Page 23

I sniffed hard and rubbed my face against the impossibly soft pillow that lined the headboard of my new bed. When we got home, the guys had brought me inside and left me alone. Every once in a while, one of them would sneak into the master bedroom where I currently resided and they’d cuddle me close. Then they’d kiss me and tell me things would get better before disappearing once again out the door.

I didn’t know what they were doing, and to be honest, after the dinner fiasco, I kind of didn’t want to. I just wanted to wallow. My phone went off several times—text messages and phone calls from both of my parents. I refused to answer. I didn’t feel like being judged right now. Nothing would change my mind about the guys. It would only serve to make me feel worse.

Be careful what you wished for … I thought to myself. I wanted to be the one to make a sacrifice for the guys instead of it just being Dex and it looked like I was going to get my wish. Unfortunately, it affected all of them too…

“Maybe we should’ve just kept it quiet,” I muttered.

“What, and never told them anything?” I looked up as Taylor came into the room. He pressed the door open wider when I noticed him and strode inside. “Come on, pumpkin, do you really think that would’ve worked?” I sat up as he moved to lean on the edge of the bed.

“No.” I sniffed again. “Probably not.”

His hand came up and a thumb brushed gently under my eyes. “Then no more tears. We did what we could. We were honest. We’re not hurting anybody. Let them make their decision.”

I looked up at him. “How can you be so okay with this?” I asked. “What if your parents don’t want to talk to you again?”

He laughed. “My parents will get over it. My dad always liked you. He’ll eventually just be happy with the fact that I did end up getting you.” He rolled his eyes in playful frustration. “You have no clue the kinda bullshit I had to put up with when he thought you were marrying another man. And Mom’s … well, she was a teenage hippy. They both live in California. Believe me when I say if anyone’s going to be okay with it, they are.”

I chuckled at that. “Okay, maybe you’re right.”

He turned his head and pounced on me, pushing me back against the mattress as he rose over me. “Maybe?” he repeated with a wicked grin. “I’m always right.”

I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t say that…”

“Oh no?” He lifted a brow as he brought both of his hands down on my sides and began to squeeze and release, curling his fingers into my ribs. I screamed.

“Stop!” I laughed as he did it faster.

“What was that?” he asked. “I could have sworn I heard you say that I was always right.”

“Yes!” I shrieked. I couldn’t take it anymore. Fresh tears poured from my eyes as I laughed and giggled and gasped for air. “You’re right!” I yelled. “You’re always right! You’re the rightest right person to ever right! Now, please! Taylor! Donovan! STOP! I’m going to pee myself!”

“Oh, is that so?” I heard him say. “Well, let's just get rid of these and that shouldn’t be a problem.” With that, his hands slipped up and under my dress, fingers curling around my underwear as he jerked them down.

I gasped again—this time for a completely different reason as he followed my panties down, trailing open mouthed kisses along my thighs. As he slipped my underwear off my feet and rose back up, I spread my thighs open and he settled between them. Taylor’s hair fell forward and I reached up, brushing the dirty blondish-brown locks out of his eyes.

“Trust me, sugar tits,” he said, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips. “We’ll never leave you alone to be sad. And I can promise you, I’m definitely right about that.”

I shook my head, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “I do trust you,” I said. “And I hope you know, I don’t believe in divorce—so after tomorrow, you’re locked in. Forever.”

“Promise?” he whispered against my mouth.

I nodded, sliding my tongue out and letting it twine with his as he fumbled for the button of his jeans. Undoing the clasp and unzipping in record time, I groaned as Taylor rose up once more, his hands moving to grasp under my thighs as he pushed his cock towards the entrance of my pussy.

“I promise,” I gasped out as he thrust inside. “Fuck—I promise…”

“Good,” was all I heard as a reply before all of my senses dissolved into pure lust and adrenaline as he pumped into me, reaching between us and flicking my clit as we were flung incredibly fast towards a sparkling release waiting just beyond the edge.

He pushed me up and over the cliff of orgasm faster than ever before and then—together—we fell into the abyss.

* * *

Something warm surrounded me, firm and secure. I cuddled closer, pressing my nose into the strong throat I weaseled my way under. Taylor grumbled against me, shifting as he moved his other arm out from beneath my body to curl over my shoulder. I smiled without opening my eyes. That is until…

“Jamie?” I groaned, peeking my eyes open and flashing them to the doorway. Cody stood there, frowning. “Sorry,” he said, “but you’ve got a … erm … visitor.”

My brows drew down low over my eyes as I quickly and quietly extracted myself from Taylor’s grasp. He grumbled once more but rolled over and pulled a pillow to his chest as compensation for my absence.

“What’s going on?” I asked as Cody led me into the hallway. “Who is it?”

“It’s your mother.” I looked up when rather than Cody, who I'd expected to answer me, it was Dex.

“My mom? What’s she doing here?”

He sighed. “I assume to talk about what went down tonight.”

I lifted my hand and bit the edge of my thumbnail. Should I go? Should I ask them to tell her to talk to me tomorrow—when everything was over? Or was that the coward’s way out?

It was totally the coward’s way out, I decided with a frustrated huff.

“Where is she?” I finally asked.

“Living room.” Dex gestured behind him. “Everyone’s been off and on the phone all night. Dare’s finally asleep. She tried calling us, but we knew you weren’t answering, so we didn’t either.”

“How’d she know where to find us? We just moved in.”

Cody grimaced. “I’m afraid I might have something to do with that,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, ruffling the red strands of his hair so that they all stood up at an awkward angle. To be fair, though, he still looked like a fucking model—especially since he wasn’t wearing anything more than a pair of low-slung sweats. “When I was talking to them earlier, I told them that we were living at the Balden Suites. She must have looked it up.”

“But how’d she know which one?” I mused. “Unless you—”

“No, no, she said she asked the doorman if anyone new had moved in and which floor they were on,” Cody answered quickly.

I nodded. “Well, I guess I can’t put this off anyway,” I said.

“You want us to leave you alone with her?” Dex asked.

“Yeah, I think that’d be best.” I headed for the living room. “Don’t worry. She’s my mom. She’s probably just worried about what this all means. Come tomorrow, we’re still getting married.”

Dex snatched my hand up as I passed him and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “I’m not worried in the least, Baby. I love you.”

I smiled, curling my fingers against his briefly before I tugged them away. “I love you, too.” I looked back over my shoulder. “And you, too, tattletale.”

Cody blushed. “Sorry,” he muttered.

I laughed quietly. “I’m just teasing. I love you both. Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll let my mom out when we’re done talking.”

“Come find me when you’re done?” Dex asked.

I shook my head. “Hell no, you’re not supposed to see me the night before the wedding, much less sleep with me.”

His nostrils flared and he stepped forward, causing me to quickly scramble back as a deliciously wicked glint entered his eyes.

Before he could say anything else, I took a step towards the living room. “I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight!”

I rounded the corner and found my mom sitting in the living room, dressed in the same clothes she’d been wearing for dinner, despite how many hours had passed. She sat with her purse clutched in her hands. I glanced around, half expecting my father to be with her, but my scan came up empty. She was alone.

“Mom?”

Her head jerked up as I entered. She stood quickly. “Jamie, I was hoping I could talk with you.”

“Yeah,” I said, gesturing for her to take a seat again as I moved through the room and sat across from her, “I see that.”

She hesitated for a moment, but finally, she sat once more. Silence stretched between us and I raised my brows.

“Well…” I started, “you wanted to talk, so…”

She cleared her throat. “I was very shocked by the announcement you made at dinner tonight.”

“Yeah,” I reached up to curl a strand of my hair around my fingertip, “I’m not surprised to hear you say that.”

“Your father and I came up here with the idea that you would be marrying one man, not four.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

She swallowed, her fingers clutching at the top of her purse as though she needed something to grab onto. “We want you to know that we still love you.”

I stopped tugging on my hair, untangling my fingers, and setting my hands in my lap. “I’m glad to hear that,” I said slowly. “I mean, to be honest, I didn’t think this would make you stop loving me. Was there ever a chance of that?”

My heart pounded against my ribcage, so loud in my ears, I was afraid she could hear it from across the room. But she didn’t seem to notice as she turned her gaze downward. In a quiet, barely there voice, she answered, “No.”

“Okay, then, why are you really here?” I asked. “Is it because you want to tell me not to do this? Because if that’s the case, Mom, it’s kinda too late.”

I waited for her to speak, but nothing came. The quiet crawled under my skin, shredding me from the inside. I hated it. It made me itchy. So, I kept talking. Anything to bring sound to the room.

“I love them,” I professed, “and I’m sorry I never told you and Dad the truth. I’m sure it’s shocked everyone, but we didn’t want to start our life together with all of our families in the dark. I’m not going to leave them. We—”

“I’m not going to ask you to,” she finally said, stopping me.

“You’re not?” I sucked in a breath.

She shook her head as she looked back at me and smiled—albeit, a bit sadly. I frowned, confused. If she wasn’t here to talk me out of this then why was she sad?

“I’m so worried for you,” she admitted, her voice thick with emotion. She sniffed hard before she began digging into her purse, bringing out a wad of tissues. Instead of using them, however, she merely clutched them in her grasp as she moved her purse to the side and leaned forward, pressing her forearms to her legs. “The world is not as accepting as I wish it was,” she said.

Though my throat had mysteriously dried out, I managed to croak back a response. “I know that.”

“People are going to judge you. They’re going to call you horrible names.” She gasped as a tear escaped and slid down her cheek and she quickly pressed the wad of tissues to her cheek, soaking it up before it could make it to her chin. “You’re my baby. My little girl. I don’t want that for you. It breaks my heart.”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” I said. “What other people think or say. I’m happy with them, the guys. Everything else—it just doesn’t matter.”

She nodded. “I know. I can see that.” Mom lifted her gaze. “I see the way they look at you—the way they treated you tonight at dinner when everyone was getting so upset.”

I blushed. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I just…”

“You were overwhelmed,” she finished for me.

I nodded.

“I understand that, sweetie. And they saw that and they took care of you.”

“They always take care of me,” I said. “I know they always will.”

She sighed. “I know that. Which is why—” She paused and stood, reaching down for her purse. I watched as she slid it up her arm and then turned to me. I rose to my feet as she took a step closer. She reached out, and with her free hand, she cupped my cheek. “Which is why your father and I will be there tomorrow.”

I bit my lip as she smiled at me, trying not to cry. There had been far too many tears tonight. “We’ll have all the bells and whistles on,” she assured me, “and your father will be walking you down the aisle.”

“Why isn’t he here telling me this?” I asked quietly.

She rolled her eyes. “He drank himself stupid,” she admitted.

I gaped at her. “He did what? Dad doesn’t drink.”

“Oh, he drinks,” she said. “Just not in front of you and not so much. He was so upset tonight, though. Shocked and hurt that you kept this from us. He said some things—he knows he offended your boys—men, they’re men,” she corrected herself. “He’s hoping they won’t hate him tomorrow. He told me before he passed out back at the hotel that it doesn’t matter what happens or who you’re marrying, he’s going to be at his little girl’s wedding if it kills him. So, just know, sweetie, the world may not care for your choices, but we’ll always love you.”

I knocked her arm to the side and catapulted myself at her, wrapping her up in a tight hug. She gasped and then sighed as I squeezed her tight, pressing my face against her shoulder. “Thank you,” I choked out. “I was really scared. Losing you guys would be the biggest heartbreak. I love you.”

I felt her arms come around me and then her whispered, “You’ll never lose us, baby girl. We love you. Always have. Always will.”