“Hey,” he greets me softly as he walks over. “How’s he doing?” he asks, which just puts our distance over the last ten days into context.

Sure, I’ve talked to Dempsey every day since his mom died. Fielding, too. But I haven’t seen him in person, and I don’t feel like I really know how he’s doing or what he needs right now.

“I think they’re both doing the best they can, given the circumstances,” I answer as he wraps his arms around me for a hug. “Is Cory coming, too?” I ask as we break apart and he places one hand on the small of my back to guide me into the church.

Cory is Jake’s husband, and unless one of them is working, it’s rare to see one without the other.

Jake shakes his head solemnly. “He offered to hold things down at The Oak this afternoon so all the guys could be here.”

We walk into the church and join the line of people angling to get to the front. I haven’t been to many funerals, and none by myself, but I assume we’re waiting to greet the family and offer our condolences.

I shift from foot to foot as we wait, a ball of nerves over the prospect of seeing Dempsey in person for the first time since we’ve been back from New York. I can see the tops of the boys’ blond heads over the twenty or so people in front of us, but I can’t really see either of them.

What I do see? The impossibly tall, elegant brunette who strides in from a side aisle and joins the gathering at the front of the church as if she belongs there.

I don’t know if I make a sound of disgust or just stiffen beside him, but within seconds, Jake is scanning the room until he identifies the source of my discomfort.

“Who is that?” he murmurs as he slings an arm around my shoulders.

“That would be Brooke,” I huff under my breath.

Jake looks at me wearing a puzzled expression.

“Dempsey’s ex-fiancée.” I raise both my eyebrows, and his eyes widen in surprise. For once he doesn’t call me out for my attitude—way to read the room, Jakey.

“I think I’ll just find a seat and meet up with him afterward,” I relent, turning to step out of line and head to an empty row at the back of the church.

“Are you meeting up with the guys from The Oak? Or will you sit with me?” I ask as Jake follows my lead.

He scoffs under his breath before replying. “Of course I’ll sit with you. But you’re sure you don’t want to go up there? Or sit closer to the front?”