Page 77 of Christmas with my Three Best Friends

“And we’re already doing everything a married couple does, anyway,” Jax adds. “I love you, Shay.”

“I love you,” Marius says. “We love you. We want to spend the rest of our days with you, baby.”

“What do you say?” Richard asks, his eyebrows arched with anticipation.

I stare at them, my eyes filled with tears and my chest filled with thousands of breaths and dollops of sheer happiness. How could I say no? Why would I say no?

“I’m not gonna wear the necklace, the bracelet, and the ring all the time,” I say. “I’ll settle for the ring and keep the other two for our wedding day.”

Marius gasps. “So, that’s a yes?”

“That’s a hell yes!” I exclaim and rush over to them.

They welcome me with arms wide open, and we shower each other with ardent kisses, pouring all the love in our souls into every single touch. These fellas are determined to make an honest woman out of me, so I can only be grateful to the universe and respond in kind. I’ll be the happiest wife that ever lived. I’m already the happiest woman, mother, and business entrepreneur. We might as well add “happiest wife” to my list of earned titles.

Epilogue II

Shay

It only took a couple more years for West Key Gym to welcome the addition of East Key Gym, our second business project together. We’ve got about five years as partners in a successful and unique fitness project. Three years as a loving and weirdly happy family. Two years since the wedding. Years and years will pass, and I know we’ll always be as gleeful as we were in Chappaqua, as thrilled as we were when Logan was born, as energized as we are right now as we open the doors to East Key.

The gym is part of a huge corporate office complex on the east side of Seattle, encased in a gorgeous steel and thick, smoky glass structure overlooking one of the city’s bustling shopping districts. Foot traffic here is spectacular, and we’ve already got about two thousand clients signed up for month-long gym passes. The opening event is a raging success, much to my surprise and exhilaration. We’ve got a DJ and a protein-rich, low-sugar kind of snazzy buffet, wicked protein shakes and macro-friendly hors d’oeuvres. We’ve got fitness models parading around in our branded gym gear—why start a Key Gym franchise without the matching fashion apparel, huh? We’ve got some local celebrities and plenty of fitness influencers roaming through the crowd, taking photos with various guests and selfies in front of our illuminated logo in the reception area.

Marius’s mother is looking after Logan at our home. She is now the second person outside our relationship who’s aware of our situation—and while she may be a bit of an old school kind of lady, Sofia has come to understand that love is love, coming in all shapes and sizes. In my case, love came in three different sizes, each as wonderful and as necessary as the other. Besides, she is crazy about Logan, and she’ll never miss out on an opportunity to spend time with her firecracker of a grandson.

He was a heavy sleeper as a baby, but the period of peace lasted only until he learned how to walk. He’s been causing minor heart attacks ever since, my darling little kamikaze devil.

“Champagne for the missus?” Marius quips as he brings over a couple of glasses.

I’m standing close to the reception desk, watching Cassandra as she ropes a couple of local celebrities into conversation. She may not be a marketing guru, but I’ll give my best friend the credit she deserves—she does know how to sell a product she believes in.

I’m constantly amazed by how much can be accomplished with just a tap of a smartphone camera and a carefully constructed series of hashtags. While I’m still kind of retro on the whole digital thing, I do appreciate the unseen work that goes into building a brand, and I’m certainly a happy camper knowing we’ve got so many people willing to get involved and promote East Key. I reckon we’ll do a whole lot better now than we did with West Key in the beginning.

Marius chuckles lightly. “Look at her go, huh?”

“Hey, she’s motivated,” I reply, then shake my head at the champagne glass he’s offering. “None for me, thank you, baby.”

“But it’s your favorite,” he says.

“I know, honey, but I’m not into champagne anymore. Not for a while, anyway.”

“Why not?” he insists.

I do know he went to a lot of trouble to get these bottles delivered in time for the event. Marius is always so sweet and thoughtful, always taking care of the little things in order to make me the happiest I’ve ever been. I thought I couldn’t love him more, but he keeps surprising me.

Richard and Jax slip out of the swelling crowd to join us. Just in time, too, since I’m about to make their night even better.

“What’s up?” Jax asks, noticing Marius’s befuddled expression.

“I specifically ordered Chateau Neuf champagne for tonight’s opening event, because I know Shay would absolutely love a glass or ten of this stuff. It’s her favorite,” my husband says, almost pouting.

Richard gives me a curious look. “Are we getting prissy about drinks, now?”

“Not prissy, no. I still love Chateau Neuf and as soon as the baby comes and I can drink again, I’ll gladly have that glass. Or ten,” I answer with a grin.

Silence settles over the three of them as they mull over my words. Once they understand what I just said, they light up like firebugs. But because we’re in public and surrounded by way too many people, Marius, Jax, and Richard can only gasp and struggle to find the right words without jumping out of their skin.

“Wait, what?” Jax croaks.

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