Four Kicks
I don’t know what to say. The four of them have once again overwhelmed me, this time with revelations that I’m struggling to keep up with.
Ash takes my other hand in his. “We know you want a husband and children, and if you think you might want that with us, let’s give things a try. Let’s go on dates, get to know each other even more, and see where things go.”
“We want to give you everything you want,” Derek says. “As long as you give us what we want.”
My voice is shaky with emotion. “What’s that?”
“You,” Derek says, his word quickly echoed by Nathan.
“We want you,” Ash says.
“You’re everything we want,” Landon adds.
I’m overwhelmed in the very best possible way. The men all step in closer and I’m enveloped in the arms of the four most gorgeous, sexy, hard-working, caring men I know. My men. My future.
Six Months Later
“I had high hopes for them, Maddy.”
“I know you did.” We’re on the beach in front of my friend’s house, sitting under a big umbrella, watching little Amelia play in the sand.
Maddy lays a comforting hand on my arm. “Have faith. Things will work out better next time.”
I let out a long sigh. “I don’t know. I’m kind of losing hope.”
“Oh my gosh! You’re being so dramatic! I’ll bake extra apple fritters next Friday and I’ll be sure to save some for you. We had a big order at the end of the day yesterday.”
“But I was counting on having one today. These cookies are good, but they’re just not as good as your apple fritters. I haven’t had one in weeks!”
She laughs. “Do your men have any idea how addicted you are?”
My men. I love the sound of that. “When I’m around my men, I don’t think much about food.”
“I hear you, sister!” She gives me an air high five.
“How are you and your men doing, by the way?” I’ve been busy and haven’t checked in with Maddy on her relationship with the Harding brothers much lately, though I do keep in touch for regular updates on her quickly growing daughter.
She settles back in her chair with a contented sigh. “We’re doing great. Especially now that Amelia’s letting us sleep for several hours at night.”
I arch a brow. “Sleep? Really? Are you sure that’s what you’re doing at night?”
My friend laughs. “We are definitely making sleep a priority, but we do other things at night, too. In fact, I have some news to share with you.” I sit up straight, giving Maddy my full focus as her face breaks into a glorious smile. “I’m pregnant!”
I jump up and hug her, causing little Amelia to look at us with curiosity. “You’re going to be a big sister,” I tell the girl, giving her a kiss on the forehead before returning my attention to Maddy. “How wonderful! But couldn’t you slow down a little on the baby-making, so that I might be able to catch up?”
“Tell it to my men.” Maddy tips her head toward the beach house behind us. “It’s hard to get them to slow down.”
We talk about the pregnancy and plans for her growing family for a while before Maddy turns the conversation back to me.
“Are things getting more serious with your men?” she asks.
“I think so. They’ve been courting me like it’s their second job.”
She smiles. “Really? Still?”
“They have a dozen roses delivered to me every week at the office. When I asked them to stop because it made me feel awkward around my coworker, they started having flowers sent for her, too.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.”
“They’ve been very sweet. They asked if they could visit my parents. They’d met at the island festival months ago, but they wanted to be introduced to them as my ‘boyfriends’.”
Maddy reaches down to pick up Amelia, who appears to be getting sleepy. “How did that go?”
“Good. My mom loved them. I knew she would. My dad seemed a little uneasy at first, but after a while the five of them were talking like old friends and making plans to play golf sometime.”
Amelia gives a big yawn as Maddy brushes the girl’s hair back from her cheeks. “Are you seeing them tonight?”
“I am. It’s actually the six-month anniversary of the night we made things official, and they’re taking me back to that fancy resort we stayed at before. In fact, what time is it?” I check my phone to find that it’s later than I thought it was. “Ooh, I’d better get going.”
“Looks like it’s this one’s nap time, anyway,” Maddy says, gesturing to Amelia, who’s nodding off in her mother’s arms.
We gather our things and head up to her house. A few minutes later, I’m on the road home.
Back at my apartment, I’m just out of the shower when I hear a car horn through the open window. It’s not the men’s style to honk when they pick me up, but I panic because I’m running late. From the window I see an unfamiliar car in our driveway, its passenger door just opening.