Page 152 of Daddies' Holiday Toy
There’s something there in them when I look hard. Regret, yes, but something else too.
Resolve.
I don’t know what to say to that, so I just nod again.
Jack shifts, leaning back into the couch cushions.
“This isn’t easy for any of us. But the truth is…we care about you, Holly. More than we should. And the idea of walking away from you, and from this baby, it doesn’t sit right with me.”
My heart lurches at his words. “So…what are you trying to say?”
Reece glances at Jack, then at Liam, like they’re silently agreeing on who should be the one to spell it out for me.
Eventually, it’s Reece who says, “We’re saying we want to be here. For you. For the baby. However you’ll have us.”
I blink at him, the words taking a moment to land. “You mean…allof you?”
Liam nods. “If you’ll let us.”
My eyes immediately dart to Reece. “What about…what happened before? What you said, Reece…about not wanting to be a dad again?”
His jaw works, chewing over the words before he says them. “I was scared. Fuck, I still am. But I’ve had time to think, and…maybe it’s not about what I planned for my life. It’s about what’s in front of me right now. And right now, that’s you. And that’s what I want.”
My eyes sting, but I refuse to cry.
Not yet, at least. “You guys…you have no idea what this week has been like. Everyone’s been talking. I’ve lost all my orders. I feel like I’m watching my whole life collapse in slow motion.”
Jack’s gaze sharpens.
“That stops today. Whatever they’re saying about you, it’s bullshit. We should’ve been here before to protect you, but we’re here now.”
There’s so much I want to say about how much they hurt me by leaving me in limbo, about how scared I’ve been since they’ve been gone, about how much I missed them even while resenting them.
But instead, I just whisper, “Why now?”
Liam shifts forward, resting his elbows on his knees so he’s leaning closer to me.
“Because we realized we’re already in this, no matter what. And honestly? Wewantto be. We want you, we have feelings for you. We just needed to get over our own shit first to see that.”
I break out into a laugh despite myself.
It sounds a little hysterical coming up, hell maybeI’mhysterical, but it feels good to finally let my emotions out.
Jack stands, crossing the room until he’s in front of me.
He kneels at my feet, putting both of his hands on my thighs.
“Holly. Will you have us?”
I hesitate for half a second before I lean forward and kiss him, letting him pull me up from my chair.
Then he’s wrapping his arms around me, solid and warm, and the scent of his cologne hits me like a memory I didn’t know I was missing.
Reece joins a moment later, his hand sliding gently over my hair, and then Liam’s there too, his palm warm against my back.
I’m surrounded, cocooned by them, and for the first time in days, I feel like I can actually breathe again.
No one says anything.
