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Either way, I had a more pressing matter. “You’re not supposed to call Archie Daddy anymore, Sir,” I said. “He’s Dada now.”
He furrowed his brow. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Sloan has a theory, but you’re gonna have to ask him.”
Not wanting any follow-up questions, I took off in a run to catch up with Daddy.
Alongside the main house, the smell became stronger, and I stepped on shattered glass next to the fire escape ladder thingy. I didn’t want to peer inside the club area yet. I wasn’t ready. I saw it every night in my dreams, with flames licking the walls.
When I reached the back, I came to a stop and released a breath. Patio furniture had been knocked over and pushed away, presumably when everyone had poured out of the nightclub on the night of the fire. The patio doors were nothing but metal frames, with a million tiny pieces of glass littered all over.
The entrance was sealed off by bright-yellow tape.
I couldn’t wait to hear what the investigation said. Hopefully, we’d be able to rebuild quickly.
I was totally going to bid on a bunch of stuff at the auction. If you asked me, it was a good place to spend your savings, and I was fortunate to have any.
I’d never been one of those career-driven people who wanted to get rich. My one luxury that I was relieved to have, aside from my little condo, was the means to travel comfortably and be able to upgrade my mom’s ticket. A trip in business class spared me anxiety and hours of being overwhelmed by lines and incessant background noise.
But big house walls and expensive gadgets would never bring me security and stability. People did that. Good people. Family. Greer and Archie and Daddy—my new Daddy, whom I already adored so much.
I wanted nothing more than to be part of their future.
I wanted to spend these next few months recovering from my past and falling in love with my future. Falling in love with these three amazing men.
I walked past the cabins until I reached Master Greer’s, and I skipped up onto the porch and looked back. He was almost here, but he was focused on making funny faces with Kyla.
I smiled.
He was definitely worth falling in love with.
The way he loved and protected and cared for his family was indescribable. Same thing with Archie and Sloan, how they shared Greer’s dreams and did everything they could to make them come true. It was hard work and required lots of attentiveness.
“Are you coming, Pop?”
He shot me a smirk. “I am, my boy.”
Gah.
I gave my surroundings another glance, from the house that deserved many more days of glory, the patio where we’d hosted countless barbecues, the pool area, down the slanted lawn to where our temporary club was being built in the shadow of the forest. They’d had to cut through the thicket that lined the sides of the property in order to deliver the massive shipment. So far, they’d leveled the ground on which the tent structure would stand.
I was more than ready to contribute, ’cause this was my home too.
Fuck Denver in the c-word.
As Greer reached the porch, I opened the door to the cabin, and my eyebrows flew all the way up. Holy crap! We had guests. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, River and Reese and Shay, a cupcake tower—that was a cupcake tower with lots of candles!
“The cat dragged in a birthday boy!” Colt was here! With Lucas and Kit.
I grinned so hard and felt a bunch of emotions welling up.
“Happy birthday, Corey!” Kit blew into a party whistle.
They all wore party hats!
My vision became blurry as I stepped farther in and was engulfed in hugs from Daddy, Reese, Shay, and Lucas. Everyone wished me a happy birthday, and Greer said he couldn’t fucking believe he was dating a twenty-four-year-old, and I laughed and sniffled and wiped at my cheeks.
I couldn’t believe them!
Daddy dipped down and gave me a smooch, and he put a party hat on me.
Then Archie rushed forward to guide me to the kitchen table just next to the kitchenette. “Tate and Kingsley couldn’t make it, but they sent their love and a gift for you.”
I exhaled unsteadily. A dozen colorful presents surrounded the cupcake tower.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I croaked.
They’d celebrated me plenty this morning before Greer was off to work. Archie had prepared a feast of a breakfast, with Cocoa Puffs, the best blueberry muffins in the world, and fresh strawberries.
“We wanted to.” Archie kissed my cheek.
“Open my present first!” Kit squeezed through and grabbed one of the boxes on the table. “This comes with an invitation for a playdate. You and I can be in my hobby room while our Daddies gossip and drink coffee.”
“We don’t gossip,” Colt corrected. “We inform one another. Like right now, I’m informing Greer that I’m older than he is and you’re younger than Corey.”
