Five Men and a Nanny: A Reverse Harem Romance

by Jess Bentley

  “Of course it’s a fucking issue!” Sully says, dropping his hand on the table so hard the wine glasses teeter dangerously.

  “Is anyone going to listen to me?”

  Bunny looks around as we all grind our teeth and try to stifle our emotions. I’m not sure if we feel defensive or angry or just shocked. Perhaps this is something we should have protected her from?

  “Well, she was nice, sort of,” she continues. “She held Sophia for a minute. She… talked about you guys, but just a little. She’s very pretty.”

  Her eyes go from brother to brother, almost beseeching.

  “She basically told me the same thing you guys told me. That she wasn’t cut out to be a mother. She wanted to be an actress. She didn’t know how to be a… wife, is the word she used,” she finishes uncomfortably.

  We sit in silence for a few moments. Spencer is the first to speak.

  “That’s why you asked me about her? Well, I’m glad our stories all line up, at least. We don’t have anything to hide from you, Bunny. We want everything to be on the table, right, guys?”

  We all murmur affirmation, but realize we haven’t really put everything on the table until just now.

  “Why are you telling us this? Why now?” Sully asks with a pained expression.

  She glances at him, startled. “Because… she’s here. In the restaurant. With us.”

  My heart stops. As if on cue, Nina materializes in front of us. Her green dress hugs her ample curves. Her hair is half hiding her face in a sort of Jessica Rabbit hairdo.

  Placing one hand on her hip, she holds the back of Royce’s chair as she nods at each of us in turn. Royce keeps his gaze down, but I can see the muscle in his jaw clenching.

  “Hello, Nina,” Spencer says politely, automatically taking on the duty of spokesperson. “What a pleasant surprise to see you here. I didn’t realize you were in Chicago.”

  She rolls her shoulders back proudly and raises an eyebrow. “I’ve got a part on Chicago Criminal Background, have you seen the show? Probably not. I’m the new lead detective.”

  I see Bunny duck her head, holding her phone in her lap. I actually feel bad for her. She looks like a puppy who’s been told she’s done something wrong. But this isn’t her fault, not at all.

  “You’re looking well,” I force myself to tell her.

  Her green eyes slide over to me. Even though we used to be lovers, I can barely remember her. She looks like a stranger. Analytically, I understand that she’s beautiful. But there is no room in my heart to find her attractive anymore, apparently.

  Reflexively, I want to take Bunny away from the table. It’s not that I think that Nina is dangerous in any way, it’s just that she doesn’t belong here with us. No one else does, besides us. There is no room in our life for anyone but us and Sophia anymore.

  The silence grows longer, until even Nina seems uncomfortable. She glances around again as though expecting more positive feedback for her dress and hair. But we are all closed off. There’s no connection anymore.

  And it’s sad. I know it’s sad, or at least it should be. But I don’t have room to be sad anymore either.

  “Well, ahem,” she continues with a haughty toss of her hair. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be shooting scenes in town from time to time. Maybe you’d let me come by to say hello to little Sophia if I get a chance to take a break. I’ll be very busy, of course. Very busy.”

  Actually, I have a hard time remembering what we ever saw in her. Was she always this self-centered?

  “Just shoot me a text,” Bunny offers, looking up and smiling with more sincerity than I think I could manage at this point. “We could get something arranged. She should be sitting up pretty soon. I bet you’d like to see that.”

  “Don’t all babies sit up?” Nina asks distractedly. She’s looking over her shoulder, smiling for someone who’s got their cell phone out.

  “Well, no. But pretty soon,” Bunny answers, but Nina isn’t listening anymore.

  I watch Sully as he glances between them, his eyes narrowed shrewdly. All at once, he seems to make a decision, and his expression shifts. It’s a remarkable thing, because Sully had some very strong feelings about Nina before. But all of a sudden, he looks calm.

  “Or you can text me too,” he offers with a nonchalant shrug. “Just let us know what’s going on, Nina. It’s good to see you.”

  She flashes him a brilliant, practiced smile and shrugs girlishly. Her hand drifts up to a strand of her hair that she toys with, twirling it around her finger.

  “Well, that’s really big of you, Sully. Thank you! I guess I’ll get back to my table. I just wanted to say hello, to touch base. I hope we can all be the best of friends, since we’re practically neighbors again.”

  With that, she swoops away, swishing her hips suggestively. But no one’s looking at her. We are all looking at Bunny.

  “Also, I invited her to dinner when we were in Nantucket,” Bunny admits in a rush. “I figured I should just get it all out there. But she didn’t want to come then. I wonder why she wanted to come today?”

  “Today there are photographers,” Spencer explains simply, jerking his chin toward the two men with expensive cameras at the bar.

  “Oh,” Bunny scoffs. “I guess that makes sense. She does seem to like to be looked at. And Sully, it’s really nice of you to offer to chat with her.”

  He leans back, folding his arms over his boulder-sized chest. “It’ll never happen.”

  Bunny squints her eyes, confused. “Then why did you agree to it?”

  “Why make a fuss about it, if it’s never gonna happen?” he explains. Then he looks around at each of us with his eyebrows raised. “Absolutely nothing, am I right? Like, a very serious amount of nothing?”

  “Yeah, I can’t believe it,” Brock shrugs. “I didn’t feel a thing. She’s like a stranger.”

  One by one, we all add in our agreement and I watch Bunny’s smile widen as her cheeks go pink.

  “Oh, you guys,” she chides us, “you don’t have to say that. I’m not jealous, I promise. She’s really quite beautiful.”

  Sully squeezes her hand again. “She doesn’t hold a candle to you, princess. You’re the only woman in the world to us.”

  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 19

  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 those?”

  “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 awestr
uck. 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.”