SOPHIE
Istare at the stack of wedding magazines my mother got me. As if things aren’t all online anymore. I rub my temples and can feel the rings on my fingers brush each other. Glancing at my very heavy left hand, I feel heart-soaring love but also pressure.
We’re down to six weeks now. I got the guys their rings, simple bands, but I tried to take time to pick a specific one out for each of them. It’s been the least stressful thing on the To-Do list Mom made for me. Dress shopping, choosing a color scheme, writing four sets of vows, choosing an officiant, sending out RSVPs, finding a dress, and getting décor set up for the venue. Oh, and finding a place for the reception. So much to do.
And nowhere near enough time to do all of this, work and stay sane. Let alone have sex or go on dates with my men. I groan and let my forehead drop to the table. Maybe the pain will do me good. But instead, my forehead hits something soft and warm.
“Lucky you, I’m here to help with the venue décor.” Gunner murmurs. “Can’t do that if you’re knocked out, sweets.”
“I don’t want to do this. Can we go take a bath?”
“If we can bring the magazines.” He murmurs.
I groan and let him pull his hand back. He kisses the top of my head and rubs down my neck, over my shoulders. I melt into his touch, wanting to lose myself in his hands, his touch, him.
“Let’s procrastinate and do something fun.”
“Like you?” He chuckles, kissing my earlobe, then nibbling. “If we make a few choices, I’ll reward you with an orgasm.”
“You’re going to bribe me into planning our wedding?” I lean back to look at him.
He brushes my hair from my face and kisses my forehead while rubbing my jaw. “I like to think of it as mutual pleasure. Just … delayed.”
“Are we sure we want to do this in six weeks?”
“Honestly, I’d be happy with us just having a reception and doing everything else in private, but now your mother is involved. Make her do all this.” He whispers. “I’ll be the devil on your shoulder. Just fuck us nonstop, show up for the dress thing, say yes to whatever, and drown yourself in ecstasy.”
I hum in my throat. That sounds so much better than all this planning. But … but it’s going to be my only wedding. I’m making sure of that. And it’s important. I want the guys to know exactly how much I love them, how much they are worth to me, all of that.
And as easy as the option is to let Mom handle it all, I feel like it would bother me in the long run or make our wedding less meaningful if we don’t have our say in it. Gunner arches an eyebrow.
“So, what’s it going to be, Sophie? You want to go have fun in bed or start marking some shit before sending it to your mom so we can compromise?”
“I guess we should go through some of these.” I motion to the magazines. “And decide what kind of reception we want: indoor or outdoor.”
Gunner and I go through the magazines. I found a mini sticky-note pack that has five colors so that way all five of us can leave input on things we like – other than the dress. That is for me and me alone. They aren’t allowed to have even a hint.
Gunner looks at décor options for both indoor and outdoor and I look at venues that are close to the Monet gardens. Then I come to a complete stop. Gunner gently rubs my thigh. “What, Soph?”
“How are people going to afford to travel and everything to be at the wedding? Hotels, flights, paying for food.” I shake my head slowly and run my fingers through my hair.
“We’re not going to leave them high and dry, Sophie. We’ll book the rooms for those who RSVP and pay for them. Your bridal party will have their flights paid for and it’s not like we’ll need gifts. We can do a dinner event the night before instead of a rehearsal dinner, and pay for breakfast before the wedding, and breakfast the day after.”
“But-”
Gunner pulls me onto his lap. “We are all richer than we can ever need to be and I don’t see anything better to spend money on than our wedding day.”
“The honeymoon,” I grumble.
He chuckles and kisses me slowly. The heat from his mouth spreads across my body, even down to my toes as they curl. I’m left panting when he draws back. Gunner cups my face in his hands.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. We’ll just get some awesome Airbnb and stay in bed all day until you decide you want a break from us.” His low velvety voice makes my stomach fill with excitement, lust, and need.
How long has it been since I’ve been with any of them, let alone all of them. The night they proposed? No, after that. It was before we all met up with my dad to tell him. Gunner taps my nose. “I see that threat of Naughty Sophie. Put her away until we can put her to use.”
I pout. “You said after we made some choices.”
“Have you made any choices?”