Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Riley
“Sorry, I’m late,” Hadley says, rushing into Sienna’s house.
“Do I want to know why you’re late?” Sienna asks with a smirk.
A blush creeps up Hadley’s cheeks. “Knowing you… yes, you would want to know. But I’m pretty sure my brother would appreciate not knowing what his best friend just did to me on our kitchen counter.”
Grayson lets out a groan from the kitchen that sounds a lot like a dying bear. “Kill me now.”
“I think that’s our cue to get the kids loaded in the car,” Warren says. He marches outside with a car seat, holding baby Mia in one hand and his son Jackson’s hand with the other.
Hadley gives her brother a hug, which he reluctantly returns. “I thought we talked about this,” he groans, wrapping his arms around her.
“But I love torturing you.” She beams up at him.
“Get out of here,” he says, playfully shoving her face away. “And take care of my kids.”
“Always,” she says, moving over to hug Sienna.
I expect her to walk straight outside, but she stops to hug me, too. “Good luck with their interview. I have a feeling this one will be more of a challenge.”
“Hey,” Tucker says from his spot on the couch.
She waves him off. “Oh, you know I love you.” She gives everyone a wave before ducking outside to where Warren is getting both kids situated in Hadley’s car.
They chose to film in their kitchen. I don’t blame them. Their kitchen is drool-worthy. The island is massive. There’s plenty of room for all of us to be seated on barstools around two sides of it.
Sienna sits down on a stool between Grayson and Tucker, while I sit cattycorner to them. We had to get a little creative with the camera placement around the room, but I think the heart of their home is going to shine through.
“Sorry,” Warren says, walking back in the front door. Instead of taking the empty stool at Grayson’s side, he picks Sienna up like she weighs less than a feather. He sits on the stool, settling her against his thigh.
“What the hell?” Sienna squeals. Her fiery red hair whips around her when she turns to face him.
He shrugs. “I wanted to hold you while we did this.”
Just like that, her shock dissipates. She runs a gentle hand down the side of his face, placing a kiss on his cheek before turning back to face me. There’s a tenderness in her eyes that wasn’t there before.
“Please tell me I can use that even though we haven’t actually started yet?” I say, pointing to one of the cameras. That little snippet will say more about their relationship than the answers to ten perfectly thought-out questions will.
Sienna tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “If it shows how much of a teddy bear this big guy is, go for it,” she says, running her hand over the arms he has protectively wrapped around her middle.
Much like I did with the last group, we start with a little bit of background on each of them.
Their story is a little different because, although all the guys knew each other from working at the firehouse, they weren’t as close as Hadley’s men. Their love for Sienna brought them all together. They really are a found family.
They talk about the friends-with-benefits scenario that started everything for them and the series of events that led to their big surprise… Mia.
Their little girl might not have been planned, but she was wanted. All of them love both of their kids dearly.
I look at Warren. “Was it hard letting other adults into Jackson’s life?”
He shakes his head. “It could have been, but it wasn’t with them.” The other three are looking at him with soft expressions. “I never worried about any of them hurting him. It didn’t take long to see how much they all care about him.”
Tucker squeezes Warren’s shoulder. “Of course we do. He’s ours just as much as Mia is.” Warren gives him a grateful smile.
Sienna swipes under her eye. “I swore I wasn’t going to cry during this.”
“I love you, but even when you aren’t pregnant, you cry all the time,” Grayson says, chuckling.
“I do not,” she says, glaring at him.
“You do, baby, but it’s okay. We all find it endearing,” Tucker says.
Warren silently presses a kiss to her shoulder.
This group definitely has a different dynamic than the last one, but they are adorable. They all bring something to the table to balance each other out.
“What is the best part about having four people in a relationship instead of the traditional two?” I ask all of them.
“Sienna likes the whole having three dicks at her beck and call thing,” Tucker says. He’s biting his bottom lip, trying to contain his laughter.
“Tuck,” Sienna shouts, whipping her head in his direction. Her eyes are so wide, they look like they are going to pop out of her head.
“What?” Tucker says with a shrug. “It’s a good thing.”
“For her,” Grayson says.
Tucker loses his battle, throwing his head back as he laughs loudly. “I’m pretty sure you’ve enjoyed that fact in one way or another a time or two.”
My eyes dart between Tucker and Grayson, trying to figure out if there’s something else going on here that I wasn’t initially picking up on.
Sienna must see the wheels turning in my head. “No,” she says, shaking her head in exasperation. “It isn’t like that, not that I would care if it was. They like sharing me… at the same time… in the same spot.”
Oh…
Her hand flies up to cover her gaping mouth. “Holy shit. I can’t believe I just said that on camera.’
I can’t help but giggle. “I can edit it out. I promise.”
“You don’t want everyone to know how thoroughly we fuck you?” Tucker asks her.
She rolls her eyes. “They can probably infer that from the little girl we made together.”
Seemingly content, Tucker settles against the back of the stool.
“Anyway,” she says, dragging out the word as she looks back in my direction. “These two,” she points between Grayson and Tucker, “always like this. Their bickering has become commonplace under this roof. I’m pretty sure Jackson is immune to it at this point, much like Warren and I are.”
Tucker opens his mouth to say something, but Warren speaks up first. “Don’t say that you don’t. I have to listen to it every damn day. You two bicker like an old married couple.”
“That’s the perfect segue into my next topic. Your wedding is just a few days away. How are all of you feeling?”
“I’m just ready for her to be my wife,” Warren says, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She looks at him with hearts in her eyes.
Tucker and Grayson both nod their heads in agreement. Their earlier bickering is gone now that they’re focusing on Sienna.
“We’re already a family, but getting married will make it even more real,” Tucker says.
“You’re crying again. Aren’t you, love?” Grayson asks Sienna.
She’s turned away from him, looking at Tucker, but he doesn’t need to see her face to sense how she’s feeling.
“Maybe,” she mumbles.
With his fingers on her chin, he turns her head to face him. He uses his thumbs to swipe away her tears.
“I love you,” he tells her before leaning in to kiss her forehead.
I can’t help but smile. Being around them makes me feel airier than I have in years. Their love is joy and sunshine on a rainy day.
“I love you, too,” she tells Grayson. It’s like a lightbulb goes off above her head when she turns to face me. “You should come to our wedding.”
“Oh, I don’t want to impose on your special day.”
“Don’t be silly,” she says, waving her hand in front of her. “I… we want you to be there.”
“It’s her day. She gets whatever she wants,” Tucker says in a mock whisper that’s still loud enough for everyone to hear.
“The guys you’re living with are all coming,” Grayson adds. “We invited a lot of guys from the softball league.”
Sienna gives me a little secretive smile. If only she knew everything that had transpired since I spilled my guts to the ladies at the coffee shop.
That little smile would be a full-on smirk if she knew how Theo and Finn made me come so hard I fell asleep in their arms… in the middle of the day when I had loads of work to do still.
I shake my head, dragging myself away from thoughts of Theo between my legs. “I would love to come.” Oh no… Now I’m thinking about it again.
“Yay,” Sienna says, clapping her hands.
I need to find something to wear. I wasn’t planning on going to any formal events while I was here, so I would be woefully underdressed in all the clothes I have with me.
I guess online shopping with express shipping is on the roster tonight.
“Alright, we’re almost done,” I say. “Do you guys want to grow your family any more?”
All of them lean in at the same time, eyes darting around from one person to the next.
Sienna’s the one to speak for all of them. “Yeah, we want to have at least one more, but probably two. What can I say? We make cute babies.”
“The making them part is pretty fun, too,” Grayson says.
Everyone laughs.
“Does Jackson like being a big brother?” I ask.
Warren nods. “He’s the best big brother. He’s her quiet protector. That’s what took so long outside earlier. He wanted to make sure I had her car seat put in the right way.”
“It really is adorable,” Sienna says, making the it’s so cute face.
“I think he would be happy with as many little brothers and sisters as we could give him,” Tucker says.
“I love that,” I tell them. “I grew up without any siblings, so the thought of a house busting at the seams with kids sounds pretty amazing.”
I haven’t ever let myself think about having kids of my own because it has never been a logical possibility. I think it’s something I want, though.
I could shower them with the love my own parents never did with me.
“It’s amazing until they’re screaming at three in the morning when you’re trying to sleep,” Tucker adds, but he’s smiling.
“Makes it easier when there’s more than two of us to deal with stuff like that,” Warren says.
My mind briefly flashes to the Rivers brothers and what being a part of their family would be like—having more kids with them.
What the hell? Where did that come from?
“Oh, Grayson, I had one more question for you,” I say, forcing my mind to stay on the topic at hand and not on the errant thought I should not be having.
“How did you feel about your sister’s relationship when you first found out? How do you feel now?”
He runs his hand over his face. “I almost laid my best friend out in the hospital parking lot when I found out, but then he told me he loved her. That changed things.”
He takes a deep breath. “I always wanted her to find happiness. I’ve never seen her happier than she is with Brooks, Conrad, and Austin. They treat her the way she deserves to be treated.” Chuckling, he shakes his head. “Also, it isn’t like I could judge her when this is my life now, too.”
They all help me pack up my equipment and get it loaded in the back of my rental car.
“I’m so glad you’re coming to the wedding,” Sienna says, squeezing my hands.
“Thank you for inviting me. I’m sure it’ll be a wonderful day.”
Tucker slings his arm around her shoulder. “Maybe she’ll even make it through without any tears.”
“I will actually be offended if that’s the one day you don’t cry, love,” Grayson says.
“I really do hate you all sometimes.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“No, you don’t,” Warren says, leaning down to kiss her temple. “You’d better love us, or this marriage is a pretty irrational plan.”
“I love the crap out of all of you,” she says with the biggest smile on her face.