Page 64 of Irresistibly Wicked

“Thanks for letting Woody out,” Lettie said.

“He was as ornery as ever,” Zander said about their dachshund, and then he motioned to a tall, elegant blonde hoisting an adorable toddler into her arms. “And this is Maverick’s wife, Chloe, and their daughter, Marybelle—”

“And this is my baby brother, Leo!” Rosie shouted, tugging the giggling dark-skinned toddler behind her. “He’s gonna be the ring boy, and we’re gonna be flower girls, and that’s our mama and Papa Tank.” She pointed to a petite woman with a mass of reddish-brown curls and a pretty, freckled face tucked beneath Tank’s thick arm.

Tank nodded, and the woman waved and said, in a Southern drawl, “Hi. I’m Leah.”

More introductions rolled out like a steady tide. Shauna accepted hugs and nods and said, “Nice to meet you,” more times than she could count as she met Zander’s aunt and uncle, Ginger, a strawberry-blonde with tortoiseshell glasses and a warm embrace, and Conroy, a handsome man with collar-length wavy silver hair and bright blue eyes as playful as Zander’s. She met Zander’s other cousins, Gunner, a fully tatted, fair-haired Marine veteran and his cute brunette wife, Sidney, who was also a Marine veteran, and Baz, an easygoing veterinarian with longish blond hair, his fiancée, Emerson, a sweet, pregnant golden-brown haired beauty, and their precious little boy, Brennan, whose dark hair stood straight up.

When she’d met everyone, including Buster and Milo, Preacher and Reba’s dogs, Zander slid his arm around her and said, “How’re you holding up, darlin’? Do you need CliffsNotes?”

“Nametags would be better.”

“That can be arranged,” Madigan said.

“We should have thought of that when we planned this,” Reba said.

“When did you plan this?” Zander asked, glancing at his father. “Last night at church you and your henchmen looked like you were ready to throttle me.”

Preached cocked a grin, a surprising glint of a tease rising in his eyes. “You shocked the hell out of us the other night, son. I thought you could use a little payback.”

Holy shit.

“Are you freaking kidding me? You let me leave church thinking y’all had abandoned me?” Zander glowered at Blaine, Maverick, and Tank, and they all cracked up.

“You should’ve seen your face,” Blaine said, and high-fived Maverick and Tank.

“Better watch your backs,” Zander warned, which only made them laugh harder.

“You boys can work that out while we get Shauna ready for your wedding,” Madigan said, and linked her arm with Shauna’s, dragging her toward the house with Reba, Ginger, Reese, Lettie, Chloe, Leah, Sid, and Emerson on their heels.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“WHAT DO YOU mean, get ready?” Shauna asked as they ushered her into the house and down the hall.

“You know that text Zander got from Blaine about letting Woody out?” Reese asked.

“Yeah,” Shauna said.

“It was a ruse to give us time to sneak into Zan’s house and pick up your wedding outfit,” Madigan explained as they entered the master bedroom, where Shauna’s jumpsuit was hanging on the closet door.

Stunned, Shauna said, “How did you even know I had something to wear?”

“Zander mentioned it to Zeke at church last night. I didn’t see any heels in your closet, but I found cute sandals and I figured that’s what you planned on wearing.” Madigan pulled out a chair in front of a makeup desk and mirror and said, “Sit down. We’ll do your hair.”

“This is going to be so much fun,” Chloe said. “I’ll help you with your makeup.”

Shauna’s stomach dipped. She’d never spent time with women. She saw her friends at pole class, but they didn’t socialize outside of class, and they certainly never did her hair. She didn’t know how to act around them or what to say.

“Girls, Shauna’s just met our very loud, very pushy family,” Reba said. “How about we let her breathe for a second?”

“You’re right,” Madigan said. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Shauna said.

“When I met the Wickeds, I’m sure I was like a deer in the headlights,” Reese said.

“You should’ve seen me when I first met everyone,” Sidney said. “I’ve known Gunner and his family forever, but I’m an only child and I was raised by my dad, who’s ex-military. I was used to hanging out with military guys. Becoming part of the girl squad was like culture shock.”