“We all are,” Luca piped up from the doorway to our shared bedroom, giving the two of us a warm smile. “And Daphne will be overjoyed when she gets to come see it tomorrow.”
Tonight was one we’d all been anxious about for months, but Cade had been nearly catatonic about it. The grand opening of Daphne’s Treasures, the shop Cade had opened to sell his incredible woodworking creations.“Named for my greatest masterpiece,”he’d said, dropping a kiss on a smiling Daphne’s forehead.
The classy opening-night affair had gone perfectly, not a single hitch to be found. Fancy hors d’oeuvres from a local catering company, a little music for ambiance courtesy of me and my guitar, plus displays of Cade’s newest pieces, all for sale. It had been more of an adult event than Daphne could handle, even though she was now five and had the wisdom of a much older child, so she was staying with Gram-Gram and Poppy for the night with her two baby brothers, Ricky and Jace.
The dark-haired twins were identical, and greatly resembled Gavin’s late father to boot—a small blessing, or more appropriately, two blessings, since I’d never gotten to meet the man who’d molded Gavin into the man I fell in love with. Gavin got a little teary when he looked at the boys sometimes, though he’d never admit to such a display of feeling to anyone but me.
“No more cool and collected Mr. Ratliff anymore,” I told him with a teasing tone. You’re such a daddy now.” It was an affectionate but frequent joke with him, and at the title, he’d give me that knowing smirk that made my insides melt, and we’d lose track of whatever we’d been talking about. Someday, the boys would be old enough to be grossed out when we kissed, but for now, it was magical to press my lips to his while each of us held one of our babies, to have little hands reach up to touch our faces, soft giggles seeming to relish our joy too.
Daphne had taken to big sisterhood the way I knew she would. She loved the little boys from the second they were born, organizing impromptu tea parties and fairy princess fashion shows for the twins since they were still young enough not toprotest. My little girl—ourlittle girl now, and somehow that felt like a gain and not a loss like I’d once feared—even declared to anyone who would listen that she couldn’t wait to have yet another sibling.
“But I want a little sister this time,” she’d say with a sage nod, and Kara and Brandon were about the only ones who could resist laughing out loud.
“You heard the lady,” Brandon would reprimand me, lips twitching. “Get to it, Mama. The world needs Baby Girl Branchini-Farmer-Ratliff-Tate posthaste.”
It was way too soon for me to want to bring another baby into our perfect, unconventional family. My twin pregnancy had been harder than my first, though it felt like it went by in a flash thanks to the support from each of my guys. Still, I secretly entertained dreams of eventually having a child who looked like Luca too. Of course, all of my men loved all of our children as their own, but I got misty-eyed about how lovely it would be to have our house filled with kiddos who represented each of the men I loved.
Luca had been in a buoyant mood lately, as if that dream was already on its way to coming true. After the turmoil that ensued as he finally, carefully convinced his mom to divorce his dad, Rose now visited us for dinner every week, and I could see what a relief it was for Luca to not be so worried about the other most important woman in his life. Rose was an amazing grandmother to the twins and Daphne, and she and my own mom had even struck up a friendship—they invited me to their white wine book club nights every few weeks, and though I loved spending time with them, I was grateful that having twin babies at home gave me a good excuse not to go.
“I appreciate the invite, Mom,” I always told her, giving a special smile to my mother-in-law too. “Maybe when the boysare bigger, and when I’m done with the album. That’ll free me up a little to read…what kind of books do you read again?”
“It’s different every time, hon, but this time we’re reading a true crime memoir about someone who was scammed by their realtor. It’s fascinating!” My mom’s enthusiasm for this book was almost as high as when I told her I was pregnant with the twins, but I decided not to be offended by that.
Our home was a dream haven—a gorgeous sanctuary courtesy of Gavin’s money, Cade’s woodworking, and all of our tastes (though especially mine and Daphne’s). The music and art room, bathed in natural light, its walls lined with my ever-growing collection of guitars and carved artworks of Cade’s and some of Daphne’s childish drawings, was one of my favorite parts of our large beachside home. I spent endless hours there, composing songs, flirting with Cade, fooling around with him until my other two men joined in and things became too steamy for the studio and moved to the bedroom.
Another perk to being quasi-married to a rich CEO—nannies, grandparents, and endless toys were all around to distract the kids when we parents needed a little alone time.
It helped that Daphne was in kindergarten now too—I had more hours to fill than I’d ever known in my days of waitressing and single motherhood. I missed my little girl when she was gone, but she was thriving at school. Each day, she embraced learning with boundless curiosity and joy. Cade, ever the gentle mentor, had been teaching her some more advanced art techniques too—the usual childish, messy finger painting, molding things out of clay, and some careful whittling projects he mostly did himself, though Daphne called the shots on the designs. I cherished the afternoons when Daphne and I would play music together on the gorgeous piano in our spacious living room too. Her sweet laughter mingled with the notes, and we created a melody of our own.
My sweet, patient Luca had also found a calling in charity work, using soccer as a way to help underprivileged kids. He taught workshops at a local community center and even coached a team of teenagers who played soccer as a way to keep themselves off the streets and out of trouble, after they’d already had run-ins with the law. It was beautiful to watch him in his element. He even planned to teach the twins soccer when they were old enough, inspired by the way Daphne had enjoyed learning the game from him on our cozy family weekends at home.
I’d quit my job at Marv’s during my chaotic first trimester with the boys, and though it’d been sad to say goodbye to my work family, most everyone from the staff had come over for our housewarming party. It had been a little late—not long before I’d given birth on the most beautiful but stressful day of my life—but I’d struggled to feel like a human until trimester three. And then I was pregnant and crazy enough that the guys were willing to indulge my every insane idea. Hence, a beachfront barbecue housewarming party.
We’d invited just about everyone we’d ever met. It was a blessing that the party was half outside, and that our humble abode wasn’t so humble in size. We’d hosted some of Luca’s soccer friends, including a couple who had gone pro; tons of the Ratliff Records staff, including a couple of musicians who’d left me starstruckandpissed that Gavin didn’t tell me he was friends with them before; Cade’s whole family, who were all sweeter than the first impression he gave off, which all of them laughed about at his expense.
The whole diner crew showed up too, making me cry very hormonal tears. It was the first opportunity I’d had to really give them the full tea about my relationship. Ricardo’s jaw had dropped, Mitch had gotten quiet and bashful, and Lisa had laughed before giving me a high five that took me by totalsurprise. Marv had been the most shocked to find out about my polyamorous relationship. But even the gruff diner owner eventually just grumbled something about kids these days and congratulated me on all of my life’s newest developments with genuine excitement.
Tonight’s shop opening had featured even more of the people we loved, the people who loved all of us, and a huge number of interested customers to boot. Despite Cade’s preference for hermit-dom, I caught him laughing in astonishment more than once through the night. It was one of the greatest sounds in the world.
I was pretty damn lucky.
These days, whenever I wasn’t spending those cherished moments with my family and friends, I used every spare second to work on the music I was finally holding space for in my life too. Watching my guys pursue their passions and find success was a great motivator. Through my own hard work and talent, I’d landed a modest contract with Ratliff Records—Gavin insisted the decision was made lower down far before we’d finally made things official, though I’d also come around to the idea of having a community of love that helped me reach this dream by now. My debut album, dedicated to my gorgeous family, was on the verge of its release.
“We’ll have another party to pull off pretty soon,” Gavin said, coming into the bedroom to share this moment too. He sighed as he undid his tie, started to shed his expensive jacket. “The album release is gonna be the biggest shindig yet, I think.”
“It’s what our girl deserves,” Cade insisted.
“But the kids will have to be there,” Luca said. “It’s not a real party when they’re not here.”
“Daphne wouldn’t forgive us if we made her miss her mom’s big night. She’s your number one fan,” Gavin agreed as he pulledme into his chest and kissed the side of my neck. “Tied four ways with all of us, of course.”
Nerves fluttered whenever I thought about the album I’d poured my heart and soul into, but every time I doubted myself, Gavin, Luca, and Cade reassured me that my songs were nothing short of amazing. That regardless of what critics or audiences—“future fans” as Luca insisted on calling them—had to say about my self-titled record, I should be proud of the work I’d put into it. Their support had been unwavering, and I had grown immensely proud of the musician, the woman, I had become as a result. Not just Allie the mom.
“I love you,” I told him, told all three of the men who’d changed my life all those years ago. These were the moments that had me thanking God, the universe, whatever powers existed, that what had happened in Vegas hadn’t stayed there. By some miracle, it had followed me, followed all of us home.
