“And this is Calvin and Bennie,” I jump in. “My brothers. They’re twins.”

“I’m obviously the more handsome twin,” Bennie says, extending his hand.

Bennie’s the “younger” twin because he was born six minutes after Cal. Even though I’m actually the youngest sibling, we call Bennie the baby. He’s the friendliest of the two. He’ll shoot the shit with anyone about anything and only after a very long and pleasant conversation will he tell you he’ll murder you if you hurt his sister.

“Nice to meet you,” Aleck says, shaking his hand.

“And this is Calvin. Or Cal, depending on who you are.” I gesture toward my other brother.

“Calvin is fine,” he deadpans. “Only my friends and family call me Cal. You’re currently neither.”

Cal is the grump with a spiky exterior. Inside he’s a teddy bear, but mess with someone he loves, and… well, just don’t. He’s taller than most by a couple of inches, bigger by a few dozen pounds of muscle, and quieter. But with that silence comes body language that tells you everything you need to know. There is no mistaking Cal’s intentions.

“Nice to meet you…” Aleck extends his hand, but Cal doesn’t take it.

“Cal…” I grit through my teeth.

Aleck smiles, slipping his outreached hand into his pocket, completely unfazed. His other hand, still firmly planted on my lower back.

“It’s okay, Winter,” Aleck says, still meeting Cal’s glare with a smile. “I wouldn’t like me either. I’m a shithead lawyer they know nothing about.”

Bennie nudges Cal with his elbow. “The last guy Winnie dated cheated on her. We didn’t like that. We broke his nose.”

I laugh. “No, they didn’t.”

“Yes,” Cal says, still glaring at Aleck. “We did.”

Aleck’s smile holds, grows even.

My eyes go wide. “No, you did not…”

Cal finally takes his eyes off Aleck and looks at me with a devilish smile. “Yes, we did.”

My mouth drops open. “Daddy!”

My dad laughs. What am I saying, they probably did it at his request. This is what it’s like without my mother around. No one to soften the harsh edges of the men I’m surrounded by.

“Sorry, honey.” My dad shrugs. “Brian was a douche.”

“Okay.” I hold my hand up. Aleck’s shoulders bobbing with a silent laugh. “I see what’s happening here. First, that’s assault, you could have been arrested for that.”

“But we weren’t,” Bennie says with a shit-eating grin.

“Second,” I continue, ignoring Bennie. “I am a grown woman. Aleck is a grown man and a lawyer. So you two can save the protective bullshit. You don’t want to mess with this one.” I wrench my thumb toward Aleck.

“As long as he’s not a Brian,” Cal says, grinning.

“I assure you, I’m no Brian.” Aleck lifts his wrist, checking his watch. “Gentleman, please excuse us, we have to get back to the bride and groom.” He stretches his hand toward my dad. “Gary, I’d love to continue our conversation at the reception.”