“I hope so, hon. I like Luca too.”
More than liked him, maybe. Every day since our group first date, which felt like ages ago now that I hadn’t seen any of my guys in over two weeks, I’d been struggling to focus on anythingbut the idea of seeing each of them again. It wasn’t an intentional separation—we’d all been busy in the interim, and we knew we couldn’t really progress further in our relationship until they’d all met Daphne, so until that plan could come to fruition, we were accidentally on pause. I’d been texting and talking on the phone to each of them in turn late at night when Daphne was in bed, clinging to the lovely, comforting feeling I got in their presence, even virtually. How could just hearing their voices make my entire day feel more worthwhile? How could I have gone from an independent single mom to the kind of woman who lay awake at night and missed the three guys who had never actually slept over in my apartment?
Today, we’d figure it out together. Today would change everything. And maybe after today, we could skip ahead to the good part. The part where they all felt more permanent, and I wasn’t scared out of my mind anymore, and we could just ride off into some metaphorical sunset.
It was a nice fantasy, at least. But it was over the second I heard an enthusiastic, rhythmic knock on the front door of our apartment, and my heart picked up into a galloping pace. “They’re here, Daph,” I told my girl quietly, and she clapped her little hands, excited despite my own apparent nerves.
I was nervous about opening the door, so I did it all at once, like ripping off a Band-Aid. And there all three of them stood in the hallway outside my door. Cade was slightly in front, a gray T-shirt stretching taught over his well-muscled arms, his strong calves and dark body hair exposed by the cargo shorts he’d donned, which made me want to laugh and take him to bed at once. He had a Dodgers cap on too, his thick hair curling underneath the brim in an adorable way.
“Hi, guys,” I breathed, smiling at each of them.
Behind Cade on either side stood Gavin and Luca, equally dressed down and delicious. The former, gorgeously lanky anddressed more casually than I’d ever seen him but still wearing his signature black despite the heat, a pair of sleek, expensive sunglasses sat on top of his tousled curls. Luca’s typical bun was pulled higher than normal, off his neck, and the brightly colored shirt that covered and clung to his lovely broad chest was clearly the getup of some soccer team he loved. His smile was the brightest as he said, “Are the Tate women ready for a day of fun?”
“Maybe,” I answered, a little coy and flirtatious while Daphne was in the other room. It was just so fun to flirt with them, I couldn’t resist even the smallest window of opportunity. “Who’s driving?”
“Me,” Gavin answered. As I let the guys into the apartment, Cade’s shoulder stopped blocking a surprise in Gavin’s hands. He held out a gorgeous bouquet, every lovely shade of rose I’d ever seen. The thing was big enough for Daphne to hide inside.
“Flowers for the ladies,” Gavin said, voice low and…was I imagining it, or did he sound nervous? I was just thinking there was no way that Gavin Ratliff got nervous, when he gave an anxious glance to Luca.
It was a cue. Luca revealed his own surprise, holding out a gift wrapped in bright pink paper with a lilac bow.
“And a present for Daphne,” Luca explained. “We…well, we’re not above bribes, clearly.”
I laughed, taking the bounty of sweetness into my arms as the guys stepped further into mine and Daphne’s private domain. “You guys didn’t have to get us anything.”
“We know,” Cade said with a shrug. “Luca’s serious about the bribe.”
“It’s an entirely self-serving gesture,” Gavin added, deadpan and no less funny for it. I was laughing, swooning despite myself at the thoughtfulness they’d brought to this important day, whenthe dreaded moment arrived and Cade, Luca, and Gavin were all in the same room with my little girl for the first time.
“Daphne, these are Mommy’s friends. You remember Luca.”
“Hi,” Daphne said with a wave and a smile, which Luca returned easily.
“Hey, Daphne. Good to see you again.”
“And this is Cade and Gavin,” I said, gesturing toward each of them in turn. Neither man was particularly effusive, but their smiles were genuine—Gavin’s sunnier than his usual smirk, and Cade’s a softer side of him that showed no hint of his usual outward stoicism.
“We brought you something,” Luca said, looking to me for permission before he handed the present to Daphne. I smiled, giving the guys a gentle nod, and Luca got down on her level to hand her the box. It was bigger in her small hands than I thought. My baby girl looked up at me for a second, uncertainty in her gaze.
“Go ahead, honey,” I urged her quietly. “You can open it.”
She tore through the paper at warp speed, making me laugh. Then she was staring slack-jawed at a full paint-your-own zoo playset. My crafty little girl loved any kind of messy art activity, and this was a fancier toy than she was used to, since Gavin had near-unlimited funds to work with. Somehow, it didn’t embarrass or bother me. It was heartwarming to see my little girl in awe over such a nice gift.
“Wow,” she said, barely a whisper, her little hand tracing the plastic window at the front of the box. There were lions, tigers, elephants, all waiting to be painted and assembled to her heart’s content. There were even set pieces for the different habitats each animal lived in.
“What do you say?” I stepped in, always mom-ing.
“Thank you,” my daughter said, and though I knew it was basically conditioned into her at this point, I thought she looked grateful. Impressed even.
“Really,” I said to the guys, making sure to lock eyes with each of them for a beat. “Thank you guys so much. For all of this.”
“You’re welcome,” Cade told me seriously. Then a short pause, a moment to breathe.
“Alright, are we ready to head out?” Gavin asked, putting on an eager camp-counselor sort of voice I never expected from him and a smile that was a little bit self-deprecating. “We’ve got animals to see.”
We drove a little further than I normally would with Daphne to get to the better zoo. They had a new baby giraffe, and Daphne was dying to see it, to put in her vote for the little gangly creature’s name, since the zoo staff were taking suggestions and would eventually vote on the top choices from the public. Luckily, she was plenty entertained on the drive, since Gavin had come prepared with a kid-friendly hype playlist that had all of us laughing and singing along.
It went by so fast. Soon, we were pulling into the massive parking lot, getting ourselves appropriately covered in sunscreen, and heading into the fray. It wasn’t a terribly busy day at the zoo, but that didn’t mean there still weren’t tons of people here. Lots of families, an elementary school field trip. I didn’t see any families with three dads, but I hadn’t expected to. Somehow though, I didn’t feel out of place.
