“No worries, baby.” Cooper reached down and placed my hand over the growing bulge in his jeans. “You’re with us now. We’re going to keep you safe and happy at the same time.”
All I could do was smile. “And that’s a promise I’m sure you’ll both keep.”
It was a promise they’d already kept for the past six years. I just hadn’t realized it until today.
Chapter Thirty One
Poppy Evans
There was already a pretty big crowd at the shelter when we arrived, and the number of people seemed to grow by the minute.
“This is gonna be pure chaos pretty soon,” Nolan said, placing a protective hand at the small of my back. “We should all stay together and find some beds.”
“There might be some back there,” I pointed to the far corner. “And maybe we’ll be far enough away from people that we can have... well, probably not any real privacy, but something close to it.”
Cooper grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Now we’re talking. If that corner is rocking, they’d better not come knocking.”
“Oh my God...” I rolled my eyes. “That is definitely not happening here. You’ll have to rock by yourself in your own bed if there’s going to be any rocking at all.”
Nolan snickered. “Just another weekend night, eh, Coop?”
“Shut up,” Cooper shot back, but the corners of his mouth twitched as he turned his attention back to me. “And I’m just saying if you want to try to have a little fun back there, I can be really quiet.”
“Noted,” I smiled as he lifted my hand to his lips. “But you shouldn’t tempt me. I don’t have any willpower when it comes to the two of you.”
Cooper laughed. “That’s what I’m praying for, babe. And since the rest of my prayers have been answered today, I feel like I might be on a roll.”
“You can pray for this stupid rain to end,” a familiar voice called out from behind us. We turned to see Chrissy standing there soaked to the bone with a blanket around her shoulders. “Can you believe this storm? I don’t know what I’ve done to piss off Mother Nature, but I swear I’ll repent. I’ll plant a hundred trees if the storm will just be over already.”
I rushed over and hugged her, wet blanket and all. “Oh, girl. I’m sorry. God, this storm has put a damper on things, hasn’t it?”
“A damper?” She let out a short, bitter laugh. “My wedding venue is basically destroyed. Ruined.”
Cooper and Nolan had stepped up behind us. “Ruined?” Cooper asked. “You mean the bungalows?”
She looked at him over my shoulder and shook her head. “I wish it was only the bungalows. The main hall had started to flood when Vic came out to pick me up. I’m not sure there will even be anything left by morning.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped, then scrambled for my phone. “Have you seen Muriel? Or Jasmine? Were they still out there when the flooding started?”
I dialed Muriel’s number as I spoke but nearly screamed out loud when I realized there wasn’t a signal.
“A cell tower must’ve gone down or something,” Chrissy frowned. “I haven’t had service all afternoon, either. But no, I haven’t seen Muriel or Jasmine, now that I think about it.”
Nolan leaned in. “Just a second, babe. We’re on it.”
I watched as he and Cooper rushed over to Vic, who had just walked in and was looking every bit as drenched as Chrissy. Apart from being soaked, he had a couple of scratches on his face but other than that, he looked well and not like a man who had stayed overnight in the hospital.
“Babe?” Chrissy’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s... new.”
I almost laughed despite my near-panicked state. “Sort of new, but yeah, we’re together. Me and Cooper and Nolan. All three of us.”
It felt so strange to say it out loud as if it was no big deal, but it was also really liberating. And I didn’t want it to be a big deal. It was my life, and my new normal. People would accept it or not, but I wasn’t going to get caught up in worrying whether I’d offended anyone’s delicate sensibilities.
To Chrissy’s credit, she’d seemed more surprised by the initial display of affection from the guys who had been my sworn enemies before rather than my news about being in love with both of them.
“It’s funny you say that,” she cocked her head to the side. “You know Muriel is dating Hugh and Cameron, too, right? Like, the three of them together—just like you and your guys.”
I blinked. “Seriously? You sure about that? I mean, I had sort of guessed, but...”
“Pretty sure it’s official,” she shrugged. “But perhaps let her tell you herself, just in case.”
“Babe,” Cooper’s voice rang out through the chaos all around us. “Got some news for you.” He and Nolan elbowed through the crowd until they were standing in front of Chrissy and me again. “Muriel is okay. She’s with Hugh, and they’re both waiting for Cameron at the hospital, so at least they’re all three accounted for.”