“Someone powerful like the judge,” Luke supplied. “That was exactly my thought, too.”

“Just to be safe, you need to keep Julie close,” Blake warned. “I don’t know what it is us about us Walker men, but the women in our lives tend to end up in trouble or dead.”

“I plan to,” he said, thinking there might be some truth to his words. Luke knew he was talking about more than his dead financee. Lauren had been in some trouble months back that had almost gotten her killed. “Can you keep Royce busy during the funeral? The last thing I need is getting him all worked up over this.”

“I hear ya on that one,” Blake said. “I’ll work something out with him over dinner.”

Luke looked up the details on the funeral and dialed Julie, knowing she wouldn’t back down about attending. She answered on the first ring.

“Hello.” She sounded surprised. “Something wrong?”

A lot, but he didn’t say that. “Just calling to confirm the time for the funeral. It’s at two tomorrow. We’re only allowed to attend the outdoor ceremony.”

“That’s odd,” she said. “Or is it? I don’t really know what is normal for a funeral.”

“It’s odd,” he confirmed. “Another reason I’m coming with you.”

“Won’t Royce be suspicious if we disappeared together dressed in black?”

“I’m handling Royce if you have Lauren taken care of.”

“She’s going to the spa,” she said and hesitated. “You don’t have to–”

“I’m going,” he said, “so don’t sneak away without me. I’ll show up anyway.”

He could almost hear her frown. “You’re being very pushy.”

“I am,” he agreed, giving Blake his back and lowering his voice. “But this is about your safety so I’m not going to apologize.”

She hesitated. “All right. I’ll see you at 1:30.”

Luke ended the call with a goodbye just as Royce stalked into the room, bigger and burlier than his brothers, with his hair long and tied at the nape like Blake’s. ”I’d rather drink beer and eat pizza at home. Actually, I’d rather be at home with Lauren.”

Blake pushed to his feet. “Yeah yeah, you grumpy ass, we know. But you can’t throw Lauren over your shoulder and run to your cave until after the wedding. We’re going to have fun whether you like it or not.”

And Luke was going to keep Julie safe, whether she liked it or not. It was the one thing in their relationship he considered non-negotiable.

***

It was 1:25 p.m. the next day and Julie had managed to send Lauren on her way to the spa without her, giving an excuse about taking care of last minute dinner details. At the sound of the bell, Julie rushed to open the door, feeling her knees go weak at the sight of Luke. His silky black hair fell over his forehead and dipped down to his strong brow. The man did for a dark suit and long coat what an engagement ring did for a bride’s finger. He made it look like perfection that couldn’t be undone.

“I’m ready,” she said, slipping her purse over her shoulder. “Or as ready as I will ever be for a funeral. Everything is set for the rehearsal dinner. We’ll just have to change before we show up, so we don’t look like we’ve been to a funeral. Some people think black is bad luck for weddings.”

“You don’t?”

“When it comes to marriage, I say don’t trust luck or fate to be in our favor. We should change.”

“I’m all about getting more comfortable,” he said, “but right now, you’re going to need a coat. He gave her simple black dress a once over that was so hot that she might argue his point, until he added, “It might not be snowing like in Chicago, but the wind is vicious and cold today.”

And they were only invited to the outdoor cemetery service which she found odd, but then, she didn’t know much about normal when it came to funerals.

“Right, thanks. I’m a wreck trying to organize tonight on top of this.” She reached behind the door to the coat rack and grabbed her long wool jacket. He reached forward to help her put it on and they ended up with his hands on her lapels. She stared into brown eyes that had her melting like chocolate.

“You don’t have to do this today,” he said softly.

“I do,” she insisted. “I have to.”

He considered her a moment.“Have you talked to the judge?”

She shook her head. “He never returned my call, but I figure that part is probably expected.”

“I wish you’d reconsider this,” he said. “I don’t want you any closer to this situation than you have to be when we don’t know what’s really going on.”

“You keep rephrasing that and saying it over and over.”

“And I’ll probably say it at least one more time before we get to the cemetery.”

“It feels important to me.”

He brushed the hair from her brow, his expression and his voice turning gentle. “Then it’s important to me.”

Her throat went dry and her breath caught in her throat. Men had told her she was beautiful, told her she was sexy. Told her they wanted to pleasure her. Things all women knew that men said when they wanted to get a woman into bed and keep her there. No man had ever made something as grim as a funeral, or for that matter anything she cared about, important just because it was important to her.