22. Bennett

TWENTY-TWO

BENNETT

Start of July

Like any normal Wednesday at noon, I wrap things up with Gab after we finalize the outline of what she wants to say in the loosely titled, "Buying a team is way harder than you think no matter how easy I made it look", part of her autobiography.

I stand to pack my things and leave, when I see her twitch.

Gab doesn't twitch. Ever. So of course I notice it and of course it makes me curious.

"Everything okay?"

"Huh?" She looks up. "Yeah, sorry. There's just a lot on my mind. So I need to cancel the rest of the week with you, until next Wednesday, actually." She winces. "Sorry."

"No worries," I tell her, seriously unbothered by it. She doesn't ever cancel, so I know she must have a good reason. "Is everything okay?" I can't help but ask again.

"Oh yeah," she says with a scoff, and waves a hand in a careless gesture that is anything but careless. She's clearly on edge. "Just house stuff, you know?"

"House stuff?"

"Yes." She nods decisively and straightens. It's like she gets her edge back. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you next week, okay?"

"Okay," I say, completely unconvinced.

I arrive at my parent's place to see the painters came by this morning and the guys who were supposed to redo the roof only managed half of it. I walk into the main house to find my parents doing what they do most of the time, looking at DIY videos on their tablet.

"The cream color looks amazing," I tell them.

"Doesn't it?" Mom asks with a dreamy sigh.

"Yeah, the painters did a great job." Dad doesn't look away from the screen where I hear a woman explaining how to take out hardwood floors without damaging them.

"I didn't know you wanted to change the floors."

"Yeah, we're trying to think of different ways we can reuse the wood around the house, but we want something more durable and easier to clean and maintain." Again, he doesn't even look up when he answers.

It's weird. They've never been DIY kind of people, ever. So when they told me they wanted to remodel this place I was pretty sure they were going to quit and hire everything out after a week. Seeing this place slowly come together has not only impressed me but it's also made me realize we never know what we're capable of until we try.

"We're gonna take out all the old appliances in the kitchen today, sweetheart. Is it still okay if we use yours for the next couple of days? "

I turn to Mom and smile.

"Of course that's okay, I might live there but this is still your place."

"Living here might be a stretch," Dad says, and I see he's finally looked up to shoot me a teasing smile.

"Whatever," I mumble.

"We're happy for you, son. And I know it's definitely not like you need it, but we really like Luke, so you guys have our blessing."

Damn it, why am I blushing?

"Thanks." I keep speaking low. "I..." I trail off to take a deep breath and gather myself. It feels like this is something they should hear from me first, not in passing, and with me looking at them. "I love him, and Robbie. I think they're it for me, for us. Lizzie and me"

"I'm so happy for you, honey. Lizzie's happy with them, too." Mom's agreement is exactly what I need.

"Yeah, she's still small, so I'm hoping she'll adapt easily to any change there might be for us, without it hitting her hard, you know?"

"She's a strong one, our Lizzie." Dad nods. "She's going to be a great sister."

I get choked up at hearing that word, so I only nod and lean in to hug them one at a time. How can I express how grateful I am to them for all they've done for me?

Not only my whole life, but these last few months. They've been such a big support for Luke, Gordon, and even me. They've accepted them and brought them into our family like it was nothing.

It's always been just the three of us, until a few years ago when the adoption of Lizzie was as set in stone as it could possibly be. Lizzie's birth mother had the option to say she didn't want to give Lizzie up for adoption at the last second, so it really wasn't final until the day after my sweet pea was born.

In any case, it's mostly always been just the three of us and that has been more than enough for me. I never had plans of having more kids after I had Lizzie. I never thought that our family expanding so exponentially could be possible, let alone that it would happen almost instantaneously.

Now I can't imagine us being any other way.

I go to the pool house and change, grab a few more changes of clothes for Lizzie and me and go pick her up from daycare, then drive over to Luke's place.

He's been training at the Rogues' facilities six days a week for two weeks now, and it's a good baby step to eventually being away from Robbie for four days when he has away games.

He's not ready for that, and honestly, neither is Robbie, I don't think. The sweet boy is becoming more open to strangers by the day, but it's very clear that his "Uke" is his favorite person, closely followed by Gordon. I'd like to think I'm up there too, but we haven't spent much time one-on-one, just him and me. I guess that could happen sooner rather than later with the football season fast approaching, and I'm excited for that, if I'm honest.

I see Luke's fancy-ass SUV parked by the front door when I get to his home, and quietly open my door then Lizzie's to take her out of her seat where she fell asleep like always.

I carry her to the bedroom next to Robbie's which she's been loving staying in whenever we're here. A crib just as big as Robbie's appeared here the second day we stayed over, and Luke has been trying to get her to tell him what she wants for her room ever since. He doesn't think I know though, but I've heard them talking quietly about it .

I think it's cute as hell, and I hope he's not feeling any pressure to do things like that for her.

I should probably talk about it with him.

I leave her door ajar and make sure the monitor feed is visible on my phone before I climb down the stairs to go find... anyone.

After checking the kitchen, living room, and back yard, I'm happy to find Luke in his office. It's really like another living room but with a desk. He's on the phone listening to someone intently, so I silently go over and offer my mouth for a kiss then go sit on the couch and fiddle with my phone.

I should be working, taking advantage of the quiet time before lunch, but just being in the same room as Luke even if we're not talking and he's clearly focused on something else, makes me feel at ease. There's no place where I have to be or something urgent I have to get done, and normally that would drive me insane. I've realized over the last few months that simply being near Luke calms my overactive mind. It's peaceful.

Alas, I can't get Gab's request out of my mind. It's really none of my business why she doesn't want me to go to her place for a week, but it's interesting.

I check my messages and smile when I see Josie's last message.

Josie

Going to the doctor today to make sure everything is a go.

Think good thoughts.

Bennett

Thinking the best thoughts in the world.

I write back and take a moment after I hit send to do as I promised. I close my eyes and picture Sebas and Adam with the child they've been hoping for to expand their family. I picture Josie pregnant—weird as that picture is—and cranky of course. She's naturally a cranky person, so it's not a stretch to imagine she'll be even more so while pregnant.

She took a test a week ago that was positive and today they're just making sure she really is pregnant. So an ultrasound and some blood work probably.

Adam and Sebas won't be able to be there with her in person, but they will have her and Bidy fly over and stay with them when she's closer to her due date.

Which if my math is correct should be right after the Super Bowl.

Planning a birth to the minute seems like something Sebas would do, and wanting Adam to be a part of it no matter what, encompasses perfectly who my friend is.

"Hey," Luke says quietly and lets out a big sigh as he stands.

"Hey, pretty boy. How was training?"

"It was fine." He sounds fine, but like his mind is on something else as he walks over and plops down next to me. He twists and lies down with his head on my lap. I run my fingers through his hair and give him time to get his thoughts together.

"That was Landon," he says, talking about the adoption lawyer back in Texas.

"Yeah?"

He nods. "Everything's going according to plan. Because they haven't found Marcy, the hearing's probably going to get a date soon."

"That's good," I whisper. Though I don't even really know if it is good.

"I just want it done," he says and covers his face with his hands. "I just want to be sure he's going to stay with me and be happy and healthy." The words come out muffled, but they're clear enough.

"You're doing everything you can to make sure that happens, Luke. Let's just stay positive and believe it's gonna happen that way. There's no way any judge wouldn't give you guardianship, and there's no way they'd let Marcy have Robbie, since she's probably going to be in prison for a while. And who knows, maybe she changes, maybe she becomes someone better after she's done."

"Hmm," he says, dubiously. "We'll see if they ever actually catch her."

"Yeah." That's a good point. "So, something strange happened today," I start, to change the subject.

"What's that?" Luke uncovers his face and looks up at me with those bright blue eyes that look calmer now.

"Gab told me not to come to her house for the next week." I waggle my eyebrows. "And she didn't say why."

"That is weird," Luke says and sits up. "She texted me not to go by her house next week, too. What's that about?"

"I have no idea, but knowing Gab it's probably something awesome and unbelievable."

Luke snorts. "That's an easy bet. And I think we'll find out soon enough. The woman loves to gossip, and she's great at keeping secrets in confidence, but I think if she can tell us, she will."

I wake up on Thursday to a text from Theo.

Theo

Call me when you wake up.

Frowning, and wondering what this could be about, I reluctantly get up from bed and leave a sleeping Luke to rest. I can take care of the kids and them having breakfast, and that way he gets to sleep in for the first time in months.

He'll go to the practice facility around ten and then come back, but I think I want to see how handling two kids under three by myself will go.

Sure enough, when I go check on Lizzie, she's already awake but blinking slowly up at me. And Robbie wakes with a wail just a minute later.

His cries get a bit louder when he sees it's me at the door and not Luke, but he lets me pick him up and soothe him with circles on his back as Lizzie looks on from the door where she's standing still in her pajamas.

"Come on you two, let's get you changed and into some clothes, then we can get some breakfast."

Nothing goes terribly wrong—an absolute win—so once I've got them settled in their highchairs at the island in the kitchen, and plates with cut up fruit in front of them, I finally get my iPad and call Theo.

He answers and immediately changes the call to video.

"Hey, Theo. What's up?" I ask when his face pops up on the screen.

He's wearing a hair net and walking somewhere, but he also has a smudge of what I'm guessing is flour on his forehead so he's still at his bakery.

"I need to tell you something and you have to swear you won't tell a soul. "

My first thought is he somehow found out about Josie being a surrogate for Sebas and Adam and he wants to talk about it with someone, but he surprises me.

I nod. "You got it. I'm here with the kids and they're vaults, trust me." I turn the iPad to show him.

"Oh God, look at you two. So freaking cute."

"I know," I tell him, and smile when the camera's facing me again. "Now come on, tell me."

"My dad's getting married."

"Wow."

"Yeah. This Saturday."

"Again, wow. That's all I've got for you."

"That's not even the shocking part, or the thing that needs to be kept under wraps about this."

"Okay," I say. What could be more secretive than Harrison getting married?

"Tristan doesn't know. It's going to be a surprise for him too on the day of. My sister's known for months apparently." Theo looks a little ticked off but shrugs it off. "But she's in Boston and needed more heads up, so I get it. Whatever. What's really gonna blow your mind is that it's happening in Vegas. At Gab's house."

My mouth drops open.

"But those two are like . . ."

"I know, we all thought they were like enemies, or something like that. Turns out Dad's been best friends with Gab since freaking college. They've just had to keep it super under wraps 'cause of NFL rules or something."

"Damn, that's some secret to keep for more than a decade."

"I know," Theo says, elongating the word. He looks excited. "In any case, you're invited to the wedding. You can bring Luke, but no kids." He winces. "Sorry. "

"I get it," I say with a shrug. "I'll tell Luke later, but we'll be there of course. Is it super formal?" I ask, because I don't own a tuxedo or whatever. I have one suit and that's it.

"No. Well, wear a button down and slacks, but no jacket. It's gonna be hot as balls."

"Ah, it already is, man."

"Yeah, that's gonna be a thing. Everyone's gonna be sweating their balls off. I can't wait." The devious smile at the end makes me chuckle.

"Why, 'cause all your dad's stuffy friends won't be able to keep their mightier-than-thou attitudes?"

"Exactly!" Theo laughs. "Though I don't think he's inviting a lot of people. I mean Tristan's family, his closest clients, so of course Derek will be there with Hawk and Wolf and?—"

"Oh. My. God. Is Samantha Sawyer coming to this thing?" I demand. Thinking about being in the same room as the most awarded country artist of all time makes me feel like I could pass out.

"Yes." Theo nods. "And her husband and oldest kid I think."

"Who else?" I demand.

"I don't know all the guest list, but from Dad's side he invited three of the, you know, like, ‘old money' families of NYC."

"Uh-huh." I urge him to keep going because those aren't really that interesting to me.

"One of those is the Ellsworths, which means..."

"Oh, Hawk and Wolf's aunt, Lyla will be there. I love her." The supermodel is funny as hell and very sweet.

"Yeah, me too. Then, well, Sebas and Adam of course. Dad invited Mike's family, too."

"Aww, that's nice of him. "

"Yeah." Theo sighs happily. "But from our friends that's it, basically, and that's all I know. I think Gab's daughters maybe."

"I'm sure it'll be a hell of a party. I can't wait."

"Awesome. I have to get back to work, but I'll see you on Saturday."

We finish the call and I come face to face with two pairs of eyes, one hazel, the other bright blue, staring at me owlishly. Man I forgot for a second the kids were here. I laugh at myself because they're staring at me like I'm insane.

That's fine. It's probably not going to change any time soon.

Two Days Later

Luke and I walk around Gab's house hand in hand and into a fairy tale.

Gab's backyard is pretty spectacular on any given day. It's huge, for one, but it's also full of cool things. Like three hammocks tied to a group of palm trees in a corner, the unnecessarily big pool, the outdoor kitchen and huge sitting area, as well as a cluster of outdoor couches with a firepit in the center.

Today, the lawn, which is half of the space, is covered by a kind of mesh thingy. It's not a tent, though it is at least ten feet high above the ground. It lets a lot of light in but gives enough shade for it to be just a little cooler under it. There are around fifteen tables set up as well as a dance floor on one side and a ceremony space with chairs and a beautiful flower arch at the end of the aisle.

The place is already full of people and we're definitely not late. I pull Luke directly towards Theo and Mike who are talking to Jules, Sterling, and all our friends who are here. We get warm greetings and then a surprise.

"So wait," Jules says, holding up a hand. "You're telling me Gab is marrying them?"

"Yes," Theo says and bounces on his toes a little. "It's insane that they're so close and none of us knew, right?"

"It is," Luke says in an awed murmur.

"Hello." A smooth, deep, and elegant voice comes from behind me, so I turn. But the man, I'd say he's around fifty, is only looking at Theo. "You look just like your old man, Theo." My friend looks confused but reaches to shake the man's outstretched hand. "I'm Chase, you?—"

"Oh my God!" he shouts and smiles. "It's so great to finally meet you."

Harrison and Tristan walk up to us at that moment and conversation stops so everyone can greet the grooms and congratulate them. Tristan looks like he's been through a whirlwind, but you couldn't mistake his expression for anything other than happiness.

"Man, this is a big day for me," Theo says once everyone's said hi to everyone. "My dad's getting married to the love of his life and I've finally met every person who was present at my conception." He gestures to Chase with a shit-eating grin.

I have to bite my lip to stop the laugh from bubbling up at the implication Theo is making. Mike lets out a squeak that only makes me have to fight harder against the laugh.

The deadly silence means this isn't really a time for me to lose my absolute shit because I just found out Theo was conceived during a threesome. But come the fuck on. Theo—a normally very kind and polite guy who has anxiety—boldly declaring this to so many people is fucking legendary .

"Actually, there were a few more," Chase says without missing a beat.

Now Theo's face falls and pales at the same time, and that's when Harrison cracks up, swiftly followed by Tristan, then Chase, and finally the rest of the group.

"Oh you're such an asshole," Theo tells Chase.

"I mean, I'm friends with your dad, so what were you expecting?"

Theo nods wisely. "You have a point, kind sir."

"You know," Harrison interrupts. "People never believe me when I tell them you're my brattiest child." He sighs deeply and that only makes Tristan laugh again.

"And people also don't believe me when I tell them I'm the funniest Crawford." He shrugs and smiles indulgently at Mike when he pipes up.

"Facts, Teddy. Those are facts."

"You can't trust the word of a man in love," Tristan tells Mike with a teasing smile. "I think my Crawford is pretty funny."

"You're all wrong," Theo's little sister Iris says as she walks up to the group. As she greets everyone, I hear Theo talk to Chase.

"It really is great to finally meet you, but you understand I had to get back at my dad for telling me the story in the first place, don't you?"

"Of course I do, and I support your vengeful cause."

"Great, you're invited to my wedding too by the way. It's in one month," Theo says with a shake of his head. "The man just had to get married before me."

"Well, he's traditional." Chase smirks and Theo snorts.

"Yeah, right."

"Are they always..." Luke whispers to me and gestures to Theo and his dad. We didn't really interact much with them on the weekend at Derek and Hawk's place, so I get why he's asking.

"Yup," I tell him with a smile, and steal a quick kiss. "Now come on, let's get a drink."