Page 13 of Celebrating it All

Lukus assumed the father was friends with the Cartwright-Davidsons when the man stopped at the end of their table next to Emma. But when Emma stood and reached out to take the little girl, much like Jaxson had minutes before with Andrew, things really started to get weird. Right there, in front of the hard-ass owner, the new guy leaned into hug Emma just before planting a kiss on her lips, right in front of her husband.

When he finished manhandling Emma, new guy turned to address Lukus and Tiffany. “Hey there, you must be the couple from Chicago. Welcome to Runway. I’m sorry I’m late, but Alicia was sleeping. She honestly needed an even longer nap. All this travel over the holidays has really screwed around with the kid’s schedule. As you can see, she’s a Mama’s girl. I knew she’d quiet down once I got her to her mommy.” The jovial guy then waved at someone across the room before looking down at the table and adding, “Oh hey, Avery made us those yummy stuffed mushrooms. Awesome!” The guy then took the seat at the end of the table before reaching to fill his plate with a sampling of the delicious food.

One look at Tiffany and Lukus knew she was as confused as he was. Emma was married to Jaxson and they had a son together, but now some new guy shows up with another of Emma’s kids. Was the blond guy their nanny?

It was Emma that answered the question hanging in the air. “I know. It’s confusing. Chase is my husband.”

Tiffany was braver than he was when she asked, “But I thought you were married to Jaxson?”

Emma grinned. “Oh, I am. Didn’t you hear, I’m the luckiest woman on the planet. I’m married tobothJaxson and Chase. Andrew and Alicia are our twins.”

“But… you mean one of them is yourex-husband?” Tiffany pressed.

“Nope. All three of us are married to each other.”

In unison, as if they’d done it several times before, all three adults at the table held up their left hand where they each sported identical wedding bands.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Lukus chuckled, looking at Jaxson in a whole new light. “I can’t wait to hear how you pulled this off.”

The little boy in his arms had fallen asleep on his shoulder so Jaxson answered softly. “It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you. But since it totally chapped my dad’s ass, it was absolutely worth it.”

Chase grinned at the end of the table. “I love you too, babe. So happy we could help you stick it to the old man,” he retorted before popping a mushroom in his mouth.

It was strange to see the larger-than-life Jaxson look uncomfortable as he was clearly being teased. “I think I’ve been letting you get away with a bit too much sass while we’ve been on holiday. You’d better watch what you’re saying or I might just be forced tostick ittoyou.”

Instead of backing down, Chase’s smile grew as he teased back, “Promises, promises.” For good measure, the guy blew an air kiss to his dark-haired husband brooding at the other end of the table.

Lukus couldn’t resist jumping in. “I see Chase likes to live dangerously with a heavy dose of sass. Kinda reminds me of you, Tiff.” Lukus squeezed her upper thigh under the table.

Jaxson picked up on his thought, giving Chase the evil eye as he added. “I think your observation is spot on there, Lukus. Tell me, how is it you deal with the flair ups of sass in your relationship?”

Reaching to hold Tiffany’s hand, Lukus teased. “We’re going to be heading downstairs tonight to work on that, aren’t we baby?”

In perfect Tiffany form, she replied. “I thought you said I’ve been a good girl.”

“Oh, you have, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do a bit of preventative maintenance to make sure you keep that sass of yours in check.”

Lukus loved the blush on her cheeks as she glanced around the dining area to make sure no one else was listening to their conversation.

“You know, that actually sounds like a great idea,” Jaxson added. “We’ve been traveling for weeks with the kids to visit family and friends for the holidays. I think a few hoursdownstairsshould help us get everything back on track, don’t you Emma?”

“Honestly… I hate to be a fuddy-dud here, but I think the best way to getmeback on track is about twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep.” She smiled mischievously at Chase before adding, “Chase, on the other hand, is another story. I’m pretty sure you might be on to something, Sir. A trip downstairs just might help him to finally remember not to leave the toilet seat up every time.”

He may not have known the man well, but Lukus saw through Chase’s feigned hurt. “You’re just proving my point of how perfect I am. I mean, come on. The worst you can come up with is leaving the toilet seat up?”

Jaxson corrected him. “That may be sweet Emma’s whole list. Mine is a bit longer.” The men were locked in a staring contest and the fact that the smile waned from Chase’s face as the seconds went past told Lukus there really was an accumulated list of transgressions going.

Chase swallowed hard before answering. “I thought we were on holiday.”

“We were. But I don’t recall agreeing to cancel all our rules while we were away, do you Emma?” Jaxson prodded her.

Emma chuckled, “No, but don’t try to drag me into this one.”

Chase groused under his breath, “Some help you are.”

Emma didn’t seem bothered in the least. “Listen, I’m beat and don’t forget, we gave the nanny the next few days off to go see her parents so there’s no way we can all head to Black… er.. downstairs tonight, not unless we called Chase’s mom to see if she could sit, and…” Looking at her blond husband, Emma added, “… and I adore your mom, but there’s no way we could turn that into a short visit since she hasn’t seen us since before Christmas. I’m just not up for that tonight. But you two can go ahead if you want without me.”

In unison, Emma’s two husbands shut down that idea with Jaxson’s “Nope, not without you,” and Chase’s “We stick together.”

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