I nodded. “Definitely.” I felt my insides draw up tight when Cole shot me a quick smile and I wondered if that feeling would ever go away. I sure as hell hoped not.
“We’ve talked about doing a ceremony,” I admitted. “But nothing that would be legal,” I added as I glanced at Memphis. “I’m not choosing one of them over the other for the sake of a piece of paper.”
Memphis nodded in understanding. “Brennan and Tristan’s uncles haven’t legally married even after almost nine years together. But they share the same name, they have two beautiful daughters…none of that shit is because of a piece of paper.” Memphis took a long draw on his beer before saying, “In their eyes and in the eyes of the people who love them most, they’re as committed to each other as any married couple, gay or straight.” We both fell silent for a moment, each lost in thought.
“Mace…”
I looked over at Memphis. “Yeah?”
“Thank you,” the man said softly as he glanced at both his lovers. His eyes shifted back to me. “That day in New York…you made me see that something like this was possible. I’m…I’m not sure if I would have taken the risk if you hadn’t.”
My thoughts drifted back to the day Memphis had sought me out to ask me about my relationship with Jonas and Cole. Never in a million years had I expected that to be the topic of conversation when he’d asked me to meet him for coffee. But as I watched both of his young men sending him long, loving looks, I said, “You would have gotten there, Memphis.” I nodded towards Brennan and Tristan. “No way in hell they would have let you get away.”
Memphis smiled and I swore I saw a blush creeping up his throat. I laughed and decided to spare the man any additional embarrassment. “So Ronan and Seth are still attending tomorrow?” I asked. Memphis had given us the details about the three kids Ronan and Seth were taking in when he and Brennan had picked us up at the airport this morning.
“Yeah…they wanted to spend the night at their new house so the kids don’t have to try to adjust to a new environment even for a night.”
“So the girl is out of the hospital?”
“She got released a couple days ago. She has to take it easy for a couple of weeks, but I guess they’re bringing all three kids to the wedding. Tristan and the younger girl have a bond so we’ll sit with them during the ceremony since Seth and Ronan are the best men and if the kids get too overwhelmed, we’ll deal with it. It sounds like they’re adjusting pretty well now that Willow is out of the hospital.”
“Ronan Grisham, husband and now father,” I said with a smile. “Who would have guessed it?”
“First Hawke, now Ronan…you know what that means, right?” Memphis asked. “You’re next.”
“Next what?” Jonas asked as he came up to me and reached for my water. He dropped down onto my lap and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“Memphis seems to think it’s our turn to do the father thing since Ronan and Hawke are both down for the count.”
My heart swelled at the sight of the smile that spread across Jonas’s mouth. Starting a family was something we’d talked a lot about, but in theory. Jonas ran his fingers through my hair. “Memphis is a very smart man,” he said with a grin.
“Amen,” Memphis responded before taking a drink from his beer.
“But I think it’s going to be a close call,” Jonas said casually.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I settled my hand on Jonas’s thigh. I heard him suck in a sharp breath and he shot me a heated look.
“I think Memphis may have his hands full tonight and probably not in the way he’s hoping,” he said.
Memphis choked on his beer and swiped at his chin. “What do you mean?”
“I may or may not have heard a little bit of a conspiracy building. The name ‘Nicole’ was mentioned a few times.”
“Shit,” Memphis muttered, but I didn’t miss the hint of wonder in his voice.
“And you,” - Jonas continued to play with my hair as he spoke - “are not getting any younger and I really wouldn’t mind having a little boy or little girl with dark eyes and dirty blond hair.”
After I managed to get past the visual of sharing a son or daughter with Jonas and Cole, I said, “I’m partial to blue eyes.” I glanced at Cole and said, “And black or brown hair works just fine for me.” I lifted my mouth to Jonas’s ear so only he could hear me. “I guess I’ll just have to show you tonight how much staying power I still have.”
Jonas blushed prettily and then his mouth was closing over mine. It wasn’t until Memphis coughed that we both remembered his presence and Jonas tore his mouth from mine. We were both breathing hard and I glanced up to see Cole watching us with open hunger.
“I think that’s our cue,” Memphis said with a chuckle and then he was getting up. I watched him walk over to Brennan and Tristan and then he said something to both men that had them going from laughing and smiling to hungry and needy inside of a split second. I didn’t even bother watching the trio anymore because I knew they’d be heading up to their room as quickly as I planned to get Cole and Jonas up to ours. “You about done here?” I asked Jonas as I let my finger trail up his inner thigh.
Jonas nodded and then his mouth was on mine again. “We can finish in the morning,” he whispered against my mouth. By the time I got us both to our feet, Cole was at our sides and his mouth sealed over mine without even speaking a single word. Then he was kissing Jonas and I moved to stand behind Cole so I could skim my hands down his back and over his jean clad ass.
“You wanna take both of us tonight, baby?” I whispered into Cole’s ear.
Cole tore his mouth from Jonas’s and whispered a harsh, “Yes.”
