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Which is why he wants to legally marry her—at least one of the reasons. The possessive side of him wants her to have his last name, I’m sure, but being her husband legally also gives him more involvement. With medical decisions, financial situations, just in every way that a legal marriage binds two people together.
“This situation is different because we—us guys—are all in different places in our lives,” I say. “But we were when we all got started. This can’t really be a surprise, McNeill. When it comes to dating, we give Danielle very different things. In good ways. We complement each other. But when it comes to these real-life situations and the future, obviously we’re on different pages."
“You think?” Crew asks. He shakes his head. “I had to get involved with a woman who fell in love with two old guys, didn’t I? I should have introduced her to some young, hot hockey players who weren’t thinking about marriage either and—”
He’s cut off by a low growl from Nathan.
“McNeill,” I warn. I don’t like the whole idea of Danielle being shared by Crew and two other younger guys, either. At all. Yes, a lot of this current complication probably has to do with Nathan’s and my ages, but it’s our reality and she is with us, no matter how much easier it might be for any one of us if it was different.
“I’m just saying, this sharing thing seemed really straightforward at first,” Crew says.
Yeah. It did.
“So, what do we do?” Nathan asks. “Should we ask her together? I’ll be honest. I’d rather propose on my own.”
I feel both my brows lift. “I wasn’t inviting you to my proposal, Nathan.”
He frowns, but nods. “Right. And I don’t want you on our honeymoon.”
“You’d take her on a honeymoon alone?” I ask. I hadn’t even thought of that.
“Wouldn’t you?” he asks.
I mean…I don’t know. That seems right. It would be Dani and I getting married. I’d love to have time alone with her as my wife. Even if she married Nathan too. But that also seems…wrong.
I scrub a hand over my face. “I don’t know. I guess? But it also feels like we should do all of it together.”
“But we’re not marrying each other,” Nathan points out.
He’s right. On one hand. “But we’re essentially committing to a lifelong relationship together if we’re both committing to that with her.”
He sighs, but nods. “Okay. But if ours is legal, and yours is more of a commitment ceremony, then–”
I cut him off. “I didn’t agree to that. You said you thought that would work but I didn’t say I was okay with that.”
He scowls. “She needs a legal husband.”
“Does she?” I ask. “Why?”
"The children will have one of you on their birth certificates as their biological father,” he says.
I’m starting to understand where he’s coming from.
"But the kids won’t need to feel that one of us is their father more than another,” I say. “There’s nothing at all wrong with children knowing they have four adults who love them equally."
He lifts a brow. "Not to point out the obvious Hughes, but everyone will know which children are yours and which are Crew’s."
Crew snorts. "I can't believe you just said that.”
Nathan glares at him. "Why? It's true. Clearly, it won't matter to us. We'll be there for them.” He looks at me again. “I would be honored if your child considered me a second father. But yes, you both will have obvious claims in their lives."
"You'll feel like you need to have an obvious claim? A place in Dani’s life?" I ask. “You have to know that you do already. Right now.”
He runs an agitated hand through his hair. "I'm just saying that making her legally my wife gives me a specific place in the family."
There it is. It’s not just about control or staking a claim. His last name means something to him because it means something to everyone else. It’s his identity. Literally, but it also informs his place in society and the world. He is Nathan Armstrong and when someone hears that name, they instantly know several things about him. Things he’s proud of. He's used to leaning on that. Of course, it makes sense that he would want to put his last name on the most important thing in his life—Danielle.
I think about having kids. The children will be mine. And Crew’s if he decides he wants that. I suppose the kids could have Dani’s last name, but…I do feel a pang in my chest thinking about it not being Hughes.
