He rolls his eyes. “I keep trying, but you know how prickly he is.”
We laugh until Roman comes out. He shakes my hand. “Whatever Gunner’s saying ... don’t believe a word.”
Gunner pulls the apron over his head. “Just you wait, lover boy.”
CHASE
Iget over the jealousy of Gunner having his hands on our girlfriend after seeing him try and get cozy with Roman. Sophie puts her son in Valerie’s arms, then corrects how she’s holding him twice until our girlfriend and the baby are face to face.
Anyone can tell that Valerie’s nervous holding the baby, but after a second of the two looking at each other, Link giggles, then grabs a handful of Valerie’s hair and babbles as he jerks.
“Ooh. You have a better grip than Hunter does,” Valerie says. “but hair is not a toy.”
Hunter smirks at that.
Sophie pulls a little lion out and shows it to Link. He squeals and grabs at it eagerly. Valerie adjusts him in her arms and she and Sophie go to talk on the couch. Hunter goes to catch up with Gunner, not surprising, but Lief’s also in the kitchen, talking to Roman softly.
With nothing else to do, I sit at the bar.
“Do you have a recipe for homemade pasta? The ones I see taste terrible or don’t cook well,” Lief says to Roman. “I’d like to make something better for Valerie.”
“I can give you a recipe for gnocchi. It’s Sophie’s favorite,” Roman offers. “It’s more filling and seems fancier. It pairs well with red wines, or white if you make it into a soup.”
We catch up and I talk to Nick once he joins us. We talk about a whole lot of nothing until Sophie and Valerie go to the balcony. Roman lets the food simmer and nudges Gunner despite him being in the middle of a story.
“Lief, you asked to make sure we got alone time,” Roman says.
Lief nods, glances to Hunter and me, then takes a slow breath. “How did all of you manage to marry Sophie?”
“Are you asking proposal-wise, asking the family, setting up the marriage, or the legality?” Nick asks.
“The legality is the biggest issue on my mind.” I inform him.
Just then Holden comes in, shirtless and wearing pajama pants. He scratches at his head. “Hi, everyone. Where’s Link?”
“Outside visiting with Valerie.” Gunner says. “Legal-wise, Sophie’s only married to Roman. She considers us all her husbands, but as far as the law is concerned, I’m a lowly lover, cuckolding Roman occasionally since the hunk won’t take pity on me.”
Roman shoves Gunner.
Lief nods. “One on paper, but you live together, raise the child together, and have no problem?”
“Well, we still get some looks, but that’s nothing new,” Nick discloses. “Sophie is taking a full year on maternity leave.”
“We’re trying to convince her to do that. She hasn’t agreed yet,” Holden reminds him.
“But it would be possible, if we wanted to, for us to marry Valerie.” Hunter digs his heels in.
Gunner looks between us. “It’s been what, five months?”
“I knew after the first six weeks,” Lief informs.
I blink at him a few times. He’s known this long that he wants to marry Valerie and he hasn’t said a word? I feel my stomach flip as I look over at her, laughing and teasing Link before passing him back to Sophie and relaxing visibly.
“She’s perfect for us,” I admit. “In ways, I didn’t know was possible.”
“But it’s not just Sophie you’re marrying. Not really.” Roman informs. I meet his eyes as he looks between the three of us. “I can’t get rid of this one.”
“Me?” Gunner pouts. “I was getting up the courage to tell you I love you and give you an extra special ring. Do all of our late nights feeding the baby mean nothing?”