Chapter Thirty-Nine Grayson
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: GRAYSON
O ne Week Later
Although we’d prepared for weeks and months on end for Griffin’s arrival, nothing could have prepared us for what it was like with a newborn. I don’t know how couples did it with just the two of them. We had four sets of hands on deck, and it was completely overwhelming. And that did not even include my parents coming up and staying in a hotel to be available along with Vivian’s parents coming over every day.
I had to hand it to Vivian. She was killing it at motherhood. Not to mention she was a hell of a trooper since she barely got any rest since Griffin seemed to be on her tit all the time. Of course, that was the only time we let her have him. Any other time, the three of us guys were fighting to hold him.
This morning I left the crew snoozing in our new extended king-sized bed. After easing Griff into the sling, I went to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. My main contribution to our household was cooking. Since I’d grown up helping at our restaurant, I had to admit I was good at it.
I was just about to take up Vivian’s favorite spinach and feta omelet when she came sauntering into the kitchen. “Good morning.”
“Morning.”
She bent over to kiss Griffin’s head of auburn hair that was peeking out of the sling. “I can’t believe he’s still snoozing.”
I grinned. “You must’ve topped him off pretty well at the last feeding.”
“Maybe he’s finally turning the corner where he’s going to sleep longer periods,” she replied with a yawn.
“If not, you seriously need to consider pumping for night feedings.”
She rolled her eyes. “If I start letting you guys give him a bottle, I’ll never see him.”
I laughed. “True.” Jerking my chin at the table, I said, “Now sit down and eat.”
“I swear, you’re becoming as bossy as Theo,” she huffed before easing down into a chair.
“Need the donut pillow?”
“I’m fine,” she grumbled.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you needed it considering how birthing an almost nine-pound baby wrecks your vagina.
Vivian laughed. “Next time I get knocked up, I’ll make sure it’s with smaller men,” she quipped.
“Over my dead body.”
She winked at me before she started flipping through her phone. When she sucked in a breath, I whirled around. “Is it the DNA results?”
She shook her head. “No, but it’s pretty fucking amazing.”
“Don’t keep me hanging.”
“I have an offer to be an editor for a new non-fiction imprint of my publishing house.”
“Seriously?”
Nodding, she replied, “I’d be acquiring new titles along with editing them.”
While that sounded like torture to me, I knew it was right up Vivian’s alley. “That sounds amazing.”
“It is. Like a dream come true. And the best part is I could work from home, so I could stay with Griffin and even travel to see Theo in Charleston.”
“When would you have to start?”
“Next month.”
“So soon?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I could squeeze in reading a few query letters during breastfeeding.”
“While it’s true that you’re Wonder Woman, I just don’t want you taking on too much right now.” At Vivian’s huff, I held up my hands. “You just squeezed a watermelon out a hole the size of a lemon a mere seven days ago.”
Wincing, she replied, “Don’t remind me.”
Bennett and Theo appeared in the doorway. As usual, Theo looked fresh-faced and ready to take on the world while Bennett appeared like a zombie lurching around.
“Vivian has news,” I said as I sat a glass of orange juice down beside her omelet.
Theo sucked in a breath. “Did the paternity results come in?”
“No. It was about my career.”
As she made quick work of her omelet, Vivian filled the guys in on her news.
Bennett leaned down and kissed her cheek. “That’s fucking amazin’, Pretty Woman.”
She beamed at his praise. “Sounds like we’ll be starting our new jobs around the same time.”
As a marketing major, Bennett had taken a job for a firm in Cambridge. He’d have about a forty-five-minute commute twice a day, but the salary was too good to turn down.
I was currently on paternity leave from my job. I’d managed to wrangle it during my last semester at Southeastern. Since it was in computer science, I would be able to do some work from home.
When Griffin let out a little wail against my chest, I eased him out of the sling. “I think someone is ready for some milk.”
Vivian snorted. “Of course he is. He’s always wanting milk.”
Theo grinned. “He’s a man after my own heart with his love of titties.”
With a shriek of horror, Vivian replied, “Don’t talk like that about him.”
Chuckling, Theo gave her a quick kiss. “You love me no matter what.”
“Somehow I do,” she mused.
After easing Griffin into Vivian’s arms, I went back to the stove to cook more eggs for the guys.
With Griffin in one arm, Vivian continued scrolling on her phone. At her gasp, we all whirled around.
“What?” Theo demanded.
She held out her phone to us. “The results are back.”
All the air in the room whooshed out, and I fought to breathe. As I stared at Griffin nursing, I couldn’t believe we were just a few seconds from finding out who was the real father. After snapping out of my stupor, I shifted the eggs off the heat and then turned to give Vivian my full attention.
She eyed the three of us. “Ready?”
“Absolutely,” Theo replied.
“I’ve been ready since the day the last test came back inconclusive,” Bennett admitted with a sheepish grin.
Nodding, I replied, “Me too.”
“And it won’t change anything, right?” Vivian questioned softly.
“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a thousand times: not being Griffin’s biological dad doesn't change anything,” Theo said.
Nodding, Bennett replied, “I won’t love that little guy anymore or any less if I find out he’s mine.”
I wanted more than anything to be as steadfast as Bennett and Theo. I wanted to believe that knowing Griff wasn’t mine wouldn’t change anything. Deep down, I knew it would.
More than anything in the world, I wanted the little guy to be mine.
Maybe it was because a tiny part of me felt like the third wheel of the group. I mean, Theo and Bennett had their thing, and Vivian had her thing with all of us. But, I didn’t have anyone else.
Forcing a smile on my face, I said, “Damn straight.”
Vivian’s shaky hand clicked on the email. My breath hitched as I watched her furiously reading the email. And then she froze.
My heart began beating so loudly that I swore everyone could hear it. And then Vivian slowly lifted her head.
When she looked straight at me, the air wheezed from my lungs. My world tilted on its axis before spinning furiously out of control.
Holy fucking shit.
I was the father.
Griffin was mine.
Vivian crossed the distance between us. “He’s mine?” I croaked.
With a beaming smile, Vivian nodded. “Yes, he is.”
“Oh fuck,” I muttered.
I would’ve dropped to the ground if Bennett and Theo hadn’t rushed to my side.
“Easy now,” Bennett said.
“Breathe, jackass,” Theo commanded with a grin.
“I am a jackass,” I lamented.
Theo snorted. “Dude, I was just joking.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “No, I am. Or I’m more of a bastard and son of a bitch.”
Vivian frowned at me. “What are you talking about?”
“I really wanted it to be me. And I didn’t know if I could be okay with it if he wasn’t.” With a groan, I ran my hand over my face. “God, I’m seriously horrible.”
“No, you’re not,” Vivian argued.
“You’re just being nice.”
Theo clapped his hand on my shoulder. “To be honest, I wanted it to be you.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “Because I have Bennie and Viv, and she has me and Bennie. You just have Viv.”
“You thought that?” I asked.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Me too,” Bennett said with a smile.
“That’s too fucking weird because I thought the same thing,” I replied.
“Oh, Grayson, I’m so sorry if you’ve ever felt left out,” Vivian lamented.
“Don’t apologize. You’ve never made me feel that way.” I glanced at the guys. “Or you two either. I don’t know why I thought that.”
She cupped my cheek with her hand. “If you ever feel that way, let us know, okay?”
“I will.”
At Theo’s smirk, I furrowed my brows. “What?”
“I was just thinking that it makes sense that out of all of us, you’d be the one to fuck up a condom,” Theo teased.
“Fuck you,” I replied with a grin.
“Well, I’m very grateful to Grayson for messing up the condom.” After glancing down at Griffin, she said, “Without his mistake, I wouldn’t have this little guy.” She lifted her gaze to ours and smiled. “And if I hadn’t gotten pregnant, I wouldn’t have you three.”
Theo shook his head. “You would’ve come to your senses and sought us out for another threesome.”
“You think?”
He nodded. “And if you hadn’t, we would’ve eventually broken down and come pleading on your doorstep.” His expression grew serious. After glancing over at Bennett he said, “After all, we were meant to be together.”
Bennett winked at him. “We sure were.”
“And it all started with a hockey superstition,” I said.
“Don’t forget about my vision board. I mean, without it, I wouldn’t have come back that night at The Dive when you two propositioned me.”
With a grin, Bennett replied, “I’ve never owed so much of my happiness to absolute bullshit.”
“Speak for yourself. Our foursome brought an NCAA championship,” Theo countered.
“And this little guy,” I replied.
Bennett held up his hands. “Okay, from now on out, I’ll always raise a toast to superstitions and vision boards.”
“And condoms that break,” I added with a chuckle.
As the others groaned, I couldn’t help feeling like the most blessed motherfucker in the world.