"Wasn't that my decision to make?"
They shook their heads. "We couldn't have lived with ourselves."
I sat back, sinking into the deep lounge chair, brain whirling. Finally, I looked back over at them, hands gripping the arms of the seat.
"What changed?"
"Your parents."
"What?"
Drake nodded. "Your mother's cancer made them reassess their decision. They called us, we were overseas at the time, but they said they were sorry. Apologized for making a decision that had influenced your life and ours. They realized that we only had your best interests at heart, and we would treat you like the queen you are."
Dane's lips quirked. "I think your mother even said she'd cut our balls off if we ever hurt you."
"But they gave you their blessing?" I asked, my heart thumping loudly in my ears.
"Yeah, baby. Said they'd support us so long as it was your choice."
Tears stung my eyes. "Wow," I murmured, raising a shaky hand to my mouth. "This is—wow."
"We're sorry, Bluebell," Dane said, pinning me with his serious dark gaze. "But we were prepared to live without you if we knew you were happy."
I wanted to rage at them for making this decision without me. I wanted to throw things and rant and make a mess. But I didn't. I let that anger go in a long, hard sigh. Because the fact was, I understood their reasoning. Broken homes, shitty foster houses, they knew the importance of family—particularlya good family—and mine was the best. They wouldn't have done anything to take me away from mine. And as much as I loved both of them, it would have hurt me to have my family reject my decision.
I swiped at my tears, appreciating that they were still giving me the space I needed.
"Is there anything else I need to know?" I asked, finally.
They exchanged a look.
"You get to pick who you wanna marry," Drake told me.
"But the other one gets first chance at knocking you up," Dane growled.
I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You want to marry me?"
"And knock you up," Drake agreed.
They both grinned, and I felt that familiar flutter in my belly.
"What if I want you two to get married?" I asked, genuinely curious.
They looked at each other in surprise.
"But, don't you want a day?"
"Sure, but I can tie myself to you through our babies. You two can't do the same with me. And it doesn't seem fair to only marry one of you."
"How about we decide all this later?" Dane asked, rising to his feet. "You got a choice now, babe. We can either head to the bar or to bed. But either way, you're getting some lovin' first."
I let him pull me up, wrapping my arms around him and settling into his embrace with a sigh. Drake's arms came around us, holding us all together. It felt beautiful. Right.
"Bar," I finally decided. "I want to show off my men."
They both chuckled.
6
