by Jess Bentley
Bunny puffs up, sighing with relief. Then she glances down at her phone and her brow furrows again.
“What’s wrong? Is she coming back?”
“It’s a message from Nina,” Bunny affirms, as her fingers drift up to cover her mouth. “She says we look very happy. She was glad to see us. And I’m pregnant.”
Her eyes are wide with shock. I can’t take my eyes off her.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Brock scoffs.
“She really has a flair for drama,” Royce adds wryly.
Spencer leans forward, taking Bunny’s hands in his. “Bunny? Is there anything to what she said?”
I can see her pulse in her throat and the way her neck moves as she swallows several times. She blinks over and over again and her chest heaves with her rapid breathing.
“I don’t know? I mean…”
“Bunny?” Royce growls protectively.
She swallows. “It’s just that… I mean, how long have I been in Chicago?”
“Thirty-eight days,” Spencer answers immediately.
He flinches when he sees us all staring at him. “What?” he adds defensively. “Somebody needs to keep track of things around here, right?”
“I’ve never gotten a period here. Not since I’ve been to Chicago,” she whispers hoarsely.
Slyly, Sully reaches out and takes the wineglass away from her place setting, replacing it with a crystal goblet of water. “Drink this, you’ll feel better,” he suggests.
Wrinkling her nose, she presses her lips together and I finally realize that she is smiling. A secret, excited smile. When she looks up at me, I can see the light in her eyes.
“I haven’t been keeping track,” she confesses. “I mean, I’ve just been having so much fun!”
“Have you been keeping track?” I ask Spencer pointedly.
Spencer shrugs and averts his eyes. “Well… I mean, I didn’t have a baseline to compare it to, but I did know that the cycle was quite long.”
“I suppose I was fertile in Nantucket,” she muses, her voice vague. “You know, when it was all of us that first time? Somewhere around there. So… it could be a little bit all of you, I guess.”
“That’s not exactly how that works,” Spencer remarks.
“Shut up, killjoy,” Brock tells him. “She does have that magical pussy. Maybe she mixed us all together made a Worth super baby. I wouldn’t doubt it.”
“Is it all right?” she asks all of a sudden. “I mean, I know you’re trying to preserve your legacy and all… and there’s already Sophia…”
“You can make as many heirs as you want, Bunny,” Royce rushes to answer.
“Yeah, now that we know how fertile you are, we’re going to be trying to put a baby in you all the time!” Brock crows.
And then we all just sit there and stare at her. She does seem different. Maybe just a little brighter around the eyes. Maybe her breasts are larger. I know that every time I am with her I find her more intoxicating than the last time, but I just thought that meant I was falling for her. But maybe there’s some secret perfume to it too.
But she seems to glow. I know that is a cliché, but it’s true. She’s the brightest thing in the room. The only thing we can see.
Chapter 18
Royce
“All right, can you guys settle down please?”
Sully shrugs at me, jostling Brock and Trey who are both in a headlock, one under each arm. Since Spencer was late getting to the suite, nervous energy accumulated to critical levels and they started roughhousing. Sully never really likes to show off his MMA moves, but today he decided to make an exception, snatching Brock under his knee and swiping his feet out from under him, then tapping Trey in the solar plexus so hard he fell right over. With a guy that big, any strike packs a lot of wallop.
But the twins just kept going at him, until he was finally forced to immobilize them underneath his meaty biceps. They fought for a few seconds, arms flailing, before finally giving up and going limp.
Or maybe they’re unconscious. I sure hope not.
Spencer hurries into the room with a sheaf of papers. He drops them into the middle of the dining table and pulls out a chair to sit in.
“Okay, I think we’re good.”
“Where’s Bunny?”
“Still getting dressed,” Trey calls out from under Sully’s arm. “I asked Mrs. Webster to text me immediately if she leaves the bar. She’s having a chai latte right now.”
“Man, that’s her second one today,” Sully observes.
“Cravings,” Spencer shrugs.
The kitchen door behind me swings open, and I hear the caterers chattering in Portuguese. Since her cravings have also extended to a sudden and frequent need for Brazilian barbecue, we had a crew flown in from our property in Rio.
“Okay, can everyone sit down please?”
Sully grimaces and releases the twins, who scurry to stand up, straightening their ties and cuffs. For good measure, they dart to the other side of the dining table before taking seats, and I catch Brock rubbing his neck painfully.
“Spencer? Take it from here please.”
Spencer sits up straight, drumming his fingers on the table top.
“The issue before us is: should we make an honest woman of Bunny, by engaging her in a legally binding, if novel and unusual, ceremony of poly marriage. She’ll be our lady, and we will be her sworn husbands, from now until the end of time. Yes or no?”
“Yes,” Sully is quick to answer.
“Yes,” the twins chime in, their voices still hoarse.
“Absolutely yes,” I answer.
“I also answer yes,” Spencer says. “It’s unanimous. Who would like to ask her to come up here?”
“Already done,” Trey scoffs. “You guys have about thirty seconds to fix your ties.”
“Wait, what?” Sully barks.
Shrugging, Trey snaps his cuffs and puts his suit coat back on. “That will teach you to put me in a sleeper hold, you brute.”
“I’ll get you later, you—”
“That’s enough!” I intervene. “She’ll be here any second. Get yourself together, all right? Everything is ready on the terrace. This is it, guys.”
Rushing forward, we line up in front of the elevator doors in our father’s antique apartment and wait breathlessly. The elevator shaft rumbles as the cables work on the giant pulleys just above our head. Finally, I see the light rise through the security window. A hand pulls back the accordion grate.
Bunny glances up, her expression immediately changing to a confused smile as she looks at each of us, one at a time. We must look sort of intimidating, all lined up.
“Um, guys? What’s going on?”
From behind us, I hear a coo and know without looking that Magda has brought Sophia into the room as a witness. Bunny’s expression softens as soon as she sees her, but she still doesn’t know what’s going on.
One by one, we all drop to one knee in front of her. As the oldest, I have the honor. I pull the box from my jacket pocket and hold it out to her, opening it. I swear that even in the afternoon light of this dark, dusty apartment, the light through the diamond catches fire and reflects in her wide eyes.
“Bunny… you’ve made us so happy. You are the woman we’ve always been searching for,” I tell her, my voice choked with emotion. “And we need to know… will you marry us?”
Her fingers drift toward the ring, but then she pulls her hand back.
“Marry you?” she repeats, startled. “But that’s… I mean, that doesn’t even actually makes sense, does it? You can’t marry five guys. Is isn’t legal.”
“Actually, we can do whatever we want. Sky’s the limit. We’re rich enough to buy our own country, make one law that says you, Bunny Norris, can marry five men, and then hold the ceremony there if you want to.”
She bounces on her toes, smiling giddily. “That’s how rich you are? You didn’t tell me you were island-buying rich. Do we have one of th
ose?”
“I can have one by the end of tomorrow,” Sully answers confidently.
“You know… I totally believe you,” she replies. “Well… if I said yes… that’s it? We’re husbands and wife? Just like that?”
“One step at a time,” I caution her. “First, what’s your answer?”
Her eyes sweep back and forth, gazing at all of us who are humbled before her on one knee. Her fingers slide unconsciously over her belly, which hasn’t changed yet with the new life inside her. But any day now, it will.
“Um… yes!” she smiles. “And yes! And yes! And yes! And yes!”
Standing, I pluck the ring from the box, a four-carat, marquee-cut perfect diamond set in a brushed platinum band. She holds her hand up to me and I take it in mine, feeling the birdlike tremble in her fingers as I slide it onto her ring finger, then draw her hand up to my mouth and kiss her palm.
“Well, now that that’s done,” Mrs. Webster chirps, appearing with a satisfied smile, “I need you to come with me. I have something to show you in the bedroom.”
Mrs. Webster whisks her off and I hear my brothers breathe a collective sigh of relief.
“She said yes. She really said yes!” Trey marvels. “I mean, I don’t see why she wouldn’t, but then, it feels really good to know she would!”
Spencer claps his hands together and then rubs them. “Okay,” he says nervously. “Time for act two. You ready?”
We are all ready.
The sun is just starting to set and the lights are all on in the terrace, trees illuminated with tiny fairy sparks, garlands of slowly twinkling lights all around the perimeter. Breathlessly we watch the French doors, waiting for the moment she will appear.
When she does, I am awestruck. Mrs. Webster beams proudly from behind her, nudging her to the rose petals-strewn white carpet at her feet. Bunny stands, resplendent in a white silk gown that falls to the floor. The thousands of hand-sewn crystals glitter subtly in the fabric as she sways back and forth, beaming at us.
“Oh my God,” I hear myself say under my breath.
At that instant, a string quartet begins softly playing the bride’s processional march. Startled, Bunny glances at them… then begins to giggle. Her eyes fly wide in alarm, but the giggles overtake her. She holds up her hands as if begging us to wait.
But she doesn’t stop. The sound of her laughter is as musical as the quartet. Mrs. Webster takes her by the elbow and begins to lead her down the aisle, even as Bunny attempts to gain control of herself.
“I don’t know why this is happening!” she hiccups pitifully. “Honestly! I mean, it’s just all so beautiful!”
“Pregnancy symptom,” Spencer adds sagely. “Uncontrollable laughter and bouts of emotion are perfectly understandable, Bunny. It’s just part of this whole, wonderful process.”
Tears begin to stream down her face. She brushes them with her hand, dropping white rose petals from her bouquet into her décolletage.
“Oh no!” she pouts at the flowers. “I mean… the beautiful flowers!”
The giggles change, and she finally gets control of herself just a little bit. But it’s too late. Sully chuckles along with her, then the twins, finally Spencer. After a while, I can’t help it either. It’s just all so wonderful, she’s right.
The pastor steps forward. “It’s true, laughter is a blessing,” he smiles kindly. Somehow, Spencer located the only pastor in Chicago who would officiate a poly marriage.
“Really?” she breathes. “You think it’s a blessing?”
“Sometimes we can’t control our joy,” he adds.
“It’s a blessing!” she titters.
I pull her toward me, pressing my lips to her forehead.
“You’re utterly perfect,” I reassure her. “Laughing, crying, the whole lot. We want it all, don’t forget.”
Pressing her lips together, she stares up at me and sighs. “You really are a dream come true, you know that?”
“We feel exactly the same way.”
The string quartet continues to play as we line up in front of the pastor, listening to him talk briefly about love, commitment, and dedication to family. He says that the trials of love are small compared to the boon of love. He blesses us, bids us a long and fulfilling life together, with all of the lives we will bring into the world, asking only that we promise to place each other first in our hearts, allowing no entry for any other love greater than this.
“Finally, I have to ask. Do you, Belinda Norris, take these men to be your husbands? Committed to you forever, and you to them?”
“I do,” she says in a small, awestruck voice.
He clears his throat. “And do you, Royce, Sullivan, Spencer, Brock, and Trey Worth, take this woman to be your wife, to treasure and service, forsaking all others, for the rest of your lives?”
“We do!”
“Then, by the power vested in me by our great Creator, I pronounce you men and wife! You may kiss your bride!”
The strings begin playing a triumphant tune, music echoing all around the terrace. Then she hands her bouquet to Mrs. Webster and waits patiently as we each come to her, our new wife, to place a lingering, tender kiss on her beautiful mouth.
Sophia giggles happily, arms waving, her chubby fists air as Magda bounces her from side to side. “This is crazy,” I hear Bunny whisper again.
“It might be crazy,” I tell her, pushing away from her eyebrows. “But it’s our fairy tale. We can write it however we want.”
EPILOGUE
Bunny
Being pregnant has left me a little bit of a shut-in. All of our plans for travel got canceled the minute that Spencer found out that I was pregnant. He said there was some documentation that the radiation exposure to pregnant women during airplane flights was equivalent to something like twenty-eight billion chest x-rays or something like that.
So, I’m cranky. I can’t leave Chicago, and even though Chicago is super great and wonderful, I can’t leave. And that’s all I want to do—to be able to move around.
Sophia gives me a lopsided smile as I put her in her crib. As soon as I lay her down, she immediately stands up, hanging onto the crib rail and bouncing up and down. She just had her first birthday party and has taken a few steps already. This cute, perfectly white little tooth popped out of the bottom of her mouth, and it’s making her quite slobbery. It’s making her quite adorable, too.
But it’s nap time, so I kiss her on her forehead and waddle back out of the room, holding my aching back.
Catching sight of myself in the mirror as I go past makes me want to giggle. I look like a lollipop on two spindly legs. I would say that it is safe to call me ginormous at this point. Completely ginormous.
My iPad chimes and I shuffle over, tapping the screen to connect the video chat. Dahlia appears, waving frantically.
“Hey, mama!” she grins. “You still pregnant?”
I turn to the side so she can get the full glory of my belly on her screen.
“You know what, I am really starting to hate it when people ask me that. It makes me want to tell them that I’m not just to fuck with them.”
“Oh, don’t be such a crank!” she giggles. “When people don’t know what to say, they just say crazy things. What they mean is you look beautiful, Bunny! Positively radiant!”
“Radiant like a supernova, ready to blow, I figure,” I quip.
“Close enough! Is Sophia around? Does she want to say hi to Knox?”
“No,” I answer absentmindedly, peeking through a box of imported chocolates to try to find one I feel like eating. Strangely, none of them are appealing to me right now even though all I wanted was chocolate just yesterday. Figures.
Pretty soon, I’ll own my own body again, and may be able stop acting so damn weird.
I know, I know. I’m cranky.
“No?” Dahlia prods.
“Oh, sorry… I got distracted by chocolate. I meant that Sophia just went down for a nap. I’ll tell her that Knox said hi.”
“Yeah, let’s keep those two in touch. Wouldn’t it be cool if they got to be friends? Maybe even dating eventually or something like that? Falling in love? Getting married?”
Shaking my head, I force myself to eat a chocolate-covered raisin. It is disappointing.
“Let’s not marry them off just yet, okay? I bet Sophia is going to have a big problem trying to get approval for any suitors from her five dads, you know what I mean?”
“Jeez, yeah,” Dahlia exhales. “I can only imagine. I had enough trouble trying to get Daddy to sign on to me and August. And they were best friends forever!”
“So true. Hey, I need to get going. Today is Trey and Brock’s day, and I’m not sure how long Sophia will be napping. Plus, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be feeling quite this frisky, you know? I gotta get it while I can.”
Dahlia wrinkles her nose. I have told her all about Trey and Brock, mostly because it scandalizes her so much. She couldn’t believe it at first. Actually, it turns out that she had no idea what I was walking into, and August hadn’t believed the rumors. He just assumed that I could take care of myself, and he was right. Little did he know he was sending me to my fairy tale ending.
But maybe he had some kind of intuition. Dahlia was always so judgmental about my love life, it actually feels pretty good to have something completely over-the-top to wave in her face. This is just how I was made. I am just a sexy, sexy bitch.
“To be honest, I can’t get enough of them,” I sigh, stroking my giant belly. “But since I have gotten so heavy, I think we’re gonna try doing it in the hot tub today. Not too hot, because of the baby, but it will be nice to be light on my feet again.”
Stroking my belly, I start to get turned on just thinking about it. If I touch myself just right, it sends shivers all over me, even across my giant boobs. I never knew how much fun really big breasts could be. But one time Sully started rubbing his dick in between them while I held them together until he came all over my chin. After that I suddenly understood why all those women wanted to get boob jobs. It’s like a secret sexual sign only people in the know understand.