EPILOGUE
COLBY
When Lara insisted on throwing us a huge graduation party, I thought she was crazy. Yes, it’s an important day, but since Noah’s arrival, nothing else holds the same weight. If I’m honest, I would rather dad and Lara spend the party money on things for the baby than alcohol for our friends, but this goes back to what dad said that night in the den. He wanted to make sure we don’t miss out on the important things.
They have decorated the yard with congratulations banners and what seems like a million shiny gold balloons. Caterers have provided a buffet table that would have been perfect for a wedding, and a bar has been set up next to the kitchen where beer, wine, and spirits are available.
I look around, finding our friends chatting in groups, holding plates, and balancing plastic cups. Seb is at the center of the football team, telling them a hilarious story that has half of them bent at the waist with laughter. Micky is introducing Lara to some students from his course, and they’re all cooing over my beautiful son as he lays sleeping in her arms.
I can’t find Ellie, so I turn, heading back into the house. Our girl isn’t graduating with us today. She should be, but she took a year out to be with Noah. She’s signed up to finish her studies next year. Dad insisted she go back as soon as possible. He realizes that any more time out would make it harder for her to pick up the student lifestyle again. Sure, she’s going to miss Noah, but it’s important that she doesn’t compromise the life she had planned for herself before she got pregnant.
That’s one of the major benefits of there being four of us in our relationship. There is always someone able to pick up the slack.
Ellie’s not in the kitchen or in the lounge. The front door opens, and I find her in the driveway, greeting Celine and Gabriella. I swear, her friends are the craziest girls on campus. They arrived in fancy dress to a party with a smart dress code. Gabriella is dressed as an angel with huge silver feathery wings, and Celine has painted her face with moons and stars.
“There you are,” I say when Ellie turns and sees me.
“Checking up on me, Big Boy,” she laughs, shaking her perfectly curled black hair. In her shimmery black dress, she looks like one of those old Hollywood movie stars. Classy and sassy, strong and bold. Ellie is everything I ever wanted in a woman, and she’s mine.
Well, ours technically.
But sharing with my brothers isn’t like sharing would be with anyone else.
“Of course,” I say. “It’s my job.”
“Why can’t I find a big sexy man who wants to check up on me?” Gabriella moans.
“Maybe because you’re dressed like a celestial being,” I say.
Gabriella rests her hands on her hips and scowls at me. “Don’t criticize the costume, Colby.”
“I thought guys love sexy fancy dress?” Celine says, twirling around in her silver tutu. “Eddie sure appreciated me in this one!”
“Maybe a maid’s outfit or a raunchy devil,” I say. Ellie raises a perfectly arched eyebrow.
“Oh really, Colby. You just admitted to being a total cliché!”
I put out my hands, palms first, and my cufflinks glint in the sunshine. “I said nothing about me liking those things.”
Nodding knowingly, Ellie grabs my arm and steers me back into the house. “Of course you didn’t,” she laughs.
“But if you have one of those costumes lying around…”
She snorts and swats my bicep. “As if I’d have a sexy costume lying around. I’ve only just stopped breastfeeding. Red latex and lactation do not mix.”
I lean closer, brushing her ear with my lips. “Talk about your breasts again, and I’m going to have you over my shoulder and up those stairs in a flash.”
“Promises, promises,” she says, but then she stops, reaching up to smooth the shoulders of my new black suit and straighten my tie. “You know, you and your brothers really look handsome tonight.”
“Handsome? Do people even use that word anymore if they aren’t talking about little boys dressed up in sailor suits for weddings?”
She laughs, sliding her hand around my middle, and presses a kiss to the side of my neck. “Well, I could say you look good enough to fuck, but that wouldn’t be appropriate in such polite company,” she whispers.
We both take in the party; the decorations Ellie’s mom has been fussing over for weeks, and our classmates, dressed up like they’re going to prom. It really is an event that we’ll remember forever.
“After we’re done celebrating,” I say, hooking my arm around Ellie’s shoulders and pulling her close. “We have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise? I’m not sure I like those.”
“You’ll like this one.” Kissing her temple, I breathe in the scent of my woman, feeling a bone-deep satisfaction. It’s the kind of feeling you don’t know you’re missing until it settles inside you, and then you never want to be without it.
“Maybe you should just tell me now,” she says, gazing up with wide, hopeful eyes.
“Maybe you need to take a class in patience,” I say with a wolfish grin.
“It’s not on the class list,” she smiles.
We’ve been keeping Ellie in the dark about something for months, but we’ve finally pulled it off. The next few hours will be fun, knowing that she knows we have a secret. Our girl doesn’t enjoy waiting for things, and she doesn’t like not knowing.
It’s going to drive her mad.
And me? Well, her nickname for me is CF, which doesn’t stand for Colby Fantastic, unfortunately. It stands for control freak, and I guess it’s fitting because I’m going to love every minute of her frustration!
MICKY
Ellie has begged me to tell her about the surprise at least ten times, and I’ve resisted. She’s pressing me because she knows I’m a soft touch. I hate seeing her so frustrated, which is why I made Colby promise not to tell her before today. If he had his way, the sick fuck would have made her wait a week to find out.
“I can’t tell you, baby. Colby would have my nuts.”
“I like your nuts,” she says, smoothing her hand down the front of my dress shirt until it reaches my belt. A little too close to my nuts. Things that shouldn’t stir in polite company start to come to life, and I snatch her hand away.
“You’ll find out in an hour. Just be patient, okay?”
“Do you know me?” she says, scowling prettily. “Patience is not a virtue I have in abundance.”
“But you have plenty of other virtues in abundance,” I smile.
“I’m not going to get anywhere with you, am I?” she says, hanging her shoulders. Fuck, this girl makes me want to tell her everything, but the surprise is too big and too important.
“Sorry, baby. I would if I could, but my brothers would tear me a new one.”
“Not an image I want to dwell on,” she snorts. I watch as her eyes scan the party, searching out Seb. He’s the last one she hasn’t tried to crack, but he’s talking to our dad and Ellie’s mom while bouncing Noah in his arms.
“Seb won’t tell you either,” I say. “It’s too big of a surprise to spoil.”
“Big?” she says, realizing I’ve given her something without intending to. “Big as in actual size or just big in significance.”
“Just big,” I smile, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head. She smells of coconuts and her own unique scent. When I kiss our son in the same place, he smells just like his momma.
Noah begins to fuss, and Ellie smiles up at me before dashing across the yard. Her hips sway in her clingy black dress, and I marvel at how her shape has changed since carrying Noah. Everything about our girl is gorgeous.
I follow, too, wanting to remind Seb of the importance of remaining tightlipped. I might be the softy around here, but Seb is the most loose-lipped of all of us.
“He’s hungry,” Lara says as Seb hands Noah to Ellie. He’s so big now that she seems swamped by his size and weight.
“Poor baby. Everyone else has been eating, and he’s famished.”
“There are yogurts in the fridge,” Lara says.
“He wants milk,” Ellie says, kissing Noah’s pudgy cheek.
“I’ll help you to make it,” I say.
As Ellie walks towards the house, her heels sinking into the grass, I nudge my brother.
“She’s asking for details of the secret. You can’t tell her, okay?”
He brings his hand to his forehead in a clipped salute. “Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir!”
All he gets in return is an eye roll.
Ellie has strapped Noah into the highchair in the kitchen, and he’s grumbling. “It’s okay, son,” I say, ruffling his dark curls. “Mommy will have your milk soon.”
“Give him one of these,” Ellie says, passing me a spongy biscuit that Noah loves. “But put this on first.”
She hands me a muslin which I tuck around Noah’s neck to keep his special party outfit biscuit and milk free. “There you go, No No, it’s biscuit time.” He snatches it from my hand and rams it into his mouth so quickly he gags. “Hey, go slow,” I say.
“No,” he replies, stuffing it back in again.
And there it is. Noah’s favorite word and the origin of his nickname.
“This will be you next year,” I say, watching Ellie shake Noah’s sippy cup of milk.
“It will.” When she smiles, I see genuine excitement at the prospect of graduating, which fills me with relief. Dad was so definite about her completing her studies, and me, Colby and Seb were worried this was just another thing Ellie was allowing herself to get pushed into. I guess there is a difference between encouraging something and force, although dad still treads a very fine line.
Colby steps into the kitchen, laughing loudly with Dornan, and Noah scrunches his nose.
“Daddy noisy,” he says, spitting biscuit crumbs over the tray table.
“Yeah, daddy is noisy,” I laugh.
Dornan grabs Ellie’s hand and spins her around. “I hope these douchebags have told you how gorgeous you look today.”
“They have,” she says.
“Less of the douchebag talk,” Colby grumbles. “You might be Ellie’s best friend, but that doesn’t put you outside of an ass whooping.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Colby and Dornan face up to each other. Two huge guys, almost the same height, puffing out their chests like arguing birds, fighting over a prospective mate. It’s so funny that Noah starts giggling, and then we’re all laughing.
And it’s in moments like these that I know that this love between us all was meant to be.
SEBASTIAN
Don’t ask me how I keep the secret because I have no idea. It’s been burning my tongue for three months, and it is even worse now Ellie knows.
“Please, Seb,” she says, and I want to run away because when Ellie begs, I only want to give her what she wants.
“Ellie-Belly, now is not the time.”
“Oh, you didn’t,” she says, reaching out to pinch my pec.
Dornan told us his childhood nickname for Ellie when she was eight months pregnant. At the time, it was hilarious because she was just one giant belly. She hasn’t forgiven him.
“I, for one, think that nickname is cute. Better than Smelly-Ellie anyway.”
“Oh, hell no.” Shifting Noah on her hip, she licks her teeth as though she’s preparing for war. “You are not starting that stupid nickname. I swear I’ll start sleeping in my room and locking the door.”
That threat is enough to make me retreat.
“Are you guys ready?” Colby yells from the kitchen. “We’re done cleaning up.”
“Yeah, Noah’s in his PJs,” I call back.
Lara appears, reaching out for her grandson. “Come here, little man. It’s time for beddy-byes.”
Noah clings to his mom for a couple of seconds, then allows himself to be passed across. “Nana’s going to read your favorite story.”
“Belly button,” he yells.
“Yes. The one about baby’s belly button.”
We all laugh as Colby, Micky, and dad gather by the front door.
“I’m proud of you, boys,” dad says out of the blue. I guess it isn’t every day that a man watches his triplet sons’ graduate.
“Thanks, Dad,” Micky says, stepping forward to hug him. Dad claps him on the back with a flourish and does the same to Colby, too. Then he’s searching for me.
I don’t know why it’s always been a little awkward between us. Maybe because I try not to take life too seriously, and dad is all about control and focus. He’s always had lower expectations for me than my brothers, but thankfully that didn’t lead to me having lower expectations about myself. “Well done, son,” he says, hugging me tight and patting my shoulder.
“Not bad for the class clown,” I say, catching Ellie’s eyes and seeing them fill with tears.
“Funny and clever. That’s got to be a winning combination,” dad says. “At least you’ll be able to grease a few more wheels than I’ve ever been able to.”
Is he seriously complimenting me right now?
Seeing my discomfort, Ellie steps forward. “Are you finally going to put me out of my misery now?”
“I guess so.” Colby takes her hand, and I follow with Micky. I turn quickly, finding dad and Lara smiling at each other. It’s a far cry from where the family was all those months ago.
It’s funny that the very thing we worried had the potential to tear the family apart turned out to be what brought us all together in the end.
ELLIE
I glance across at Colby, who’s driving, trying to work out something, anything, from his stoic expression. This surprise really is just that. I have no clue where they’re taking me. I bite the corner of my nail, and Colby reaches to take my hand. “No nibbling,” he says softly. “This isn’t something for you to stress about. It’s something good.”
“Can’t you just tell me?” I moan.
“We’re almost there.”
When he comes to a stop, it’s outside a house that looks as though it hasn’t been lived in for years. The yard is overgrown, and the windows seem dark with dirt. There are no lights on, and a pot that used to contain flowers stands empty by the door except for three dry sticks protruding from the earth. I look around the car, waiting for someone to tell me what’s going on.
Seb clears his throat. “We know our current living arrangements haven’t been ideal,” he says. “Our parents have been accommodating, but they tend to cramp our style.”
I snigger, remembering last week when they banged on the wall because one of us was being too noisy. We all died a little inside that night.
“So, we’ve pooled all the money that mom saved for us before she died, and the life insurance payout, and dad has stepped in to lend us the rest, just until we can secure a mortgage,” Micky says.
“It might not look like much right now,” Colby adds, rubbing his top lip. “But we can take our time to renovate. We can put our stamp on it."
“Are you telling me you bought this house?” I say, completely stunned.
“YES!” they all say together. They’ve been so focused on keeping this a surprise that they forgot what they needed to tell me.
“Oh my god. I can’t believe it.” Clasping my hands over my mouth, I gaze up at the house I now know is ours. Our first home. “Do you have keys?”
Colby pulls a set from his pocket and dangles them on his index finger. “We sure do.”
I snatch them and fling the car door open, not waiting for them to follow me as I dash across the driveway to the front door. I notice things I hadn’t before: the original door with glass detail, a brass knocker, and the black and white tiled step.
My hands are trembling too much for me to open the door, so Colby reaches out to help.
The staircase leads up to a second floor that I can’t wait to explore. Micky finds the light, and suddenly, the house is illuminated. The downstairs is mostly open plan with hardwood flooring and a kitchen that has seen better days. There’s a lot to do to make it a home, but I can see why they chose this house. I can picture us here together, with our son and maybe more children in the future.
“Do you like it?” Micky asks, watching me from where he’s leaning against the wall.
“I love it!” I gasp. “I can’t believe you managed this. I can’t believe you all kept it a secret.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Seb admits. “But it was totally worth it.”
“How many bedrooms?” I ask, resting my foot on the bottom step.
“Four,” Colby says, and I detect a sense of pride.
We don’t need that many now, providing at least one bedroom can fit a bed that’s big enough for me and my three perfect men.
“Noah gets his own room,” I say excitedly.
“We’ll decorate that one first,” Micky says.
“Can I pick the theme?” I ask hopefully, and they all laugh.
“You think we’d be any good at interior decorating?” Colby asks.
“The whole place is yours to design,” Seb adds, grinning. “Although I’m pretty sure your mom is going to want to be involved too!”
Before I take any more steps, I look down at my three amazing men who’ve gone to such lengths to put a roof over our heads and a smile on my face, and I still don’t know what I did to deserve them. I move toward them, grabbing Colby’s hand and then Micky’s and leading them closer to Seb. I stand on my tiptoes to kiss them all, one after another, and then I ask for a hug.
Hugging in a relationship like ours can be a complicated operation but I need all my men around me tonight, and that’s what I get. I slide my arms around Sebastian’s waist, and Colby wraps his arms around both of us, followed by Micky, who finishes our bundle. The laughter that bubbles up from somewhere around my heart feels so overwhelming that it becomes a sob.
“Hey, no crying,” Micky says.
“They’re happy tears,” I blub.
As we pull apart and I swipe my face, there’s only one thing left to say.
“I dare you to live happily ever after with me,” I say.
“Now that’s a dare I’d be happy to take,” Colby says.
“It’s a dare we’re all happy to take,” Seb says.
“Damn right,” Micky adds.
So that’s what we do.