“Oh yes, and if you’re smart you’ll do whatever Emma tells you. I did, and I ended up with a ring and my dream partner,” Dallas said, kissing her sister’s cheek. “The only one here who has superpowers to hypnotize the perfect woman for her is Abigail. Finley fell to her knees and into line the second they met.”

“Please, that pout of hers makes me want to stand on my head to make her happy. It’s good to know that I got it right the second time around. I didn’t think I could be this happy,” Abigail said, and Dallas kissed her cheek too. “I’m sorry if I put you guys in danger because of all my shit.”

“Believe me, you’re marrying into the best problem-solving, danger-prone family in the history of the world,” Emma said as they sat down. “Do you mind if I ask where you met Nicola?”

“I was at Tulane, and I saw her one afternoon when I stopped for coffee. She was nice looking and she was charming, at first. She was a lot different than anyone else I’d dated, and I see now that after a few dates, she became much more demanding. A year later we were married, and I was in medical school.” Abigail stopped to take a sip of wine, and none of them said anything. “After Sadie was born, I got wrapped up in her, and that made me stupid to everything else. Two more kids, a medical practice, and I totally missed that I was married to a pimp.”

“Honey, you need to forgive yourself. I doubt any of us would’ve been any different. When we fall in love, we don’t tend to see the bad in them,” Dallas said.

“My second mistake was thinking Finley and her family weren’t going to be a good idea.”

“I’m glad she was able to convince you. I got in by pouring a tray of beer on Cain and not sleeping with her for a year. Sometimes I think I wore her down by turning her head to mush,” she said to lighten the mood and make Abigail feel better.

“A year?” Kristen asked. “I’m surprised you didn’t kill her.”

“If you ask her, it almost did.” They laughed and all got up when Dallas declared everything was ready.

There was a knock, and Finley stuck her head in. “Is it safe to come in?”

“No, and if you wake up any of the kids, I’m going to bury you in the snow outside,” Abigail said as she kissed Finley’s cheek.

“I’m just here to let you know Remi and Cain should be home in three hours, but they’ve got an errand to run when they land.” All of them stared at Finley as if daring her to skip the details.

“Errand?” Emma asked. “Come on, Fin…”