“All right.” He holds up his hands. “So, what was so important today?”

“I have some errands to run.”

“And where’s baby daddy?”

I shoot a glare at him. “Work.”

“Shaking down more people for money?”

“You really need to stop that.” I cock my head. “Did it occur to your judgmental ass that it’s a good thing Z stepped in?”

“Why’s that?”

“You really think Dad had the money to pay back the debt?”

“What are you trying to say? He paid it back for Dad?”

I continue staring him down, which isn’t easy since my brother’s almost a foot taller than me.

“Why would he do that?” He sneers.

My temper flares. “Well, he already has an all-access pass into my panties,” I hiss, low enough that Chance can’t hear us. “So that’s not the reason.”

“Thanks for that nightmare-inducing image.”

I shrug. “It’s my father and his son’s grandfather. That’s why he did it.”

For once my know-it-all brother has nothing to say.

“It’s a one-time thing, Alex. If Dad screws up again, he’ll have to figure it out on his own.”

Still, he’s quiet.

“What’s wrong? No witty comebacks?”

“All right, all right. I’m sorry. If he really did that for Dad, then yeah, I guess I owe him.”

“Knocking off the thug and baby daddy jokes will be thanks enough.”

An almost guilty expression crosses his face. “We’ve always teased each other, Lilly.”

“This is different, and you know it.”

“Why? Are you gonna marry him?”

I stare at my brother. “Yes.”

He blows out a breath. “Is that what you want?”

It doesn’t feel awkward to admit it out loud. “It is.”

“Good. All right.” Slowly, he holds out his arms. “Come here.” He envelops me in the kind of brotherly hug I remember from when I was younger and pats my hair. “I really do worry about you. And Chance. Whatever Z’s involved with, I don’t want it to ever hurt you.”

I heave out a deep breath. Nothing could hurt me more than I’ve already been hurt. “Z’s very good to me. He’s a good father to Chance. That’s all that matters.”

“I hope so.”

Once I’ve dealt with my brother, it’s time to deal with Ted. After I track him down at his hotel, I push my way in the door, slamming it behind me.

“How could you, Ted?” I’m still fuming. We’ve only been friends for a few years, but he’s been there for me through some of my darkest moments. Apparently, I didn’t know him as well as I thought.