Chapter 23
BOONE
For a second the world just stops. Roxie’s words hang over the dinner table like a cloud.
Pregnant. Five weeks. One of ours. Fucking hell.
The shock doesn’t last long. Not for me, anyway.
I’d spent all day, hell, the last few days, preparing myself for this moment.
Coming to terms with the maybe becoming a yes.
The second my brain catches up to the truth, something warm and fierce detonates in my chest, so intense it knocks the air straight out of me.
Joy. Real, bone-deep, staggering joy.
I’m out of my chair before I even know I’ve moved. She looks up at me, wide-eyed and terrified, but I refuse to give that fear any room to breathe. I just reach for her, pulling her gently out of her chair and into my arms.
She makes a soft sound against my chest, something halfway between a gasp and a sob, but I hold her tighter, peppering the crown of her head with kisses. “Sweetheart, this is good. This is good news.”
Her hands fist my shirt like she’s been bracing for the opposite and half convinced the blow is still coming. I keep whispering against her head, inhaling the sweet scent of her, even as the certainty of what I’ve only suspected takes time to settle in my bones.
“I promise you, sweetheart. It’s great news. I’m so fucking happy.”
Behind me, Chance exhales sharply, and his chair scrapes back.
“Jesus, Rox. This is—” His voice cracks, and when I glance over my shoulder, he looks stunned but not scared. Instead, his expression is warm, proud, and protective. Hopeful. “This is incredible.”
A beat later, he’s behind her, sliding his arms around her waist, above mine on her hips. He bends to her neck, speaking against her skin and pressing soft kisses to her throat. “This is the other thing, isn’t it? What you were so scared of?”
Her head dips in the slightest nod, her tiny body trembling like a leaf between us. Dillon catches up last, but only by a heartbeat. He stands up, both hands shoved into his hair, and his face breaks open with one of the most brilliant damn smiles I’ve ever seen on him.
“No way,” he breathes. “No way. We’re actually…” He laughs under his breath, a shaky, amazed sound. “We’re gonna be dads?”
Roxie lets out a trembling laugh that dissolves into a sob, and that is all it takes for the three of us to move in closer.
Chance wraps an arm around her from one side, moving slightly so Dillon can get in on the other, and we fold ourselves around her, our little circle, our little family, holding her as tightly as we dare.
“You’re not going to be alone in this,” I tell her, cupping the back of her head to make sure she hears every word. “Not for one second.”
Chance kisses her temple. “We’re in it together. Every step of the way, angel. We’re here for you.”
Dillon presses his forehead to her shoulder. “We want this, Roxie. We want it with you, and we know it’s unplanned, but that doesn’t mean it’s not perfect.”
She sniffles, tears slipping down her cheeks as she looks between the three of us like she’s trying to memorize every expression and every ounce of reassurance we’re giving her.
“You really want this?” she whispers. “Do you actually mean that?”
I smile, swallowing a laugh that probably has no business being in this moment, but fuck. I’ve been wanting this with the right person for twenty goddamn years. “Yeah. We do. We want it all, Rox. I swear.”
She sags against us, crying quietly.
Chance stiffens, and Dillon looks up at me with so much uncertainty in his eyes that I roll mine at him, easing her into my arms alone for now.
Chance and Dillon step back a little, giving us space, but I can feel them there, their warmth at my back like a wall of quiet, steady support.
Roxie buries her face in my chest, her fingers curling tight in my shirt, and I tilt her chin up gently.
“Rox,” I murmur, brushing my thumb across her damp cheek. “Will you please look at me?”
Her eyes lift slowly to mine, shining with uncertainty, but also with so much determination. In that moment, as our gazes connect, my heart decides its tired of being caged. We’re in this with her for the long haul, and she needs to know it.
“I love you.”
Her breath catches and she blinks hard. “What?”
Dillon curses under his breath. Chance goes still as stone beside him, but I don’t take it back.
“I love you,” I repeat, my voice solid. “I’m not saying it because of the baby. I’m not saying it because of last night. I’m saying it because it’s the truest thing I’ve ever felt.”
She tries to speak, but I shake my head gently, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “I’ve never felt anything like this, Roxie. Not once. Not even when I was married.”
Her eyebrows pinch like she hadn’t been expecting that. Hell, maybe I hadn’t been either, but it was time she knew.
“Even back then,” I continue, “something was always off with Tessa. She didn’t love me. She just loved the guy the world thought I was. A tough bastard with the reputation, the temper, and the name that carried weight.”
I let out a slow breath. “She also didn’t really like Chance or Dillon.
She tolerated them because she had to. So a part of me…
” My throat tightens for a heartbeat. “A part of me was never fully in that marriage because loving her meant sacrificing them, and I wasn’t willing to do that, even if I thought I should be. ”
Roxie’s lips part on a tiny, wounded sound that escapes her, like she can feel that old ache I don’t talk about.
I slide my hand to the back of her neck, my eyes never leaving hers.
“But this? You. Us. What we’re building?
It’s different. You didn’t just accept the three of us.
You stepped right in and made room for all of it.
For all of us. You let us love you the best way we know how, and I love you for that. More than you know.”
Her eyes flood again and she swallows hard, pressing her forehead to mine. “Boone…”
“I don’t expect you to say it back,” I reassure her quietly. “Not now. Not today. Hell, not for a while if you’re not ready, but you needed to hear it from me. You needed to know that whatever comes next, you’re not going through it without someone who’s already all in.”
Chance’s voice enters the moment like a low, steady anchor. “We’ve got you both. You and the baby. No matter what.”
Dillon steps up to her other side, lightly pressing a hand to the small of her back. “We’re all here and we’re staying, Roxie. We’re in.”
She draws a shaky breath, looking between us like she can’t quite believe it’s possible that this is all true. “You really want a future with me?”
“Yes,” I say instantly. “Without a doubt. It’s all really fast. We get that, but you know that old saying, when you know, you know? Well, I fucking know.”
Chance nods, his jaw ticking. Dillon’s grin is softer than usual, but it’s real.
“We want all of it,” I tell her. “You. The baby. The future. Whatever it looks like.”
Her lips tremble as she looks up at me, but she doesn’t try to hide it, just wraps her arms around my neck and clings to me like I’m the only stability in the room. I hold her as tight as I can, the woman holding our future and our family together.
Fear or no fear, this is real. This is us. And we’re not letting her go.
She’s quiet for a long moment, tucked against my chest like she’s listening to the steady beat of my heart to decide how she feels. When she finally tilts her head back, her eyes are still glassy, her voice small but clear.
“Should we do DNA testing? I mean, how does this even work?”
The question punches something deep within me, protective urges rising in a way that makes me absolutely certain that she was mine. Ours.
I cup her jaw and shake my head. “No DNA testing.”
She frowns. “But—”
“The baby will be ours,” I say without wavering. “Period. End of story. We don’t need a lab report to know that.”
For a long second, she searches my face like she’s trying to figure out if I really meant it, but I do. It doesn’t matter which one of us has biologically fathered this baby. We’d all been there that day. It belonged to us all.
“We’re sure,” I say before she can ask.
Chance lets out a soft sound of agreement behind me. Dillon murmurs, “Every step. All in.”
I lower my forehead to hers. “Are you good with that? With this whole situation? I mean, you’re probably going to have to move in. Permanently.”
Her eyes flick between us again, soft and warm. It doesn’t take much to guess that she’s a little overwhelmed.
Finally, she lets out a soft, teary laugh. “I think I basically already live here.”
“Good,” I murmur, pulling her in again. “Because we want you to. Can we make it official, then?”
Chance’s hand slides to her hip. Dillon’s fingers brush her shoulder, and she sinks into the middle of us like she finally feels like she belongs. Like this is home.
I clear my throat, suddenly remembering the small stash I’d hidden behind the armchair earlier.
“Uh, speaking of moving in,” I say, loosening my hold on her just enough to reach back and grab the first bag, “I, uh, I bought you a few things.”
Her head snaps up. “Again?”
“It’s not—” I start, but she’s already laughing and I grin, handing over the bag. “Fine, it is a gift, but I like spoiling you.”
Chance sighs, shaking his head at me. “I thought we talked about her choosing her own things in the future.”
“That’s why it’s called a gift, asshole. You’re not supposed to choose it for yourself.”
“Well, in that case, I fully support the spoiling lifestyle.” He strides to the counter and grabs a small gift bag, handing it to her with a mock bow. “For the record, I bought these in town the other day. On purpose. Because they reminded me of you. I browsed. I didn’t just stare at a screen.”
She peeks inside, her eyes widening before she glances back up at him. “Candles?”
“Scented,” he says proudly. “The fancy kind. The lady at the shop said they were meditative. I figured maybe you could use some meditative energy while living with us.”
She laughs again, the sound pure and bright, relaxed instead of the tense, forced laughter we’ve been hearing for the last few days. “Thank you.”
Dillon finally steps forward too, his hands tucked in his pockets like he’s trying to pretend he isn’t proud of himself. “Since they’re all exposing themselves, I should probably admit I ordered these last week. They were supposed to get here tomorrow, but the package showed up early.”
He lifts a sleek, wrapped box from a luxury womenswear brand off the floor behind the couch and hands it over, his cheeks faintly pink. I groan. “Well, now you’ve gone and made it a competition.”
“That means I win.” He smirks at me, but both of us glance back at Roxie when she gasps after opening the box.
“Dillon.” She gleams as she pulls out the soft cotton loungewear, the expensive kind most women rarely buy for themselves, and Roxie probably never would.
He shrugs, his ears even pinker now. “I just thought you’d be more comfortable in it this winter.”
“We told Boone not to spoil you, but this one?” Chance jerks a thumb at Dillon. “This one told me not to buy anything and now look at him.”
Dillon glares halfheartedly. “That was before you bought candles that cost more than my internet bill.”
“They’re artisanal,” Chance shoots back.
I lift my own bag. “Are you guys done? Because mine is actually practical.”
Roxie giggles into her hands. “Oh, my God. What is happening right now?”
“We’re taking care of you,” I say simply.
“No offense, sweetheart, but you packed sort of light, and now that you’re going to be staying here, you’re going to need a lot more stuff.
This is only the beginning. This is what we bought when we didn’t know how long you’d be here, but now that it’s forever… ”
Her expression softens, something warm and glowing settling into her features. She leans into the middle of us, letting Chance kiss her temple, Dillon touch her back, and me tip her chin up.
“If this is just a normal Wednesday,” she murmurs, glancing between us one by one. “What the heck is Christmas like in this house?”
I grin. Chance laughs. Dillon shakes his head, but I already know the truth. Christmas is going to be magical this year.
Because she’ll be here, and next year, so will the baby. All of which suddenly makes even ordinary fucking Wednesdays feel pretty damn extraordinary.