“So you have it all worked out? What do we want?”
He nodded and opened his mouth to say something more, but Noah beat him to it.
“And anyone who would judge us for our love? Fuck ‘em. Love is love, you know.”
Sam gave Noah a side-eyed squint. “Sounds like you’re coming out the closet?” And then he glanced behind himself at the very place they’d all just fallen from and laughed. “I guess we all are.”
“We’re out.” Ryan held up the palm of his hand, and Sam slapped it in the way they often did.
Noah matched his brother’s stance with a hand over my shoulder. “We’re out, but not in the way some people mean. But in our way. We’re all agreed that we as a group can offer you so much more than any one of us. And you deserve that. So we’re all interested in dating you in a big polyamorous family.”
“Yeah, Gray. That’s right. We don’t care who knows. It’s about what makes us happy and creates a good home to raise our children.”
“Children? You plan on having more?”
By way of an answer, four stupid men grinned at me.
They wanted me to be certain they cared. They took my concerns seriously and were more than willing to address them and to understand my problems. The future they wanted for us wasn’t just about what they wanted. But what I wanted, too. Why deny us all if our dreams and desires coincide?
“Then, well...” Ryan approached me, so they effectively surrounded me. “There’s the matter of uh... your pregnancy.”
His finger caressed my face, then slid down my body toward my abdomen. He caressed it gently with an open hand.
“You think we’re going to be put off by this, Gray?” From behind me, Sam reached around my hips and held me.
“Maybe you think,” Noah added as he placed a hand on my gut as well, “that Brandon and I would be scared off at the thought of helping to raise another man’s child. But we’re not.”
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Brandon said, leaning in, whispering in my ear, also with a hand near my abdomen. “We want you, and we want the best for you. The child is as much Noah’s and mine as it is the twins’, if you’ll let it be.”
“Damn right.” Ryan caught my attention then, leaning in close to me. “We’re all in this together. For better or worse, for all the obstacles that may well get in our way. We’re going to make this work, Grace. We’re not going to take no for an answer.”
Sam whispered in my ear. “Ry’s wrong. We will always accept it when you say no. What he means is we don’t want to hear no as an answer today.”
Ryan nodded. “Yep. Tell us to stop. Tell us to fuck off if you want to.”
“But know that we’re ready to face all the problems that come with this together. The only thing stopping this from truly happening is you, Grace.”
“Just let us love you,” Noah whispered. “Let us protect you.”
The ball rested firmly in my court. Masterful preparation, all of them ready to move and give me everything I wanted. All I had to do was accept the neat and easy solution they offered.
Four boyfriends to look after me. Four fathers to help this teenage mother care for her baby. God, they’d laid it on thick. I should have seen it as a blessing instead of a curse.
If only I’d had a stupid harmless romance with a classmate like Noah, someone who wouldn’t be my stepbrother, someone who wasn’t my boss, just a clever, self-motivated kid who I was ‘supposed’ to fall in love with?
Even so, there would still be problems.
That was just simply how life was.
Yet, I had four men, four kind, clever men, who also happened to be incredibly sexy, ready to support and protect me through all of life’s onslaughts. And a much loved and wanted baby on the way.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
GRACE MILLER
They want to share me and create a great big family with heaven only know how many children.
I’d finally absorbed everything they’d said to me, and a slight smile rested on my face. “Fine.” I looked around at each and every one of their handsome faces. “You win. Have it your way. Let’s try this insanity.”
Their smiles grew bigger, and mine did too.
Once I’d made the decision and told my suitors, I felt a huge and surprising sense of relief.
Four men committed to sharing my life made the future seem so much less daunting.
“You never said it outright,” Noah smirked.
“Implied is not close enough, huh?”
Ryan pushed a strand of hair out of my face. “I’ll allow it, if only because I’m so happy to see you smile again.”
Then, without any further warning, he planted his lips against mine.
He’d decided actions spoke louder than words, and we’d had enough talk.