Quadruplets Make Six

Logan was crying at the sight of his fiancé in her wedding dress.

I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my cheeks. I hoped to have that one day. I hoped to walk down the aisle in a beautiful dress to a man who couldn’t contain his emotions once he saw me. I hoped one day to stand with our hands clasped together and not be able to get through my vows because I’d be crying from happiness. The entire ceremony was wonderful and I was so glad I attended. It warmed my heart to see my cousin so happy, and it gave me hope that him and this insane woman would somehow make things work.

When the two processed back down the aisle I stood and clapped. I threw my hands over my head and whooped for the two of them as I caught my cousin’s eyes again. He picked up his newly-wedded wife and carried her the rest of the way down the aisle, their lips locked as a silent tear fell down my cheeks.

One day that would be me.

One day.

Four

Graham

I couldn’t believe how fucking beautiful Libby was. When I saw her standing at the entrance to the Stan Mansion, it took me only a second to realize what was going on. She was in this pale pink dress that draped over an incredible set of curves. The fluttering fabric of the dress well to her knees, which gave me a wonderful sight of her flexed calves in the heels she was wearing. The dress was sleeveless, baring to me her soft skin that glistened in the setting Chicago sun. The lace that draped over the bodice of the dress gave an innocence to her deep blue eyes. But it was the pale pink’s contrast to her raven black hair that tumbled effortlessly down her back.

There wasn’t a part of her my fingertips didn’t throb for. But I could see the distress on her face and something inside of me leapt straight into action.

I walked up the steps towards her, listening to two voices throwing a barrage of questions at her. I guessed those were her parents, and I was ready to put them in their place. I was ready to shut their mouths by telling them to back the hell off their damn daughter, but I knew I had to keep my wits about the situation. This wasn’t something I could fight with my money or my words. I had to fight this with decorum and respect.

But when I slipped my arm around her waist and felt my fingers brush against her skin, I felt my pelvis pulse with want.

She was truly beautiful. Really, a sight to behold. Her makeup was light and she came in this petite little package. Her head just barely fell against my chest, and when she craned her neck up to look at me her deep blue eyes turned into an innocent doe stare. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair. I wanted to wrap my fist within it and pull her lips to mine. I’d met plenty of women to share my evenings with, but I hadn’t met one of them that wanted me to do something like this.

All this woman wanted was for me to help get her parents off her back for a night.

All throughout the wedding, I kept an eye on her. The raw emotion in her eyes throughout the entire wedding told the story of her and Logan. How close they had been at one point. How worried she was about the woman he was marrying. I saw the thumbs up he’d given Libby and I saw the beautiful flush that crept across her delicate skin. I was strength and she was serenity, and there was a calmness about her body even as her eyes raged with emotion.

Unadulterated, unfiltered emotion.

I didn’t see that a lot in my line of work. Being the owner and CEO of one of the largest tech companies in the country didn’t afford me a lot of time to sift through my own emotions. Being a shrewd businessman meant keeping my emotions in check. Holding all the cards close to my chest and being able to read a room full of people doing the same damn thing. I never got to be in the presence of people who were unashamed of what they were feeling. I never got to indulge in people who cried whenever they were happy.

Hell, I never saw people cry when they were sad.

But when Libby turned her face to watch Logan l carry Marianne with that tear trickling down her face, something within me popped. Her small little smile accompanied by that snicker of hers followed before she dropped her gaze to her feet. With each action I witnessed, it told me more about her. About who she was and the life she was living and how lonely she really was as a woman.

I could make her not feel so alone.

But only if that was something she wanted.

The wedding ended and I found her in the crowd, threading our hands together again. I wanted us to beat the crowd to the reception so she didn’t get so caught up in it. I led her along, listening as her small feet clicked behind me in her heels. I knew my way around the Stan Mansion very well. I’d hosted many company parties here and even had a few one-night stands in the decadent suites that lined the second floor.

Libby didn’t need to know that, however. The last thing I wanted was for her to think I was here only for sex.

We found her name tag at one of the tables in the middle of the room and I could see her cringing. She was looking around, her head bobbing as she counted how many people would be surrounding her. There was a ‘plus one’ name tag sitting next to her, which I assumed was for the date she was supposed to have. I had another spot at a table with Jake and the blonde he brought from work. But for now, I’d happily be her plus one.

I grew tired of watching her count the chairs. She was obviously uncomfortable and I wasn’t having it. So, I plucked our name tags from the table as her eyes fluttered up to mine.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Follow me,” I said.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Take my hand. Come on.”

She slipped her hand into mine and I wove us around the tables. I found one in the back that was partially covered by the shadows of the room. I removed two of the name tags and replaced them with ours, then sat her down in her seat before I kissed the top of her head.

“Be right back,” I said.