“So we hear,” Kane says and folds his arms over his chest. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen,” Brian replies. “Rachel and I are in the same grade.”

His eyes dart to the house as the nerves start to show more, but we don’t move. We’re here to check him out, make sure he’s good enough for our girl.

“What do you plan to do after high school?” Shawn asks him.

“College, but I’m not sure where yet. I’ll probably stay here in Washington.”

“Have you ever been in trouble?” I ask him. “And you best not lie because I can find out anything I want to know about you with the press of a few buttons.”

“Uh, no. No, sir. I once got detention because I accidentally set fire to something in science class.”

“Are you an arsonist?” Hunter demands. “Are you going to burn down my fucking house?”

“No.” Brian laughs. “Of course, not.”

“And do you plan to sleep with my niece?” Keegan asks.

Brian opens his mouth, then closes it again. Licks his lips. “Honestly, I don’t know how to answer that. If I say no, you’ll ask me what’s wrong with her, when there’s nothing at all wrong with her. She’s awesome. If I say yes, you’ll punch me in the face. So, there’s no right answer, except to say I’ll always be respectful, and I would never ask her to do something she doesn’t want to do.”

We glance at each other in surprise.

“I think that was the right answer,” I say at last and clap him on the shoulder. “Come on. We’ll go in and help out in the kitchen.”

“Did I pass that test?” Brian whispers to me.

“So far. Don’t fuck it up, and you’ll stay alive.”

“Ma usually kicks us out of the kitchen,” Shawn says. “But I’d like to steal a bite of something. I’m starved.”

“We brought an appetizer,” Keegan informs his brother.

“Why didn’t you say so?” Shawn says, and we file in the back door of Maeve and Hunter’s gorgeous house that sits on the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

This is exactly the type of place I envision Maggie wanting to live in. And if that’s the case, I’ll buy a house like this for her. Maeve will have ideas. And if the perfect house doesn’t currently exist, I’ll build her one.

We descend on the kitchen, making the women laugh. Fiona shoos Shawn away from the pot she has boiling on the stove, just as he predicted.

“Get out of my way, Shawn O’Callaghan,” she says, but then she pats him gently on the cheek. “It’s hungry you are, I’m sure. There are some goodies over there on the island to keep you at bay until we’re done in here.”