Chapter 5
Mav
“So the reason I wanted to stop by-”
My words were cut off when a voice rang out from somewhere in the apartment, “Dom, are you here?”
“In here, baby,” Dom called to his husband, even as his eyes stayed on me, his big hands wrapped around the coffee cup in front of him. I felt like a bug on a microscope slide with the way he was examining me. I reached for my own coffee and cursed inwardly at the slight tremor in my hand.
Fuck, I should have brought Matty like Ronan had suggested. He could have at least broken the damn ice.
But my pride had kicked in at the last minute and I’d told myself I was a grown ass man and didn’t need a five-year-old fighting my battles.
Only now I was wondering if a smarter man wouldn’t have used every resource in his arsenal.
Hell, at least I could have asked the kid if I could borrow his Spiderman doll for good luck or something.
I remained silent as I heard footsteps approaching and then the swing door to the kitchen was opening and Logan Barretti was striding through, his eyes searching out his husband’s.
It was the only time Dom took his eyes off of me and I watched as his entire countenance changed when he saw Logan.
The other man leaned down to kiss Dom and I averted my eyes so I wouldn’t intrude on the intimate moment.
“Hi,” Logan murmured.
“Hi,” Dom responded softly, sensually.
Would that be me and Eli in nine years? Would what we had now be as strong after nine years of sharing our lives?
Yes.
No question about it.
The thought gave me strength and I steeled my spine. I was good enough for these men…to be a part of their family for real.
“Hey, Mav,” Logan said.
“Hi,” I said with a nod.
“Mav has something he wants to talk to us about,” Dom said as he linked his fingers with Logan’s and urged him to sit.
Us?
Fuck. I’d prepared myself for one protective father, not two.
Both men looked at me expectantly, but before I could even get a word out, the swing door opened again. “Papa?”
Logan and Dom’s four-year-old daughter strode into the kitchen and immediately crawled into Dom’s lap. The family’s German Shepherd, Sweetie, got up from where she’d been lying near my feet and ambled over to greet the little girl who immediately began petting the big dog.
“Did you have fun at pre-school today, baby girl?”
“Miss Valerie said I couldn’t be a wise man in the pageant,” the little girl pouted.
“How come?” Dom asked as he cuddled Sylvie against his chest.
“She said the wise men needed to be played by boys…she said I could be the In…In…”
“Innkeeper’s,” Logan supplied.
“The Innkeeper’s wife.” Sylvie straightened so she could look her father in the eye. “She said that I was a girl so I should play a girl part.”
Dom ran his fingers over her dark hair and I could see the open love in his eyes. It pulled at something deep inside of me .
“Your Daddy and I will talk to Miss Valerie, okay?”
“Tell Papa what you said to Miss Valerie,” Logan said and Dom glanced at him. A small smile graced Logan’s lips and he gave Dom the slightest of nods.
“I told Miss Valerie that I knew the ABC song better than any of the boys and that I could run faster than all of them too. And none of the boys wanted to hold that furry spider…”
I must have shown my surprise at the last part of her statement because Logan glanced at me and said, “It was Learn About Spiders day a few weeks ago and someone brought in a tarantula.”
I actually felt a shiver creep over my body at that. Sylvie turned to me and said, “It felt funny on my hand but it was nice. Papa and Daddy said I could maybe have one when I’m older.” I nodded at Sylvie before she turned her attention back to Dom.
“What did Miss Valerie say?”
Sylvie snuggled against her father’s chest again and calmly said, “She made me the leader.”
“What?” Dom asked with a laugh.
“Apparently Miss Valerie says there is a strong possibility that there were four wise men.” To his daughter he said, “But she didn’t make you the leader.”
Sylvie merely shrugged and then her gaze fell on me. Something flashed in her eyes and then she climbed off Dom’s lap and left the kitchen, her pale blue eyes staying on me until she disappeared through the door, Sweetie at her heels.
“Sorry about that,” Dom said with a laugh as his hand closed over Logan’s again where it was resting on the table. “So what is it you wanted to talk to us about?”
I felt my body go hot as I leaned forward, but before I could even get a word out, another voice rang out. “Logan, Dom?”
“In the kitchen,” Logan called.
I wanted to slam my head against the table when the swing door opened and more Barrettis flooded the kitchen.
This time it was Dom’s youngest brother Rafe and his husband Cade.
“Hey,” Rafe said as he leaned down to hug his brother.
“Your secretary said you were working from home today so we wanted to stop by,” Rafe said in a rush as he went around to hug Logan as well.
Cade greeted both men as Rafe’s eyes fell on me.
“Mav, hi. Wow, sorry, did we interrupt something?”
I began shaking my head when Dom said, “Mav stopped by to talk to me and Logan about something.”
“Damn, sorry, our news can wait,” Rafe offered, though his bright eyes said it really couldn’t.
“No, please,” I interjected and stood to go, but Cade put a hand on my shoulder.
“You can stay…you would have heard the news this weekend at family dinner anyway.” Cade’s eyes shifted to his husband and a big smile drifted across his mouth. “Tell them, baby.”
Rafe smiled and nodded. His eyes dropped to his brother. “It’s twins…a boy and a girl.”
“What?” Dom whispered and then he was on his feet, pulling Rafe into his arms. More hugs followed and before I could even contemplate what was happening, more bodies filed into the kitchen.
I immediately recognized Rafe and Dom’s other brothers Ren and Vin along with one of Ren’s partners, Jagger.
Ren’s service dog, Mick, trailed behind her owner.
“What’s the big news little brother?” Vin said as he pulled Rafe into a quick hug.
I lost track of things after that as Rafe and Cade shared the news about their surrogate’s pregnancy and was planning to extricate myself from the celebration when Sylvie suddenly appeared at my side, hairbrush in hand.
She didn’t say anything as she stared at me expectantly and I couldn’t help but smile as I reached down to lift her onto my lap.
I pulled the tie holding my hair back and as soon as it was free, she began brushing it.
It wasn’t the first time the little girl had expressed her fascination with my hair.
The noise continued around us, but Sylvie didn’t seem to notice.
I suspected she was used to all the chaos considering the size of her family.
I used the time to study the little girl.
I suspected she was Logan’s biological child based on her eyes and hair color, but she was clearly both her fathers’ daughter.
Would mine and Eli’s child be the same way?
Carry the DNA of one of us, but the traits of both?
The idea of a son or daughter with Eli’s dark eyes and unbreakable strength had me smiling.
It would probably be a while before we could bring a child into our family, but the idea of it was no longer an uncertainty.
We would have this someday. And we would have it as part of this bigger family of men and women who were so close that the news of impending fatherhood would be so important that they’d all rush to be together to share in the celebration of it.
It took me a moment to realize that the chaos around us had died down and I looked up to see all the Barretti men looking at me and Sylvie. Dom and Logan were once again sitting down, but their brothers and their partners were lined up behind them. It should have intimated the hell out of me.
It didn’t.
“Dom, Logan, I have something I need to ask you,” I finally said.
Vin was the one to pipe up and say, “We should probably go.”
But I put up my hand before any of them could move. “Please stay,” I said. “This pertains to Eli’s family…his entire family.”
I settled my eyes on Logan and Dom and said, “I love your son with all my heart. More than I ever thought it was even possible to love another person. He’s put me first so many times and I want to spend the rest of my life doing the same for him.
And I want this,” I said as I motioned to the group of men.
“ I want this, I want Eli to have this and I want our children to have this.” My eyes dropped to Sylvie and I ran my hand down her slim arm as her pretty blue eyes met mine and she smiled.
“I want it all and I want to give it all to him.”
It took me a moment to lift my eyes again. Every single pair of eyes was on me, but I didn’t feel the same niggle of uncertainty I’d been feeling when I’d arrived. I was the man who could give Eli what he needed and I was worthy of him. These men had to know that…
The silence was broken when Cade suddenly said, “Pay up guys!” and held out his hand. Lots of grumbles followed as several of the men began pulling money out of their wallets and dropping it in Cade’s hand.
“What the-” I managed to stop myself as I remembered Sylvie’s presence.
“They had a bet going to see how long it would take you to ask Eli to marry you. Cade was the only one who said it would be less than six months,” Rafe explained
I chuckled and shook my head as Cade shot me a smile.
“I knew you were a goner the first time I saw you look at him.” He cast his husband a glance and then grabbed his hand.
“Let’s leave these guys to it…we have some private celebrating to do.
” Rafe’s eyes heated and then he was leaning down to hug Logan and Dom goodbye.
All of the men filed past me one by one giving me their private congratulations and dropping kisses on Sylvie’s head.
When it was finally just me, Dom, Logan and the little girl, I felt a little bit of apprehension return because both men hadn’t said anything.
“You…you guys didn’t bet?” I finally asked.
Logan glanced at Dom before saying, “We had a private bet going.”
“What was the bet?” I asked.
“Which one of you would propose to the other first,” Dom said.
I stilled at that. “Has Eli said something?” I asked in disbelief.
“Eli asked Papa if he should buy you a ring,” Sylvie chimed in as she continued to run the brush through my hair.
“Sylvie,” Logan admonished. The little girl looked over her shoulder at her father. “Didn’t you pinky swear Eli that you wouldn’t tell anyone what you heard that day?”
“Oops, sorry Daddy,” Sylvie whispered and I saw her face fall.
I tipped her face up and said, “Don’t worry sweetheart, it was an accident. I won’t tell him.” Sylvie smiled and then lifted enough so she could whisper in my ear.
“He cried happy tears when Papa said you’d say yes.”
I felt tears stinging my own eyes and I carefully gave Sylvie a squeeze. She sat back and said, “Are you gonna say yes? ”
I managed a nod before I could find the words. “Yeah. Yeah I am.”
“Can I throw the flowers?”
I laughed and said, “Yes, you can definitely be the flower girl.”
Satisfied, Sylvie sat back and began working on my hair again.
“Mav,” Dom finally said and I saw him lift Logan’s hand to his mouth for a brief kiss. “Take care of our son and let him take care of you. That’s all we ask.”
Emotion clogged my throat and I barely managed to say, “I will. I swear it.”
I forced back the tears that were threatening and focused my attention on Sylvie. “Sylvie, can you do me a favor and not tell Eli that I got him a ring?”
Sylvie studied me for a moment and then nodded. She held out her hand, fisted it until just the pinky was extended and said, “Pinky swear.”
I took hold of her pinky with mine and said, “Pinky swear.”
When she started brushing my hair again, I looked up at Logan and Dom and asked, “So which one of you lost the bet?”
Logan smiled broadly and cast a glance at Dom as color filled his cheeks. “Let’s just say the way we bet…we both come out winners.”
I rolled my upper lip to keep from laughing and forced my eyes back to Sylvie. “Fair enough,” I said as a smile spread across my mouth.
Yeah, Eli and I would have this. Nine years or ninety…it didn’t matter. We’d have it all.
I’d make sure of it.