Page 76 of Christmas with my Three Best Friends

Logan sleeps soundly in his carrier as I carry him into the gym. West Key has grown beautifully since we implemented my pre-coaching marketing plan. Our clientele is incredibly diverse. Cassandra has joined our team as a psychologist, so she and I work together to offer a psychological and nutritional approach to customers who would otherwise be too wary of even setting foot inside a gym. We’re doing really well and walking into this place every morning is literally one of my favorite reasons to wake up —aside from my three handsome guys and our gorgeous son.

“Good morning, Sarah,” I say to the receptionist as I set Logan’s carrier onto one of the sofas. “How are we doing today?”

“Good morning, Shay!” the perky brunette says as she stands up behind the reception desk.

A couple of clients come in for locker room keys. She quickly scans their passes and welcomes them into the gym, while a flock of college girls flutter past us, rushing into the weights room for their morning training. It’s more crowded these days—not that I mind.

“We’re great,” Sarah adds with a broad smile. “Everything is running smoothly, and the new coffee machine was definitely worth its pretty penny.”

“Let me guess, Marius hogs it at the break of dawn,” I chuckle softly.

“Yeah, pretty much. It’s strong stuff, too. I don’t know how his heart doesn’t give out from all those espressos,” Sarah replies.

Marius overhears the conversation as he steps out of the weights room, lighting up like the sun when he sees Logan and me. “Hey, my heart is strong! It’s accustomed to this kind of abuse,” he says, then comes over and kisses me deeply. “Morning, my love.”

“Mhm, morning,” I mumble against his lips. “You left early.”

“Had a couple of clients who are going away for the week,” he says. “They wanted to get one last session in before their holiday. How’s our little man?”

Marius sits next to Logan’s carrier, careful not to wake him. At only six months, the kid still sleeps soundly through pretty much anything. I dare hope he’ll be like this until he grows up, because I’ve heard horror stories about sleepless nights and all that jazz—but Logan’s been a wonderful baby thus far. Maybe we got lucky, I don’t know. I do know that I love how the purest love shines from Marius’s eyes when he glances down at his son. Our son.

“He’s great,” I reply, unable to stop myself from smiling as I watch them both. “Slept through most of the night. Had a quick breakfast, and now… well, you can see for yourself.”

“This boy will sleep through his entire childhood,” Marius snorts a dry laugh.

Richard comes out of his office, accompanied by Jax. They both smile as they say good morning. We do make one hell of a team, I’ll admit. West Key wouldn’t have made it this far without each and every one of us.

“Sorry we left so early in the morning,” Richard whispers. “I had something I needed to take care of. I hope you don’t mind.”

“It was worth it, though,” Jax adds.

I shake my head slowly. “It’s okay. Logan let me sleep until seven, if you can believe that.”

“Who, Sleeping Beau over there? I can’t believe it!” Richard exclaims in faux shock.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, eyeing them both.

Richard nods enthusiastically. “And then some. I’m glad you’re here, actually. Why don’t we step into your office for a hot minute? Sarah can keep an eye on Logan in the meantime.”

“Can you?” I ask Sarah, who’s already stepping away from the reception desk to take charge of my baby’s carrier. “Thanks, babe.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. He’s such a good little boy! Just like his dad.” She gives Marius a friendly wink. “Though his dad talks a little too much too early in the morning. His dad could take a page out of his book on this one.”

We laugh as Marius, Richard, and Jax join me in my office. Sarah’s a good sitter, though she’s only had Logan for an hour or two, tops, while I’m at the gym and without a babysitter available at home. I do insist on paying her a little something extra, out of my own pocket, when she does babysit. I’m never worried, thank the stars.

The guys remain standing close to my desk as I go over to the large window and pull the shades back to let some sun in. Seattle’s late springs are as capricious as ever, with a blue sky occasionally cluttered with passing rain clouds. It’s unseasonably warm, too, though I don’t mind the heat as long as it’s the dry kind.

“Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?” I ask as I turn around to face my guys.

Only, they’re each holding something and smiling broadly as they give me a moment to understand what’s going on. Richard shows me a small, pale blue velvet box—upon opening it, I recognize a splendid sapphire and diamond bracelet I’d seen not that long ago. Marius’s red velvet box reveals a stunning white gold and diamond ring. The kind a guy proposes with. And Jax opens his dark blue box to offer me a sapphire and diamond necklace that matches Richard’s bracelet.

“Whoa…” I manage, barely whispering. “What is this?”

“What does it look like?” Marius asks. His voice trembles slightly, and I know he’s struggling to keep his emotions under control. “It’s not like we could get you three engagement rings. They would’ve looked tacky as hell on your finger.”

I burst into laughter and tears at the same time, having lost my words entirely. My heart is thumping as I process this moment and realize this is it. The next step of my evolution, of our evolution as a family. It’s crazy, yes. It’s unprecedented, yes. But it’s also a natural progression. It makes sense. It’s been working out so beautifully between us, why not make it somewhat official?

“Marry us,” Richard says. “Legally, sure, you’d be marrying Marius alone, but Shay… Marry us. We’re ready. We want to be your husbands, we want you to be our wife. We’ve got a son. We’ll probably make a couple more. I know I’d love a red-haired little girl to keep Logan busy growing up.”

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