The Ruckus

We laughed again, and Nolan cut in, giving us a knowing grin. “I hope you ladies aren’t telling too many secrets over here...”

“Never too many secrets.” I winked and whispered, “But congratulations.”

He blushed a little, which was probably the most adorable thing I’d seen in a long time. “Thanks, Jasmine. You know it’s only a matter of time before you or Muriel—”

“Not yet, though,” Muriel interrupted, wearing what we called her stern mistress face. “I already have a wedding dress picked out, and I’m not even going to consider making those kinds of alterations to it.” She looked back at her guys and sighed, turning all dreamy and less stern. “But someday soon, hopefully.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, my own heart filling with joy at the thought. “Soon.”

I turned back to my hot guys and smiled. “Are we ready to go into the screening room? I’m sure everyone will want a speech from the director and the leading man before the movie starts.”

Axel laughed. “You aren’t getting off that easily, baby. None of this would have even been possible without you.”

“That’s right,” Micah nodded. “So the lead costume designer should also make a speech.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop myself from laughing along with them. I didn’t care about making speeches or getting any kind of credit, even so, it was certainly nice, and I appreciated every bit of it.

All I cared about was being there. Being present with my guys and watching them fulfill a passion project that they’d both worked so hard on.

And later, after we’d gone back home together and taken off all our fancy clothes, we would climb into our big bed and start working on making a baby of our own—a precious, perfect child who would be the best of all of us.

I smiled to myself as I looked up at the two men who I already knew would be the best daddies in the world.

Yeah, I could hardly wait.

Several Years Later

Jasmine

I couldn’t help smiling to myself as I sat with my two best friends on Poppy’s huge, wrap-around front porch and watched all of our kids play together in the yard. “When was the last time we were all together like this?”

“Too long ago,” Muriel shook her head. “I think I was still pregnant with Emma the last time all nine of us got together for dinner.”

Poppy’s brow furrowed. “Has it really been that long? I guess it was shortly after I had Piper. That’s crazy.”

It really was crazy, now that they’d made me realize how long it had been. The past five years had flown by in a blur of happiness—from our weddings to our firstborn children, each delivered only a couple of months apart—that it was sometimes easy to forget just how much I loved and missed spending time with my lifelong besties.

“Maybe things will slow down a little now that we’re all pregnant again...” I could barely keep a straight face as I spoke the words. Keeping up with one child and two husbands was more than a handful on most days. The fact that Muriel, Poppy, and I were all pregnant again at the same time was bound to cut down on our already-scarce quiet time. “Okay, so maybe we’ll just have to do more rowdy play dates here at the ranch.”

“Or out by your mom’s house,” Muriel offered. “I know Stella loves seeing all the kids, and I even think your uncle is starting to mellow out a little. He only cursed three or four times the last time Cameron, Hugh, and I saw him. And didn’t threaten to shoot us, not once.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cringe—honestly, a little of both. I was more than a little surprised at how much my uncle had changed for the better. Once he’d accepted that my guys really did love me—and once my mom finally put her foot down about his behavior in general—he grudgingly turned over a new leaf. He even made a point to apologize to me for being such a jerk for the past twenty years.

And coming from my uncle? An apology like that was a pretty huge step in the right direction.

The appetizing aroma of barbecue wafted over from the side of the house, and the three of us sat up in our chairs at the same time. “Oh my God,” Poppy inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. “There’s nothing better than the smell of barbecue.”

“I’ve been craving it like crazy ever since we started planning tonight’s meal,” Muriel nodded.

“Do you think the guys need any help?” I offered, mostly as an excuse to get up and start nibbling on the food that had already been prepared.

Poppy waved her hand dismissively. “There are six of them over there. They’ll manage.”

She had a point. Besides, it was probably good for the guys to all have their bonding time, too. Even if that bonding time mostly consisted—as far as I could tell, anyway—of standing around and complimenting each other on their grilling techniques.