Page 44 of Gilded Dreams
My heart swells to nearly bursting when three sets of arms pull me close and our warmth mingles and melds together.
“I have a surprise for you.” Okay, I’m a little impatient.
“You are our surprise.”
Brogan tips my chin his way and dives in for a kiss. They all take turns and before long my body wants to move on from Christmas gifts to the action part of the evening. But there’s plenty of time for that.
“Let the woman talk, Brogan. She clearly has something on her mind.”
Ryder glides his palm over mine and I offer him an understanding, thankful smile. I swear sometimes all these men think about is getting me naked.
I bend down and pull up three small gold boxes with red ribbon. I give them each one and stand back.
Atlas is the first to pull open the ribbon and it’s like dominoes from there. All three pop the lids off at the same time.
Ryder turns a puzzled smile on me. “A bootie?” And a hint of hope hits his tone. “Kandy?”
I wring my hands together and hold back just a few seconds longer.
“Hey, I have one too.” Brogan holds his up to Ryder’s and I turn to Atlas who is staring at his box with a look of disbelief on his face.
My heart squeezes when he slowly reaches in and pulls out a pregnancy test. Tears well in his eyes, and damn it, I start to cry too.
“Tell me something, my sweet butterfly, is this really happening?” There’s so much hope and trust in his expression I feel my heart anchor to this moment in time. Brogan and Ryder mirror Atlas in every way. Ryder brushes his fingers over the soft material of the pink hand-knitted bootie and then passes it to Atlas and has tears streaming down his face.
“I love you,” I whisper out of fear of breaking the magical moment. “I love you all sosomuch. I hope you’re as happy as I am at starting our own family. Even if it’s just the four of us.”
I’m in three sets of arms and sniffles and tears are the main emotions happening right now. I’ve never seen a tear in either man’s eye, but they are openly showing me their happiness.
“You know, this means we have to revisit our plans for the cabin.”
“Ever my planner.” I raise to the tips of my toes and give Atlas a loving kiss.
He raises his eyes over top of my head to look at his best friends. A silent conversation goes in in the span of a few seconds and they are on their knees. Each of them places a hand on my abdomen that will be swollen, fat, and plump in the span of a few months.
“How far along?”
“She’ll be in time for July’s fireworks. I’m two months.”
“It’s a good thing we brought these then.”
All three reach into their pockets and hold up a gold band. Across the top there are words engraved: MyHart. My Soul. Our Butterfly.
My hands go to my mouth, and I guess it’s an evening of tears because more slip down my face.
“If you’ll take us, we promise to be your lovers,” Atlas starts.
“Your protectors,” Brogan adds.
“And your best friends, your everything,” Ryder finishes. “Will you be ours?”
“Yes! Oh my god, I never really thought it was possible to marry.”
“We’ll figure it out. Even if one of us officially marries you on paper. It doesn’t matter; we just want you to know these rings are our promise to you.”
“What about you?”
Ryder smiles down at me, the look pure devilish yet sweet. “We thought about that.”
