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“I mean, who’s the father?” I asked, thinking they misheard me. My hand slid subconsciously to my lower belly.
“All of us,” Evan said confidently. “The baby’s going to have three fathers. And you’re looking right at them.”
I was confused before. But now I was totally bewildered.
“If you’re asking which one of us served as the donor to your egg, that would be all three of us,” said Joshua. “I know that sounds weird—”
“Weird isn’t the word for it,” I interjected.
“I know,” he acknowledged. “But we’re three friends trying to accomplish one thing. Three men, all looking to co-parent the same child. We could’ve picked one of us, that’s true. Instead we all… contributed,” he cleared his throat. “Your eggs were fertilized simultaneously by all of us. The implanted embryos were chosen by grade, with no idea who the biological father will be.”
“So you’re all… living together.”
Joshua nodded innocently. Evan’s mouth however, curled into a smirk.
“She’s not asking if we live together,” he explained to his friend, his eyes still fixed on me. “She’s asking if we’retogethertogether.”
Joshua’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh.”
“And the answer is yes and no,” Evan added smoothly. “Yes, we do live together. Always have. Always will.” He tipped his beer back, draining the big glass mug down to the suds before clapping it back on the table. “But to answer your other question, no. I’m afraid we’re allverystraight.”
The two men closest to me shifted, but the big brute seated across stayed exactly where he was. He was less scary now that I knew who he was, and I could see that beneath all that beard he was ruggedly handsome. But he had something else about him, too; an aura that seemed almost elemental, like he was part of the wild. Like the blood of wolves ran in his veins.
“But won’t the baby look like one of you?” I asked, pointing at the silent giant. “There’s no mistaking those blue eyes.” I jerked my chin toward Joshua, then Evan. “Or that blond hair. Or that strong, Roman nose.”
Evan shrugged. “Eventually maybe, sure. But right now everything’s equal. There’s a chance it could biologically be anyone’s, but it’ll always beourson,ourdaughter.” His eyes left mine, dropping momentarily to my belly. “A child with three fathers. Three protectors. Three—”
“And no mother,” I blurted without thinking.
All three men glanced at each other. Whatever I just hit on, it was obvious they’d discussed this before.
“I’m sorry,” I conceded. “I didn’t mean itthatway, I was just—”
“No, don’t be sorry,” Evan said finally. “There’ll be a mother one day maybe. If we ever find the right woman.”
Woman…
The word stuck in my head. It seemed intentionally singular.
Woman, not women. That’s what he said.
My stomach dropped like a roller-coaster.
“Look, we’re doing this for some very specific reasons,” Joshua broke in. “Our current jobs…” his voice trailed off as he endured sharp, sideways glances from both his friends. “Well, let’s just say they prevent us from having conventional relationships.”
I chuckled, finally picking up my water glass. “I witnessed that first hand, when the two of you friend-zoned me.”
The guys on either side of me finally looked uncomfortable. I was getting somewhere.
“Look, Quinn we didn’t mean to—”
“Date me?” I cut him off. “Take me out several times with absolutely zero intention of following through?”
They shook their heads vehemently. Both opened their mouths to speak, but I was faster.
“If that was the case, maybe you shouldn’t have given me that steamy hot goodnight kiss.”
I tilted my head toward Evan, who went abruptly white as a sheet. The others shot him a pair of angry looks.
