Page 20 of Four Fiances & I

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask, frowning.

“The whole dog thing. Is it going to be an issue later down the line?”

We look down the stairs together, where Jasmine is excitedly playing with the dog as she shows him to Mrs Brown, who has joined them. It sounds like Maximus has asked her to take the puppy while Jasmine opens her presents.

“I would have preferred for him to have checked with us, but it's done now. She is happy, and that’s all that matters.”

I can feel Jason watching me as I start to descend the stairs. I didn’t lie; all that matters to me is her happiness, and I know there will be times when my brothers make her happier than me. It’s something we have all had to come to terms with quickly. Otherwise, this relationship would never work.

“Come on, you two! Hurry up already!” Jasmine exclaims happily, which only lightens my mood further. This is a side of her I love to watch. I don’t think she has ever had the chance to enjoy being her true self before. She is so full of energy and enthusiasm she’s unable to stand still, so she bounces from one foot to the other with a massive smile and her eyes sparkling with excitement.

As we head to the room and watch her bouncing around excitedly, waiting to go inside, I wonder what age her Christmases stopped being about the excitement and magic and just became about surviving her abusive drug addict of a mother.

“You ready, Princess?” Sean asks with his hand on the door handle, looking at us all to check we are ready to enter.

“YES! Hurry up already!” she laughs.

“Okay. Three. Two. One,” Sean throws open the door, and Jasmine freezes.

Inside is the biggest tree we could find, and it's all lit up, with lights and ornaments she hand-picked or made with Mrs Brown. A big pile of presents is underneath the tree, much bigger than we usually have under there, not that we bother with a tree when it was just the four of us.

“Shorty? Are you okay?” Maximus asks as we all notice how silent and still Jasmine has become. He reaches and places a hand on her shoulder.

“Sweetheart, if it’s too much, just say,” I whisper as she continues to stare at the room.

“I …” Jasmine’s voice breaks a little as a tear escapes and slides down her cheek. Looking at my brothers, I find them all looking exactly how I feel—terrified that we have overwhelmed her. That this is all still too much after everything she has been through.

“Jazzy? We can come back or do things differently,” Jason starts, but Jasmine finally seems to snap out of it when she turns around and throws herself at him.

“It's perfect,” she sobs as she takes a step back before throwing herself at me as she starts to cry.

“Sweetheart?” I hold her as she sobs into my chest.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers before stepping out of my arms and turning to Sean to hug him before finally holding Maximus.

“What are you apologising for?” he asks, running a hand over her head, looking around at us all worried.

“For being an emotional mess,” she giggles, stepping back and wiping her face. A big smile reappears as she looks at all four of us. “Did you do all of this for me?”

“Of course we did, Princess. We told you we wanted to give you the Christmas you deserved,” Sean answers, putting an arm around her shoulder.

“Thank you, all of you.” Jasmine makes a point of looking at each of us individually, showing us how much we mean to her.

“You’re more than welcome, Angel. Now come on, let’s see what Santa has brought you,” Jason announces as Jasmine squeals excitedly, grabs his hand and pulls him into the room.

Walking in behind the twins, who are laughing happily, I take a moment to watch them all as they shower each other in love and know that no matter what, I will always strive to give them everything they need and want because nothing else matters more than our family.

No matter what comes our way, I will always protect them to the best of my ability, even with my life, if that’s what it takes.

ChapterNine

JASMINE

I look around the dining room table and smile as I watch my guys and our friends laughing and joking together. The table that usually sits twelve has been compacted so eight of us can sit together comfortably.

The guys, of course, pulled out all the stops today. They have spoilt me and spent far too much money as usual. But it's something I’m starting to come to terms with.

The O’Reillys have a lot of money and want to spend it on me as it brings them joy, so I let them. Do I wish they would tone it down a little? Of course, but whenever I bring it up, they just shrug and say they work hard for what they have and want to spend it on me.

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