Epilogue #2
Pine sets a plate in front of me with four perfectly golden slices of toast, cut diagonally the way I like.
Cassian appears with butter and jam, arranging them within easy reach.
Jett brings me water and orange juice, then tea, then asks if I want coffee before remembering I can't stand the smell right now.
"This is going to be a long seven months if you guys are going to hover like this," I say, but I'm smiling as I take a bite of toast.
"Get used to it," Jett says, dropping into the chair next to me. "We're going to be so annoying."
"You're already annoying."
He grins and steals a piece of my toast. I stab his hand with my butter knife, gently, and he laughs.
Pine sits across from me, chin propped on his hand, watching me with those intense dark eyes that always make me feel seen in a way that's both uncomfortable and addicting. "How are you feeling? Really?"
"Terrified," I admit. "But also... happy? Is that weird? To be terrified and happy at the same time?"
"Not weird," Cassian says, settling into the chair on my other side. His hand finds mine under the table, lacing our fingers together. "That's pretty much how I've felt about everything since you walked into our lives."
"Same," Pine adds. "Terrified you'd leave. Happy you stayed."
"Still terrified you'll realize you can do better," Jett says, but he's smiling. "Happy you haven't figured it out yet."
I squeeze Cassian's hand, reaching across with my other to grab Jett's. "I'm not going anywhere. You guys are stuck with me."
"And the baby," Pine says softly.
"And the baby," I echo. The words still feel surreal. Baby. Our baby. A tiny person made up of all of us, somehow. "I should call Hazel and tell her I can't fly to Hawaii."
"You don't have to decide that right now," Cassian says.
"I'm definitely not flying to Hawaii while pregnant.
Jessica's going to have to handle the on-site coordination.
" I pull out my phone, already mentally rearranging my entire business plan.
"And I need to call Dr. Hayes and make an appointment, and I should probably start taking prenatal vitamins, and. .."
"Sharon." Pine reaches across the table, stilling my hand. "Breathe."
I take a breath. Another. "This is a lot."
"Yeah," he agrees. "It is. But we've got you."
"We've got all of you," Jett corrects, his hand moving to rest on my stomach, warm and possessive. "Both of you."
Cassian's hand joins his, and then Pine's reaching across the table, all three of them touching me, touching the place where our baby is growing. It's overwhelming in the best way, being the center of their focus like this. Being loved like this.
"I love you," I say, to all of them, to this moment, to everything we've become. "All three of you. So much it's actually stupid."
"Not stupid," Pine says.
"Definitely stupid," I counter. "I fell in love with my ex's three brothers while planning his disaster of a wedding. That's like, the plot of a bad romantic comedy."
"Best bad romantic comedy ever," Jett says.
"The sequel's going to be even better," Cassian adds, his hand still on my stomach. "Parent Trap meets reverse harem."
"Please never say 'reverse harem' again."
"What? That's what it's called."
"You're not allowed to use romance novel terminology. It's weird."
He grins, leaning in to kiss my temple. "Get used to weird, sweetheart. This is our life now."
Later, after I've managed to keep down the toast and half a banana, my phone rings. Hazel Whitlock's name flashes on the screen, and I send a silent prayer to the universe that this isn't another crisis.
"Hazel, hi," I answer, trying to sound professional and not like someone who just found out she's growing a human.
"Sharon! I'm so glad I caught you." Hazel's voice is bright and excited, which is either very good or very bad. "I have the most amazing news."
"What's up?"
"Sebastian proposed!"
I blink. "I'm sorry, what? Sebastian your best friend Sebastian?"
"Yes! Can you believe it? We were doing the whole fake relationship thing to make my family happy, and then last night he just..
. proposed. For real. Said he'd been in love with me for years and couldn't pretend anymore.
" She's talking so fast I can barely keep up. "Sharon, I'm so happy I could burst."
"That's amazing, Hazel. Congratulations." And I mean it, even though my brain is currently trying to figure out how this affects the wedding I've been planning for the past three months. "So, um, are we still doing the Hawaii thing or..."
"Oh! Yes, definitely still doing Hawaii.
But now it's real. An actual wedding, not just an elaborate show for my family.
" She laughs, giddy and bright. "We're keeping everything the same.
The venue, the flowers, all of it. I just wanted you to know that when you come out for the final walk-through, you'll be dealing with an actual bride, not just someone playing pretend. "
"I love that for you," I say honestly. "But I should tell you, I'm going to have to send Jessica for the on-site coordination. Something's come up."
There's a pause. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's perfect, actually. I just found out I'm pregnant, and I don't think flying to Hawaii in my second trimester is the best idea."
Hazel squeals so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear. "Oh my god, Sharon! That's incredible! Congratulations!"
"Thanks. It's still pretty new. We literally just found out this morning."
"Is it...?" She trails off delicately.
"All three of them," I confirm. "We won't know who the biological father is until after the baby's born, but honestly, it doesn't matter. They're all the dad."
"That's beautiful. Really." Hazel's voice softens. "I'm so happy for you. And don't worry about Hawaii. Jessica's amazing. I'm sure she'll handle everything perfectly."
We chat for a few more minutes about her engagement and the wedding plans, and by the time I hang up, I'm smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. Good things do happen. People do fall in love for real, not just for show. Sometimes the universe doesn't completely screw you over.
"Hazel's engaged," I announce to the living room, where all three of my alphas are pretending to watch TV while obviously eavesdropping on my conversation.
"To the fake boyfriend?" Jett asks.
"Former fake boyfriend. Actual boyfriend now. He proposed last night."
Pine smiles, that soft secret smile he gets when he's genuinely happy for someone. "Good for them."
"Yeah." I flop down on the couch between Cassian and Jett, immediately sinking into Cassian's side. He wraps an arm around me, tugging me closer, and I go willingly. "Also, I told her about the baby. She's sending Jessica to Hawaii instead of me."
"Jessica's going to flip," Cassian says.
"Oh, she's going to lose her mind." Jessica's been not-so-subtly asking about my sex life for months now, claiming she needs to live vicariously through me since her own dating life is "a disaster of epic proportions." Finding out I'm pregnant with triplets is going to make her entire year.
As if summoned by my thoughts, my phone buzzes with a text. Jessica.
Jessica: HAZEL JUST CALLED ME
Jessica: SHARON OLIVIA MARTINEZ
Jessica: YOU'RE PREGNANT???
Jessica: AND I'M GOING TO HAWAII???
Jessica: THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
I can't help but laugh. "Jessica knows."
"Called it," Jett says.
I text back: You're going to Hawaii. I'm growing a human. Fair trade.
Jessica: I'M COMING OVER
Jessica: RIGHT NOW
Jessica: DON'T TRY TO STOP ME
"Jessica's coming over," I announce.
"Of course she is," Pine says, but he's smiling. He likes Jessica, even if she makes him uncomfortable sometimes with her tendency to ask invasive questions and then answer them herself.
Thirty minutes later, Jessica barges through the front door like she owns the place. She's wearing a bright yellow sundress that shouldn't work in late October but somehow does on her, her dark curls wild around her face, and she's holding what appears to be an entire bakery's worth of cupcakes.
"I brought cupcakes!" she announces. "Because apparently you're growing a person and I'm going to Hawaii and we're all winning today."
"Pretty sure I'm the one growing the person," I say, but I'm already reaching for a cupcake. Red velvet, my favorite.
Jessica drops onto the couch next to me, nearly elbowing Jett out of the way.
"Details. I need all the details. When did you find out?
How far along are you? Are you going to find out the sex?
Names? Please tell me you're not doing one of those weird celebrity names where you call the kid like, Apple or North or something. "
"I found out this morning. Maybe six weeks along? No idea on the sex yet. And no weird names, I promise."
"All three dads?" She leans around me to look at Cassian, Pine, and Jett. "That's so hot. Like, genuinely one of the hottest things I've ever heard."
"Jessica," I warn.
"What? It is! You're living the dream, Sharon. The omega dream."
"The omega dream is getting pregnant by accident six months into a relationship?"
"The omega dream is having three gorgeous alphas who worship the ground you walk on and who are about to be absolutely insufferable about taking care of you for the next seven months." She takes a bite of cupcake, smug. "Trust me, it's going to be adorable and annoying in equal measure."
She's not wrong. I glance at my three alphas, who are all watching me with varying degrees of intensity, and yeah, Jessica's completely right. They're going to be insufferable.
"I'll manage," I say.
"Sure you will." Jessica grins. "So, Hawaii. Tell me everything I need to know."