Page 148 of Enticing Her Love

“Watch out, ladies. There’s a new biker in town!” Wells ran over and straddled the motorcycle, waving to the crowd as Levi tore away from arguing with Tara and Joey and tried to pull Wells off with one hand, holding his baby with the other.

“Levi,” their mother snapped as she and their father rushed over to him.

“Get your hands off Wells,” their father demanded.

“Tara made a mistake. I need my bike.” Levi shot a death stare at Wells. “Get off my bike, or I swear you’re done.”

“Dude, I paid for this,” Wells said.

Jock and Daphne’s argument escalated, their voices rising over the crowd, as Leni and Sutton tried to calm them.

Alexander strode over to Levi and Wells. “Levi, do we need to remove you from the room, son?”

Levi began arguing with him as Mayor Osten held up an enormous picture of Archer’s yacht and spoke into the mic. “We saved the best for last. This small luxury yacht, complete with a bedroom, bathroom, and bar, goes to Roddy Remington!”

Cheers exploded around them as Archer barreled through the crowd barking, “Like hell it does!”

Indi was right behind him. “I donated it! We have a house and the hospital needs money!”

Roddy rubbed his hands together, ascending the steps to the stage. “I’ve had my eyes on this puppy for years!” As the mayor dropped the yacht keys into Roddy’s hand, Grant grabbed one of Archer’s arms, Raz grabbed the other, and Flynn moved between Roddy and Archer.

“Remington!” Archer hollered, thrashing to break free. “You take one step on my yacht and it’ll be your last!”

“All donations are final,” Mayor Osten announced.

“Like hell they are!” Archer hollered.

“One more thing,” Mayor Osten said, and then all at once everyone in the room yelled, “Gotcha!”

Sutton watched as understanding dawned on her brothers, who were now searching the faces of their significant others. Tara, Daphne, and Indi were grinning from ear to ear, wiping away their forced tears, and Flynn shouted, “That’s what happens when you mess with a Braden’s girl! We enlist the big guns.”

“Are you kidding me?” Levi said. “You’re all in on this?”

Wells climbed off the bike. “Hey, man. I’ll still buy it from you.”

Davis carried the typewriter over to Jock. “Here you go. Write like the wind, my friend.”

Jock scoffed. “They got us good.”

“You put this in motion?” Archer seethed, yanking his arms free and going chest to chest with Flynn.

“Damn right I did.” Flynn held his ground. “That doll was one prank too many on the woman I love. You got something to say about it, banana boy?”

There was a collective gasp.

“Hell yes, I do,” Archer gritted out.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath, just as Sutton was.

A slow grin lifted Archer’s cheeks. “Welcome to the family, Miles.”

Relieved laughter fell from Sutton’s lips, and from everyone else’s, as more cheers rang out, and Roddy hollered, “Archer, check your pocket.”

Archer reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, inciting uproarious laughter. He pointed at the crowd and said, “You all better watch your backs now.”

TWO HOURS LATER, after tensions had eased and friendships were rekindled, Sutton and Flynn and their families were gathered around a bonfire at her parents’ house. They sat bundled up in blankets, eating s’mores, and drinking wine, while Joey and Hadley sipped hot chocolate. The babies were safely tucked into playpens in the house, and Jock and Levi were keeping an eye on them via the baby monitor apps on their phones.

Sutton snuggled closer to Flynn, listening to everyone chat about the pranks and the dance.