Chapter 2
Dimitry
Once Eden is safely in the car, I text Davey to take her wherever she wants to go but to keep us posted on where exactly that is.
She’s had a rough day and I want to keep tabs on her.
We’ve known for weeks that that dipshit Scott was cheating on her; we just wanted to have proof and have our plan ready to go.
“She handled that better than I thought she would.” Gray says, handing me my coffee.
“It’s because she never fucking loved the cheating asshole.” I grunt out. Pissed off all over again and wishing they would have let me beat his ass like I wanted to.
“Maybe not but she definitely cared about him. She was going to marry him for fuck’s sake!
” Mason runs a hand through his already mussed hair.
“What the hell was she thinking? She stopped taking her birth control!” He’s as exasperated as I am over that.
But I understand why. She wants a family that nobody can take away from her.
Just like the three of us, Eden had come from the foster system.
Her parents were tragically killed by her father’s mistress and there was no family for her to go live with so she landed in foster care.
Bouncing from home to home for nearly ten years until she aged out and went to college.
She wasn’t as lucky as we were to have a Lydia Malone in her life.
Mason, Gray and I were in a group home barely surviving, fighting all the time, sneaking out, drinking, smoking pot, and well on our way to juvie when Lydia showed up and took us in.
A widow who didn’t care that we weren’t brothers by blood.
She didn’t care that we were sullen thirteen-year-old boys, mad at the world.
She just wanted a family so she took us in, gave us her name and loved all of the hate and jadedness out of us.
Well, most of it anyways. I’m still more rough around the edges than the other two.
Eden wasn’t as lucky. The last home she was in lasted almost six years and on her eighteenth birthday, when the last check was issued, they kicked her out.
By then we were already in college and moved her in with us.
“I can’t believe he was able to convince her to try for a baby.” Gray flops into the chair in front of Mason’s desk looking forlorn over the news.
“I can. You know that’s all she’s ever wanted. A family of her own.” I remind them.
“Just like mom.” Mason says quietly.
“And just like we gave mom a family again, we'll give Eden her family. Us and a baby. It’s a win-win.” I sip my coffee as my idea takes shape.
Her bomb about the birth control is actually going to help us, I think.
We’ve been going back and forth on how to convince Eden to give us a shot.
A real chance for all of us to be together, but we could never come up with a way to approach it.
Aside from just telling her what it is, which is what I wanted to do.
Mason talked me down though. I mean it’s not every day that your three best friends, who also happen to be your bosses, want to share you and wife you up.
But we do and now we will finally have our shot even if I plan on playing dirty to get it.
“You really think she’ll go for that?” Gray asks, doubt dripping from every word.
“I think you’re right, Dimi. She for sure won’t go back to the cheating asshole, not after her parents. And she did at one point have a crush on us, or at least on Dimitry. I bet it won’t be a hard sell.”
I nod “But, we can’t go slow. We need to not give her the chance to start dating again or move out.”
Mason’s forehead creases in thought at my words. “How do we keep her from finding her own place? She’s so damn independent.”
“First, we rent all of the apartments that would appeal to her in a five-mile radius. She won’t go further out than that because she doesn’t own a car. Second, we dangle a baby in front of her.” I shake my head at Gray’s horrified expression. “Not a literal baby, dumbass. But the idea of one.”
“I’m not sure if you’re brilliant or devious. Or deviously brilliant…” Gray studies me.
“Whatever I am, I’m not above doing whatever it takes to get her to accept that we are her family. And I do not mean that in a brotherly way.” I hide my smirk behind my coffee cup.
“I’m with Dimitry. We’ve played nice for years, let her live, do the college thing and experience life. I’m all done with that shit though.” Mason raps his knuckles against his desk.
“Watching her with Scott these last two years nearly drove me in-fucking-sane. I won’t do that again.” Gray and Mason nod in agreement. “Whatever it takes.” I reiterate.
“Whatever it takes.” Gray agrees.