Cope grinned right back at him. “I happen to agree with you. Speaking of pretty women, what about the youngest one? Where’s Rennie?”

“Her grandparents picked her up from school. They’re keeping her this weekend. But she’ll be at the engagement party tomorrow.”

“Dude, don’t forget to tell them she got an A on her very first essay.” Adrian shook his head at his brother. “She was quite insistent that everyone would want to know.”

“My kid is smart. Everyone knows that.” Brody tried to sound tough, but Cope heard the pride and love in his voice. “She was pretty damned proud of herself. Elise and I told her if she kept it up, we’d go to Disneyland next summer.”

A burst of laughter and chattering from the bedroom rose and then faded again. Todd came in the front door with a few more of their friends. Cope half listened to them, taking the beer handed his way, nodding his head. But his attention was focused on that hallway.

The door opened, and the sound level rose enough that the men silenced, their attention snagged as they turned toward the uniquely female noise.

Elise came first, her pale, elegant beauty highlighted by a deep red sweater and a black skirt that came to mid-thigh. The woman had spectacular legs, no doubt. Brody’s mouth curved into a smile as he took her in. Envy crept into Cope’s heart; he wanted that. Wanted to look at a woman and know she was the one.

Erin looked pretty and damned pregnant in a high-waisted dress with big red roses on it. Ben sighed happily as she headed straight to where he stood with Todd. For that moment, everything was right in their world, and Cope would do his best to continue to attempt to mediate the damage between their father and sister and Ben.

Despite Ben’s happiness and success, their father and sister had walled Ben out of their life because his brother had found his happiness with a man and a woman. It galled Cope to no end. Ben had been the golden boy, the kid who rarely got in trouble in school, got great grades. He had been a good cop, a good friend and no doubt, he was a great brother. Their father’s reaction to Ben’s unconventional relationship was stupid, and it had split their family in half.

He turned his attention back to the hallway. Waiting. Anticipation and then a punch to the gut followed as Ella came next, her normally sleek, short red hair tousled and curled. Her face, usually bare of makeup, bore just a bit, enough to line those spectacular eyes. Her lips were stained dark, calling to his gaze, leaving him wondering for the millionth time what she’d taste like.

She wore pants. She usually did. He’d always assumed it had to do with the scarring she ended up with after her ex-boyfriend attacked her. The bastard had had every intention of killing Ella. So, to Cope, just being alive and beautiful, being strong in the wake of such a terrible ordeal, meant she won.

It didn’t hurt at all that she had great legs and wore the pants well. Tight, with boots on her feet, showcasing legs that went on and on and on. Damn. The shirt, shit, if you could call it that, was more of a corset with barely enough fabric to cover her areolas. Her br**sts made him lose his hearing for a few moments. She didn’t often have them on display, a pity because it wasn’t like she could hide their size, even in a T-shirt. Just then they heaved up, mounds of creamy flesh, freckles sprinkled across the luscious curves.

Christ.

“Wow. You ladies look gorgeous.” Brody got up, moving to Elise, and no one else existed for the two of them for long moments. Their connection was palpable and staggeringly intimate to see. Cope couldn’t tear his attention away for a long moment.

“You guys just going to hang out here all night?” Elise asked, blushing as she broke her gaze from Brody.

“Maybe.” Brody grinned and kissed his wife-to-be quickly before turning to his sister. He touched Erin’s belly and kissed the top of her head. “You better take care of yourself.”

“You can’t smoke indoors anymore, so the air will be clean of that. I have no plans to drink, and I have enough energy to sit at the table and watch everyone else dance while I eat a few of the red velvet cupcakes Ella brought.” Erin smiled sweetly at her brother. “Anyway, we all know you’ll show up in an hour or two, so I’m sure Ben and Todd will take care of me once that happens.”

Cope moved nearer to Ella so he could speak just to her. “I like that color on you. Sets off your skin and hair.” The shirt was deep blue with just enough purple to compliment her skin outrageously. The br**sts helped, in the way br**sts always did. But this was more, and he let himself drift a little closer, breathing her in.

Some things were natural; flirting was one of them, and he realized that simply because he’d given up his wandering, it didn’t mean he couldn’t use every skill he had to lure Ella. He smiled as she drew in a shaky breath.

“Thanks. It was Erin’s idea. I don’t normally ...” She waved around her br**sts. “You know, show this much boob.”

He was sure his grin was wolfish because she was ringing his bell like it was dinnertime. Christ, what she did to him without even knowing it. “Ella, I must dissuade you from that policy. You have beautiful br**sts. They’re a delightful addition to anything you wear. Trust me, please.”

Her laugh was sultry. On a lower register than her speaking voice. Which wasn’t that hard, given her normal voice. And beyond sexy. He was sure that was her sexually interested laugh. She’d finally reacted to him as a woman did to a man she was truly flirting with. Victory flushed through him, and hope that things could move forward with her at long last.