Dylan didn’t doubt that; Miranda Breslin—well, Masterson now—seemed to have no problem with her new husband’s rough edges.
Man, it was still hard to believe Seth was married now. Much to everyone’s surprise, he and Miranda had eloped to Vegas last month, and Seth had recently confided in Dylan that he was going through the process to adopt Miranda’s six-year-old twins. After a shaky start with Miranda and a tenuous relationship with her kids, Seth now worshipped the ground all three of them walked on.
Seeing his buddy so happy never failed to bring a rush of longing to Dylan’s heart. In fact, as he looked around the table, he realized that he and Jackson were the only single ones there. Shelby was happily married and raising a three-year-old daughter. Seth and Miranda had tied the knot and were doing the whole family thing too. Ryan and his girlfriend, Annabelle, had recently gotten engaged, Cash and Jen would surely follow suit. And who could forget all the other married couples in their circle, all blissfully happy.
And then there was Dylan. Living with Aidan, yet he hadn’t told any of his buddies about the sexual nature of that arrangement. The only person who knew was Jen Scott, Cash’s girlfriend and Dylan’s closest female friend. He’d asked Jen not to say anything to Cash, but it wasn’t shame or fear that was stopping him from telling other people. Like he’d told Aidan, he had no clue how to classify what they had, and until he could make sense of it himself, he didn’t want to deal with all the questions he knew he’d receive.
“Anyway, speaking of Miranda,” Seth was saying, “she wanted to know if you’re all planning on coming to our place for Christmas Eve dinner. My mom’s flying in from Vegas on the twenty-fifth, so we’re doing Christmas Day with her.”
“Annabelle and I will be in San Francisco that week,” Ryan said. “Seven whole days with the snooty Holmes clan. Can’t fucking wait.”
Shelby glanced over in sympathy. “They still haven’t warmed up to you? Even after, what? Three years?”
“Naah, they’ve gotten a lot better. Her dad has stopped trying to bribe me into dumping her, so that’s progress. And I think he was secretly happy and impressed when I flew up there to ask for his blessing to marry her.”
“And he gave it to you,” Shelby pointed out, “so I guess that is progress.”
On the other side of the table, Seth reached over the muffin plate and nonchalantly stole Dylan’s coffee from right under his nose.
Scratch that—not nonchalantly at all.
“Seriously?” Dylan sighed. “You’re that lazy? Stealing my coffee instead of walking ten feet to the counter and getting a fresh cup?”
“That lazy,” Seth confirmed. “Anyway. So Ryan’s out. Texas?”
Jackson nodded. “I’ll be there.”
“John and I won’t,” Shelby chimed in, sounding apologetic. “We’ll be at my parents’ place that night, and his family’s the next night.”
“McCoy? You and the Scotts?”
“Yeah, we’re all coming,” Cash answered.
“So that leaves the D-Man. You coming or what, bro? Oh, and Miranda says Aidan’s welcome too.”
Dylan raised his eyebrows. “The D-Man?”
“New nickname I’m trying out.” Seth paused. “Is it not working?”
“No,” everyone answered in unison.
“Fine. I’ll think of something else.”
Dylan snorted. “Please don’t. You’re terrible at giving people nicknames.”
“Fuck you. I rock at it,” Seth retorted. “Who gave Texas his nickname, huh?”
“Yeah, because it’s so original,” Cash said with a laugh. “Calling a man from Texas Texas. Pure gold, man.”
“Ugh, you guys all have major ADD,” Shelby declared. “I want to know more about Dylan’s brother fleeing the country on his wedding day.”
“That’s pretty much the grand summation of it,” he said wryly. “Chris left without a word and is now lying on a beach in Aruba.”
“Douchebag,” Seth muttered.
Shelby’s blue eyes shone with compassion. “How is Claire handling it?”
“Well, she got rip-roaring drunk last night, so…” Dylan let the others reach their own conclusions.
“And you and Aidan didn’t take advantage of that and—cover your ears, Shelby—double-team her? Prudes.” Seth shook his head in mock disgust.
“Why do you bother telling me to cover my ears?” Shelby demanded. “You don’t even give me time to do it! And besides, since when do you care about offending my delicate sensibilities?”
“I live with kids now,” the scruffy-haired SEAL replied. “I’m pretty sure I ask Sophie and Jason to cover their ears at least twenty times a day.”
Everyone snickered, including Shelby, but the blonde didn’t waste any time in steering the conversation back to what she perceived as juicy gossip.
“Is double-teaming actually something you’re considering?” she asked Dylan. Then she gasped. “Have you secretly been lusting over your brother’s girl this whole time and now you’re finally going to make your move?”