. Because I still believed now what I believed then—that nobody should have to work a bunch of different jobs to earn enough to live while they were studying. Charlie had been one of the smartest guys in Alpha Tau, and he'd been so dog tired at times that he'd fallen asleep more than once over his textbooks. And that was bullshit.

I liked working for the foundation. Trey had even accused me of showing outward signs of enjoyment once at a gala. I was pretty sure he was the only one who'd spotted it though. Also, the joke was on him. I hadn't told him yet that I expected him to be a congressman within twenty years and the president within forty and completely overhaul the entire student loan system.

Big plans, see?

Plus, I'd kill it as First Gentleman.

I pressed a kiss to his shoulder and he grinned over at me. I untangled our hands and rolled over and reached into the bottom drawer of my bedside table, pulling out the parcel I'd hidden earlier and holding it out. "Happy wedding, babe."

The look on his face as he unwrapped the layers of tissue paper was delightful. "Is this...?"

"A flipbook of the photos from our proposal? I'm so glad you asked, because yes, yes it is. And now, as a reward for letting every single one of our friends think I screwed it up, I get to sit here and watch you flip it. Multiple times."

Trey blinked at me. "Is this what I've signed up for when I said ‘I do?'"

"Yes," I said. "And it's too late now to take it back."

Trey laughed and kissed me, and laughed even harder when the flipbook made that precious moment come back to life again in all its terrible glory.