Page 22

T he Lancaster was a beautiful Italian restaurant with arching pillars and ivy dangling from the ceiling. Golden lights lit the place up and I gaped in awe at the intricate carvings in the walls as Dex, Cody, Darren, Taylor, and I were led to a private room on the second floor of the building.

"This is a … lot," I finally said after the concierge had disappeared back into the main part of the restaurant.

"I think I'm going to have to agree with Jamie on this one," Dare said as he, too, stared open-mouthed at the room we'd rented for the evening. "How expensive was this place?"

Dex waved a hand. "It doesn't matter."

"Dex." I turned and strode towards him. He looked at me as I approached and when I reached up to take the lapels of his suit coat into my hands, I rose on my tiptoes so that I could look him in the eyes when I spoke. "It is a big deal. You don't need to spend a lot of money on this. They're either going to accept it or not. No amount of money you spend on where we tell them will change anything."

He frowned, his blue eyes clouding over. "I want you to have the perfect wedding," he said. "I just want to make you happy." He spread his arms out, gesturing to the gold and white tablecloth and the luxurious sheer curtains by the balcony. "I want to give you everything."

"I have everything," I assured him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I have you and the guys." I glanced over my shoulder at them as they stood a few feet away before returning my gaze to Dex. "That's really all I've ever needed."

Dex frowned. "You don't like it?" he asked.

I sighed and shook my head. "No, that's not what I'm saying."

"She just means that you don't have to spend money to make her happy," Cody said, stepping forward.

Dex looked up and met Cody's eyes before he met the others' as well. "I just..." he trailed off, likely unsure of what to say.

"Is this because your family isn't coming?" I asked quietly.

Dex stiffened, but he answered with a nod of affirmation.

"Oh, Dex..." I cupped his jaw. "I don't care about that. I want you— not your money, not theirs, and certainly not them."

"Yeah, man," Taylor said with a chuckle. "Would you really marry Jamie if she was just another chick after your wealth and status?"

"No, I wouldn't," he said, frowning as if the very idea was abhorrent to him.

"Good. Then after tonight, we chill on the whole money spending spree you're on, 'kay?" Dare announced.

Dex cleared his throat but acquiesced with another quick nod before switching topics. “They should be here any moment,” he said. “How do you want to—”

“Oh my goodness!” A high pitched squeal echoed through the room. Dare winced as we all turned towards the doorway. Apparently, the families appeared to have arrived en masse. No latecomers tonight.

We had asked them to be here at seven, I thought, and it was seven . I didn’t think they’d all actually show up on time at the same time though.

“Darren!” Giselle, Dare’s older sister, gaped as she entered the room, her head thrown back as she tried to take it all in at once. Kind of difficult to do since none of us were owls. “This place is gorgeous.”

Behind her, Dare’s mother, Marion, moved at a much slower pace, trailing after her reed-thin daughter. “It’s quite lovely,” Marion agreed in a much more subdued tone.

“Hi, Mrs. Maverick,” I said, releasing Dex. “Why don’t you come have a seat over here?”

As I helped Dare’s mother into her chair, I watched as Cody approached my parents and gestured to where their seats were before his mother and father came in and he excused himself to say hello. Did they find it odd that the parents of the groomsmen had been invited to the wedding? I wondered suddenly. Had they already figured it out? No, they couldn't have. Still, my eyes tracked across the room, following as many people as I possibly could. I bounced from one couple to another. It wasn't until Taylor found his parents at the back of the lot and escorted them to their seats as well that I finally shook off the riotous thoughts running through my head. I needed to calm down.

“We can’t thank you enough for inviting us all the way here for your wedding, dear,” Mrs. Maverick said. “I mean, it would be one thing if Darren were getting married, but you’re such a good friend to him. We’ve never been to New York before.”

I coughed awkwardly. “Really? I'd never been before moving here either. Do you like it so far?”

“Like it?” Giselle jumped in, taking a seat next to her mother. “We love it! Gosh, I just want to move here, but it's so expensive and everything is just..." She trailed off as she put her hands up and shook them in a universal jazz hands sign.

“It’s a very big city,” Taylor’s mother agreed.

I looked up and met her gaze, the same softness of her features echoed in Taylor’s face. They had the same cheekbones. I smiled. “Hi, Mrs. Taylor. I hope you like New York as well.” And I really freaking hoped she didn't hate my guts when I told her and everyone else that I wasn't just marrying Dex, but all of their sons.

Maybe this was a horrible idea, I thought to myself.

She waved her hand. “How many times have I told you, dear, call me Jeanne.”

“Yes, I think Thomas would have loved New York City,” Cody’s mother said. “But he’s far too young to be traveling.”

“Is Thomas your youngest?” Jeanne asked.

Cynthia nodded. “Yes, he’ll be seven next winter. We had to ask our daughter, Amelia, to stay home with him.”

“Oh, how old is she?”

I sighed as the two of them rambled on into a smaller conversation. The room filled up rather quickly. Dare’s mother and sister. My parents. Cody’s. Taylor’s. The only family missing was Dex’s. I glanced towards him and he shot me a serene smile, then, as if he knew what I was thinking, he shook his head. He didn’t want me to be upset about it—we’d already had that talk. They had realized that Dex would do what he wanted with or without their approval. And no happy ending was ever gained without sacrifice. I only wished I could’ve been the one to sacrifice and not him.

I took a seat at one end of the table as Dex moved in on my right with Cody on his other side and then Darren on my left and Taylor next to him. I only hoped when we opened up to our families that it would help to showcase how we were coming forward as a united front.

As everyone adjusted, waiters entered carrying pitchers of water. They took our orders and soon enough, platters of appetizers were brought out as well. It was like the calm before the storm. Everyone was laughing, relaying different stories and getting to know one another through each of the different families.

As it was, though, it was Taylor’s father—Henry—that broke the ice as he responded to his wife’s apparent love of New York City.

“Quite an unfortunate city, if you ask me,” he said. “Too cold. Too crowded. Would have preferred to come here to see you and Donovan get married. Didn’t even know you two had broken up until he informed us about this trip.” I grimaced as he glanced to the side at Taylor, who didn’t seem the least bit upset or awkward—I didn’t know how he kept his easy going expression like that, especially while I was sweating bullets. “What’d you ever do to make the poor girl dump you anyway?”

“Who ever said she dumped me?” Taylor replied easily.

His father huffed again. “Why else would she be marrying another man?”

My face heated as everyone got settled. “What do you mean?” I heard my mother ask. “She and Dex have been together for a while now.”

Moment of truth. Here it was.

“Actually,” Dex said, cupping my shoulder, “that’s why we’ve asked you all here tonight.”

All eyes were on us. For a split second, I wondered how fast my feet could carry me out the door. Maybe we could just run away. We could move to Bermuda and get married there. We'd never have to come home and we could continue to pretend. "Jamie?" Dex's voice brought me back to the present. I sucked in a breath and looked up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Even though I felt sick to my stomach, I nodded anyway.

“Jamie? What’s this about?” My father’s confused tone shot me straight through the heart. It froze me on the spot.

I blinked, staring at him across the table. Sensing my trouble, Dare reached under the table and took my hand. I whirled and looked at him and he nodded reassuringly. Beyond him, Taylor smiled as well and winked.

“Well,” I finally started with a gulp, turning to face the rest of our families, “the reason why we asked you all out here is because of the wedding. As most of you are aware, when each of you met me—aside from my parents of course—I was dating your sons. Nothing has changed, except now we're ready to tell you guys the truth."

"The truth?" I watched as my father's brow furrowed and he turned towards my mom as if she would have some clue to what was going on.

"Yes," I continued, turning to the rest of the group. "I've been involved with all of your sons for the last several years. They all know. We've never lied or cheated. We're in a committed … erm … polyamorous relationship. When we graduated, they asked me to marry them. All four of them. Officially, I’ll be marrying Dex.” I peeked up at him and his grip on my shoulder tightened. “But, unofficially, I’ll be marrying Darren, Cody, and Tay—Donovan, I mean—as well.”

Silverware slipped from someone’s fingertips and the loud clatter of the metal on porcelain echoed throughout the room, making me wince.

“You what?” My mom blinked at me as my father gaped, slack-jawed at me. The faces surrounding them were no different.

“I thought it was a little odd that you were dating Dare and then you weren’t…” Giselle said a bit breathlessly as if she were still trying to work through the announcement in her head.

“This isn’t legal,” Cody’s father said. “You can’t marry multiple men.”

“That’s why she said ‘officially,’” Dex replied with cool composure. “Actually, she’s already signed the paperwork pronouncing her my wife, but tomorrow, during the ceremony, we’ve asked to be tied together, the four of us—spiritually, of course. Everything is done by the book. The marriage is legal.”

“How—I mean—why would you…” Taylor’s mother was pink in the face as she tried to adjust and speak, but the words couldn’t seem to form into full, coherent sentences.

“How long has this been going on?” My father directed the question not at me but at the guys.

Cody sat forward and answered. “Jamie’s been dating all of us for a few years now and when we graduated, we decided to ask her to marry us. We all began dating her at the same time and we share in these decisions."

“All of you?” The shock on his face did not bode well. “And you’re okay with this? Sharing a woman?”

"I can't believe I'm getting to see something like this in real life," Giselle said absently. “This is like a telenovela."

“More like a horror film,” someone muttered.

“Is this a prank?” someone else asked. "This has to be a prank. It can't be real. This isn't funny."

“Listen,” Dare held up a hand as more people tried to talk, hurling accusations and disbelief, “we’re in love. We’re doing this legally. We’re already committed. We asked you all to be here because, tomorrow, whether you like it or not, we’re getting married. I’m going to dedicate my life to Jamie and I know that I’d rather tell my family the truth than lie to them.”

Cody nodded, casting his parents a look. “I’m the same. I love Jamie and she loves me. None of us could force her to choose and we wouldn’t even if we wanted to. Jamie doesn’t deserve to be treated like an object passed between us or a prize awarded to the victor. She has a choice in all of this.”

“And she chose all of us,” Taylor added. “So, this is it. We love her and we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Tears pricked at my eyes, and I squeezed Dare’s hand at Taylor’s words. I really didn’t want to cry in front of my parents—or the guys' families. I didn’t want to show any kind of weakness or anything that could cause them to think I was uncertain about this. It was, quite possibly, the most sure I’d ever been in my life.

“We ask,” Dex went on, “that even if you don’t like our decision that you at the very least respect it. But for now, I think it’s best if we head home so you have time to think about it.”

Dex and Dare helped me up from the table, Cody and Taylor stood as well.

“Think about it?” my dad repeated. “The wedding is tomorrow! You don’t seriously think that I’m going to show up and watch my daughter marry four men, do you? I will not sit back and watch her be passed around like a toy for you to play with.”

Dare dropped my hand and rounded the table at once. I gasped and went after him, only stopping when Taylor stepped in front of me, halting my movement. I had to watch with wide, fearful eyes as Dare pulled my father from his seat and held him up by the lapels of his coat jacket.

“We would never disrespect Jamie like that,” Dare growled.

“Yes! How dare you!” Giselle snapped. “It’s a bit strange, I’ll give you that, but my brother would never hurt a woman.”

“My daughter deserves better!”

“What is that supposed to mean?” My head whipped to the side as Taylor’s mother stood up from the table. “Are you saying that she deserves better than my son too? Donovan is—”

“Enough!” Dex’s low shout startled me and I jerked against Taylor, moving closer as Dex strode around the table and grabbed Darren’s arm, saying something to him in a tone I couldn’t discern. Whatever he said, though, it made Dare release my father. “We’re leaving,” Dex announced again. “No more fighting. If you want to come tomorrow, you’re all welcome. But just know, the wedding will go on as planned. It’s far too late to stop this.” He shot them all with a silencing look, as if daring anyone to say anything to the contrary. They heeded his unspoken warning and remained quiet. “We wanted you all to know beforehand, and now that you know, you can make the decision for yourself. What I will not tolerate, however, is standing here and having you fight amongst yourselves in front of my wife.”

“Come on, Jamie.” I jumped as Cody came up behind me and helped to usher me out of the room. Dex remained a moment more as Taylor and Cody urged me towards the staircase, but after a moment of complete and utter silence, he and Darren joined us.

It wasn’t until they’d filed out with me and we were all in a car heading back to our new suite apartment that I felt like I’d been slammed by a freight train. I found myself curling up in my seat as fresh tears assaulted my eyes and Cody pulled me to his chest while Taylor stroked my hair. I hadn’t exactly expected immediate acceptance, but at the same time … I hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly either.

I just knew I would go to sleep tonight with the image of my parents’ shocked and horrified expressions imprinted on my mind, and if that wasn’t the most tragic part of this evening, I didn’t know what was.