Page 102 of Stuck On Them

“What if I wanted ten?”

“Uh. Ten?” Luca shuffled over to where Ryker and I were. “I mean... why not make it eleven so they can be their own soccer team?”

“Lacrosse has ten.” Garrett looked at me, his eyes filled with love. “We should get started on that right away.”

I laughed. “I will not be having ten children.”

“We’ll be happy no matter what.” Ryker looked at his watch. “We should get going so we’re not late.”

“I’m so excited and proud of all you three have done.” I looked between the three of them, still not believing they were all mine.

“Couldn’t have done it without you.” Ryker kissed my temple. “Now, let’s go before someone decides to take their clothes off.”

He wasn’t wrong in his warning; it had happened far too many times to count.

* * *

My heart nearly exploded as I watched Ryker and his sister share a shovel to break ground on the St. James Foundation’s community center. The other major phase one donors, which included Garrett, Luca, Leo, and the Badden brothers, all took part, wearing hard hats as cameras captured the moment.

After all of the initial fundraising and a metric ton of paperwork, Ryker was finally able to see his vision begin to come to life. A name for the center hadn’t been decided yet but the first hurdle was conquered, and now construction and phase two fundraising could begin.

The crowd came to life as the ceremony came to a close. Ryker, Libby, and Leo were kept behind by the foundation’s photographer as the donors dispersed into the crowd.

“What’s going on there?” I nudged Ethan and nodded my chin toward Ryker’s sister shooting daggers at Luca’s brother as the photographer put him on the other side of her.

“That’s a good question.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, a concerned expression taking the place of his usual carefree one. “Libby doesn’t usually show her venom towards anyone.”

“Libby has venom?” I laughed because that girl was the sweetest human being I’d ever met and had become an instant friend. She was quiet, but only around people she didn’t know.

“Well, clearly, she does. Jesus, I feel my nuts shriveling a bit on Leo’s behalf.” Ethan hadn’t looked away from them and his eyes narrowed as if he could read their minds.

Leo tried to put his hand on her lower back as they took the photo, and she moved her body to indicate she would cut off his hand if he touched her.

I wasn’t sure if anyone who didn’t know them would see the tension bouncing between them, but to me, it was very clear. “Kind of looks like they are having a lovers’ quarrel.”

“She wouldn’t have,” Ethan said in horror. “Fuckboys are not her type.”

“You never know.” I looked up at him since he was so damn tall and was wearing boots with a slight heel to make him even taller. “Doyoulike Leo?”

“Ew. That man’s penis has been in way too many orifices.” He shook his head, and I swore his cheeks pinkened, but it was getting a bit warm in the sun. “He would destroy Libby.”

“You mean destroy her pus-” I gasped as tattooed-covered arms wrapped around me in a bear hug and picked me up off the ground.

Ethan rolled his eyes dramatically and took off to where the photographer was now talking to Libby and Ryker, Leo nowhere to be seen.

“Were you just about to say something about a pussy being destroyed?” Luca nipped at my ear. “Ethan has already seen and heard enough, don’t you think?”

“Not my fault he didn’t knock.” I squirmed in his hold and spun around, looping my arms around his neck. “You looked sexy in that hard hat. I think we might need to get you one.”

He snorted. “Do you want me to dance around naked singing the YMCA song for you?”

“That would really get me going if I’m being honest.” I felt someone behind me and then caught a hint of Garrett’s cologne. “Garrett too. We need to be safe with all the nailing, hammering, and screwing going on.”

Garrett groaned as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. “Good thing you’re cute. Want to go help us convince people to support the foundation?”

We made our rounds through the throng of attendees over the next hour, Ryker joining us not long after we began chatting with potential donors. Phase two was all about securing donations to run the center for the first year of operation. The first phase donations went toward building the center and employing a small staff which included Leo and would eventually include Libby when she moved into Ryker’s currently vacant condo in the coming weeks.

With things finally winding down, I stood with Garrett and Luca, waiting as Ryker checked in with Leo one last time. He was still working on not micromanaging every single little thing, but it was a work in progress. His trust in Leo as the executive director of the foundation grew every day.

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