Chapter 38

38

S unday morning arrives with the healthy dose of panic that comes with deciding last-minute to make the baby shower co-ed–which means more chairs, more food, more everything . The joy in Charlie's eyes when I suggested it more than makes up for the extra work. I would do anything for her. By the time guests start filtering in, I have a gigantic charcuterie table set up, along with tables for drinks and desserts. Pen helped me decorate several round tables for gifts, all of them of different heights, draped in tablecloths and trailing flowers. Peach and green tones are woven throughout the room, giving a unisex vibe, but also one that screams I Am Woman. Soft. Elegant. Sexy.

"How did you make this room feel like Charlie?" Lach asks, stopping beside me. His chin slowly drops in awe as he takes everything in.

I grin. "It does, doesn't it? That's exactly what I was going for since this is a celebration of her and her body."

"You're amazing, Isla. Thank you so much."

"You don't have to thank me. She deserves it, especially for putting up with the three of you." I grimace, then burst out laughing when he gives me a dirty look .

"Will you be able to relax at all?" he asks, squeezing my shoulder.

"Yes, actually. I wanted to have time to enjoy the party, so I hired some of the local teens and tasked them with refilling the tables with food and drink. It should be pretty laid-back. I really just wanted to create something where she could enjoy herself and her friends and family before the baby is born. Speaking of that, how's the nursery coming? Do you need any help getting things set up?"

"No, but I would like to schedule a dinner with all of us sometime in the next two weeks. Enjoy one last get-together without a little munchkin to worry about."

"My guys were actually considering cooking dinner tonight. Is that too much in one day for Charlie?"

" Your guys , hm?" Lach asks, looking over at me, the corner of his mouth ticking up. I can't keep the grin off my face, but I don't say anything, not wanting to encourage him. "As long as Charlie doesn't have to do anything, I'm sure she'd be up for it. Do your guys cook?"

"Henry and Theo both do. Dylan doesn't cook much, but God, does he know how to bake."

"I'm proud of you, Isla."

"For what?" I ask, turning to face him.

He shrugs, not sure how to put it into words. "For not being afraid to live outside of the box. You had created such a tidy little life for yourself and then acted like it was nothing when it disintegrated right in front of you."

"Believe me, I didn't act like it was nothing. But in the end, I think it was for the best. I finally feel alive again. I'm excited to wake up every morning. Excited to create something new."

"I can't wait to see what you come up with for the brewery. I'm sure it will be spectacular."

"More like you can't wait to come home and have an unlimited supply of beer at your fingertips."

"That, too," he laughs.

There's a collective intake of breath as Charlie walks into the room, all glowing skin, pink organza, and flowing curls. She looks like a fertility goddess. I glance over at Lach just in time to see his first look, and it makes me all gooey inside. I'm so fucking happy for them.

"You look absolutely beautiful!" I gush, running to Charlie's side and hugging her tightly.

"Look at you , Isla!" She turns me around, my moss-colored dress flaring out around my calves. "You're finally getting some, aren't you?" she asks, whispering into my ear.

"Charlie!" I gasp, giggling and looking around to make sure nobody heard her.

"Oh my god! You are!"

"Shhh. We'll talk about it later. Speaking of later, are you up for a family dinner tonight? You, me, Pen, and all the guys?"

"Yes! I wouldn't miss that for the world. I'm dying to get the scoop. I saw them walking in right before I got here, and they were fawning over her like she was in danger of breaking an ankle with every step she took. She was beyond pissed off." Charlie grins with glee, her blue eyes sparkling.

"That's Pen for you," I laugh. " I can't wait to get to know her crew a little better and see how they interact."

"Do you think...?" Charlie asks, not needing to finish the sentence.

"Yes, I do think. But five??? Can you imagine?"

"Three is quite enough, thank you," she laughs.

Several hours later, the last of the guests are filtering out, and I'm giving last-minute instructions to the teens on clean-up duty before the guys help me carry the mountain of gifts to the nursery. I catch Henry eyeing the crib, a wistful look on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask, covering his hand with mine on the crib railing.

"How I can't wait to see you pregnant with our child. You're going to be an amazing mother, Isla."

"I think you're jumping the gun a bit," I protest, my heart racing.

"Am I, though?" he asks, tilting his head and looking me in the eye.

"We haven't even talked about whether I want kids or not!"

"Do you? "

"Yes."

"There you go! Now we've talked about it."

"You're infuriating sometimes, you know."

"Pot meet kettle." He smirks, holding out his hand. I go to swat him away, but he wraps me in a bear hug and squashes my complaints with his lips.

"If you guys are cooking tonight, you better get a move on," I say once he releases me, awareness prickling over my body.

"Will you come grocery shopping with us? I've never cooked for this many people before, and I want to make sure we get enough," he asks, lifting my knuckles to his mouth.

"Of course. I'll meet you out front in a second. I need to say goodbye to Charlie first."

With Charlie settled down for a nap, and Pen and her crew helping with the last of the cleanup, I climb into the car with the guys, and we head to the grocery store.

"What are you guys planning on making?" I ask, Theo as he pulls onto the road.

"We couldn't decide if we should go all-American with something like shrimp and grits with strawberry shortcake for dessert or stick to something simple that we know everyone will like."

"I'm sure everyone would appreciate something they haven't had before. I have no idea what shrimp and grits are, but I'm sure whatever you guys make will be amazing."

"You have a lot of faith in us, Sunflower." Theo grimaces, unsure of himself.

"Of course I have faith in you! Have you tasted your food? I don't know that I've ever had food like that before. The flavor!" My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

"Hey, I hope there are some compliments coming for us, too," Henry teases from the backseat, sticking his lip out and pretending to pout.

"All three of you have some serious skill," I amend. "I don't understand why you aren't cooking at the pub. You’d make a fortune."

"Because then we couldn't be with you," Dylan says softly .

"Promise me that once I have the brewery up and running, the three of you will follow your dreams," I say, suddenly worried that they'll be so focused on me that they'll forget what they wanted in the first place.

"We didn't have a dream when we came here, Sunflower. This was a hail Mary. Our last chance at keeping our family together."

"Then promise me you'll put your heads together and create a new dream."

"Pretty sure we've already done that, Freckles," Henry says, chuckling.

"Do you care to inform me?"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Theo asks, shaking his head. "You're our dream, Isla. You're the reason we moved halfway across the world. None of us could stop thinking about you, and it's going to stay that way until the day we die."

"Our dream is for you to be happy," Dylan says, reaching forward and squeezing my shoulder.

I blink quickly, tears threatening to overflow. What did I ever do to deserve them? "Promise me the three of you will come together to discuss a new dream,” I push.

"We can promise you that the four of us will come together. It's not a dream if it doesn't involve you."

"God, you guys are stubborn," I sigh. "Fine. Just promise me."

"We promise," they say in unison, their voices melding together in perfect harmony. My heart content, I pull my hair into a bun and open the window, taking a deep breath of fresh air.. The sun is still high in the sky, warming the air and making the colors on the hills around us pop. I'll never get sick of living here. I don't care that I've hardly been anywhere else. This is home. This is where I belong.

Panic hitches a ride on the coattails of that thought, reminding me that the guys may not get a visa to be able to stay. If that happens, I'll be faced with an impossible decision. I push the thought away, breathing deeply, letting the earthiness of the peat cleanse away the bad thoughts. I'll deal with that when the time comes. No point in worrying about something I can't change .

Grocery shopping with the guys is an experience in and of itself. I can't help falling even deeper in love with them as I watch them bicker over what size shrimp to buy, where the American section of the store is, whether or not they have grits, and how that should have been the first thing we checked.

Dylan and I leave Theo and Henry to duke it out while we gather the ingredients he needs to make the strawberry shortcake. I also grab a bag of marshmallows and some hot cocoa in case everyone hangs around and we decide to have a bonfire later. Eventually, the four of us meet back up at checkout, all three of them refusing to let me lift a finger to put an item on the belt.

Is this what it's going to be like for the rest of my life? Three guys that are absolutely crazy about me? Doting on me? Worshipping me? Not that long ago, I had given up on finding even one.