“What’s the matter, mate? Feeling trapped?” Mitch asked.
Leah chuckled.
“Yeah, little bit. This is a huge responsibility. If it was anyone else I’d be freaking out.” Chase slid the ring onto his finger and smiled. “I’ve been your guy ever since you fell into my arms at this very park. This just guarantees you’ll never be able to get rid of me.”
She slid her ring onto her finger, smiling at both men. Mitch did the same with his finger.
“I’ve always been married to you, Leah.” Mitch kissed her head. Together they walked back to her parents’ house. She showed her mother the ring and told what it meant.
She’d come up with the idea while staring at Marvin in his crib. There was no way she’d pick between her two best friends. She knew she could marry one while the other lived with them, but that arrangement didn’t feel right to her. No one could stop them being happy. They were not breaking any laws by being in love.
Taking Marvin off her mother, she joined the rest of the guests in the garden.
****
Mitch ate the burger in his hands watching his woman with their son in her arms. Chase stood next to him drinking a beer. “She looks stunning,” he said.
His friend smiled. Mitch looked at Chase, wondering what he was thinking.
“You could have taken her then and there,” Chase said. “In the park, you could have told her the truth.”
Mitch rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve never been an underhand player, Chase. We agreed to this.”
“But you know who Marvin’s father is.” Chase swallowed more beer.
Mitch knew that his son was in Leah’s arms. That Friday night all those months ago played in his mind all the time. When they’d found out about Leah being pregnant Chase had told Mitch he was unable to have children. The baby Leah was carrying had to be his.
Years ago Chase had gotten mumps when he was a child, and he’d been bed-bound for weeks. Mitch hadn’t known that the illness had taken Chase’s ability to father children.
The fight they’d had over their love for Leah when they were teenagers came to him. Chase had always been in love with Leah.
“You’re right. I could have taken Leah. I knew I was the father of Marvin, but my son is going to be the luckiest boy in the world because he’s going to have two fathers who love him.” Mitch pulled his friend close and hugged him. “I don’t care about all that shit, Chase. We agreed to share her, and Leah is so happy. How could we deny her everything she ever wanted?”
Chase rubbed his eyes, wiping the tears from them. “I can’t believe you’d do this for me.”
“You’ll get to be a father to children, Chase. They may come from me, but they’ll be ours.” When Mitch found out about Chase’s inability to father children, he’d demanded he get tested to make sure. The results had taken a few weeks to come, but the evidence was in black and white. At least it had been until Mitch burnt the papers. “Leah never needs to know. She loves us both, Chase. I won’t tell her, and neither will you.”
“Tell me what?” Leah asked. Marvin was asleep in her arms, looking absolutely perfect.
“You’ve got baby sick on your shoulder,” Chase said.
“Shoot. Here, have your son while I go and change.” Leah handed Marvin to Chase then disappeared into the house.
“Remember, we’re in this together. You can never abandon us,” Mitch said.
****
Chase looked at the boy in his arms. Tears welled in his eyes at the love he felt for this little man. When she’d given birth a part of him had thought Mitch would tell Leah to claim her as his own. His own insecurity had been getting to him in the heat of the moment. He looked at Mitch seeing his best friend smile.
“We’re just friends, but we’re a family.”
Nodding his head, Chase rocked Marvin in his arms. The boy was asleep, but Chase liked the action. It soothed him.
Mitch ate his burger, and then Leah took the baby. Chase watched his two friends and the people he loved. They’d given him far more than friendship. They’d given him a chance to have a family.
He left to go to the bathroom. His father followed him. They stared at each other before his father patted him on the back.
“I know that grandbaby isn’t mine, Chase.”
“I don’t care what you think, Dad. That baby is mine, and if you want to treat him any differently then I’ll cut you out of his life. I can’t help what happened to me. Either accept him, or back off.”
“Mitch knows, doesn’t he?” his father asked.
“He knows and is more than happy with it. We’re a family, and I’ll never have you tell me otherwise.”
He walked into the bathroom and stared at his reflection. Chase stared down at the ring on his finger, and the love her felt for both people wearing the exact same rings hit him in the chest.
Finally, he was getting everything he ever wanted.
Chase smiled as he made his way down the stairs. The love he felt showed on his face and in the way he walked over to his family.