“Who’s here?” she asked as he got up.

“My brothers,” he told her.

He didn’t wait for her reaction, but instead went to the front door and opened it. Cooper and Stormy were there alongside Mav and Lindsey. They all wore smiles. A baby cried from a car seat, and Lindsey’s belly was about a mile out there.

“I’d give you a hug, Lins, but I don’t think I can get past all that stomach,” Nick said, his mood instantly lighting up as his family entered his home.

“Don’t make me kick your ass,” Mav growled as he leaned in behind his wife to kiss her cheek. “You are absolutely stunning,” he told her.

“Nick, you better give me a hug anyway otherwise you might hurt my feelings,” Lindsey said with a pout.

He carefully put his arms around her and gave her the barest of squeezes. He was terrified of breaking her. He really cared for Lindsey, and he was very aware of the horror she’d gone through several years ago. He took extra care when he touched her, but especially now that she was pregnant. “You are stunning, you know that right?” he said to make up for his joke.

“I’m a bloated whale, but I’ll take all the compliments I can get,” she said as she patted his cheek and stepped past him.

“You guys are late. I was going to start the food without you,” Nick told his brothers before he leaned over them and pulled Stormy into his arms, squeezing her a lot harder than he had Lindsey.

“Ha, you cook the meal. That’s entertaining,” Mav said. Nick scowled at him.

“Some of us have children to take care of before we’re allowed to leave the house. We should have made you come over to our place,” Stormy told him.

“Yeah, what she said,” Coop added with a smile.

“Pathetic. You are both so pathetic since you’ve gotten married,” Nick said to his brothers, but he laughed. He actually enjoyed how happy they were. He wasn’t going to voice that thought out loud, though.

Stormy’s attention was caught by something behind him, and Nick knew Chloe had entered the room. She was most likely trying to sneak back to her bedroom before the crowd entered the house. Nick smiled again. She’d have a hell of a time doing that with his sisters-in-law there. They loved to talk, and a pretty woman residing in his house was way too juicy for them to miss.

“Hi,” Stormy said as she brushed past Nick. “I’m Stormy Armstrong, and this man over here is Cooper, my husband. The terror standing by him is our three-year-old son, Aaron, and the wailing infant is our month-old daughter, Addie.”

Stormy patiently waited for Chloe to speak. All eyes turned in her direction, and Nick watched as a becoming shade of pink infused her cheeks.

“Um . . . I’m Chloe Reynolds, Nick’s physical therapist.” She seemed unsure how she wanted to introduce herself. Just to make it slightly more awkward for her, Nick sidled up to her side and stood far too close for a client-patient relationship. She stepped aside slowly and he followed her.

The tension flowing through the woman could be felt by all, but his family didn’t point it out. That wasn’t their style unless they were trying to embarrass someone. They’d have to get to know Chloe a heck of a lot better for that to happen.

Lindsey moved forward and introduced her and Mav, and then the girls dragged Chloe along with them into the kitchen. She tried to make a polite excuse, but the women weren’t having any of it, just as Nick had predicted. He sure did love his family.

“Let’s leave the ladies to chat so you can show us the new boat,” Mav said.

Nick found himself reluctant to leave Chloe alone with the girls. He knew they were excellent at interrogating people, and he wondered what Chloe might say about him. Never before had he even cared. But for some reason the idea of her trashing him to the two women who had married his brothers brought a frown to his face.

He was torn about what he should do.

“Don’t worry, Nick, the ladies will still be here when we get back,” Coop said with a laugh. That comment got him moving. He didn’t want to seem like he was hung up too much on Chloe.

They made their way down to the dock where his newest toy was tied up. He hadn’t been able to take her out since the injury, but he would get her on the water soon enough.

“Damn, she’s a beauty, even if I do prefer to be in the air rather than on the water,” Mav said with a whistle as he took in the thirty-foot fishing boat with all the bells and whistles. It had a nice cabin below so Nick and a girl could head out to sea for a few days and not have to worry about interruptions.

Right now, the only woman he wanted to take anywhere was Chloe, and he didn’t see her jumping up and down with joy at the thought of being lost at sea with him. But there was something about being on the water with no chance of anyone interrupting a couple that made it that much more appealing. Why did he want this woman all to himself so much?

The brothers climbed on board, and Nick pulled out some beers he had chilling in the fridge. They sat down and enjoyed the view of the gently lapping water.

“How’s therapy going?” Maverick asked.

He inwardly winced. It had been going pretty great the night before. “It’s moving a lot slower than I would like, but I’m able to be on my feet quite a bit longer before the ache sets in. Chloe thinks I’ll be golden in a few more weeks if I don’t try to ‘push it,’ as she says,” he explained with a laugh.

There really wasn’t a joke when it came to his injuries, but he had to laugh it off or he got angry. Nick didn’t like being immobile, even partially so. Thinking of that brought to mind yesterday’s visit from Paul. Should he share his legal complications with his brothers? He was reluctant to do so, but he didn’t understand why.