Page 58 of Caden's Situationship

“You know what I just realized,” he said.

My eyes weren’t looking at his face when I asked, “What?”

"I haven't given you a private striptease yet." The naughty smirk on his face would have made my panties wet if I'd still had them on.

“Get off that table and follow me,” he directed, leaving me in the kitchen.

I was so in the moment, I didn’t even trip when I followed him up the stairs to the bedroom.

Epilogue

Six months later …

CADEN

“Hadsomeone bet me a million dollars which triplet brother would get married on a ranch and which one would become a stripper, hands down I would have told them you would marry the love of your life in a field of wildflowers and Crayson would be hittin’ that pole.”

I laughed. “Well, here we are on my ranch … except, Crayson’s the one getting married.”

“Tell me why he chose the ranch again?” my brother, Malik, asked. We were all standing in the hot Arkansas sun waiting for Jordyn to come out.

“If y’all niggas wanna whisper about me, how about you do it when you’re not standing up at my wedding,” Crayson muttered. “A brotha is sweatin’ out here and I’m nervous as hell.”

“Why?” my other brother, Micah, questioned. “Because you know Jordyn is going to be the one wearing the pants in the relationship?”

“Or because you’re worried you’re gonna cry when she comes out?” I added.

He smacked his lips. “Man, neither. I’m nervous because if she doesn’t come out soon, all the guests are gonna melt out here.”

I shook my head, knowing it was a bullshit answer, but I wouldn’t call him out on it. Crayson and I had shared some really good conversations since their visit, and when we did finally get to go on a real brothers’ trip, we left the wives, fiancé, and girlfriend at home. It was nice to connect in a way we hadn’t in a while, and for me, it was the first time all my brothers knew about my other business venture.

When he asked to get married on my ranch, I hadn’t hesitated to say yes. A part of me figured helping Malakai and Avery with their New York wedding had stressed Crayson and Jordyn out so bad, they wanted the complete opposite. Yet, the other part of me knew that Crayson could be sentimental sometimes and our argument on the ranch had probably been one of the realest moments we’d ever had. True to his word, Crayson proposed to Jordyn all over again during the family dinner the next day.

“It’s time,” Crayson said as the music started to play and the bridesmaids, plus Tyler, began to walk out. At the time, I hadn’t understood why Jordyn insisted the groomsmen stand with Crayson and not walk down with them. However, the moment we saw all the ladies begin to dance down the aisle I understood that she wanted to do something a little different.

Cordelia.She looked beautiful dancing down the pavement toward the wooden arbor draped in chiffon and flowers that I had built especially for the wedding. Her eyes were trained on me the entire time, and although I could tell she wasn’t completely comfortable with the dance, she looked sexy with the way she was giving the moves her own Cordelia twist.

Now that I was with Cordelia, you couldn’t catch me on stage, but I was still a partner in the business, and as it turned out, Cordelia had some ideas to make the male revue even better. She had even figured out how to rework her handbook and was now writing,A Southern Belle’s Guide to Living Life on Her Own Terms. I was damn proud of her.

LeeLee had a new friend now too named, Max. Just a month ago, I'd walked into our home to find a playful chocolate Labrador jumping at my feet. I hadn't thought I was ready to get another dog, but I had to admit, Cordelia was right. Max was just what we’d needed around the ranch.

As much as I loved to watch my girl dance down the aisle, I felt a little choked up looking at Crayson watch Jordyn walk toward us. My normally comical brother seemed like he was at a loss for words, his eyes welling with tears before she even made it halfway down.

In true Jordyn fashion, her dress was edgy, with a hint of traditional, and even though I felt like Crayson and Jordyn would always be city folks, a country wedding suited them more than they probably realized. Either that, or just having my family on my property and watching another brother marry the love of his life made me think sappy shit.

After they exchanged vows, everyone headed to the wedding reception that was being held in admin building where I’d had a team decorate the entire venue to match the lush décor that Jordyn wanted. It seemed all the town and most of their friends from New York were in attendance, but I wasn’t surprised. Crayson tying the knot was big fucking deal.

“Are you ready?” I asked Malakai when we were sitting alone at the reception table while Avery and Cordelia were freshening up.

“Ready for what?” he asked.

I laughed. “To be a father.”

“Not just any father,” he said. “A father of triplets.” He shook his head. “Hell no I’m not ready. But then I think about the fact that Mom and Dad had three boys back-to-back, then a set of triplets, and it gives me the confidence that I need to know that Avery and I will be okay.”

“You’ll both be amazing parents,” I told him. “Cordelia’s excited, too.”

Malakai looked around before leaning closer and whispering, “So when are you going to pop the question?”

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