Page 22 of Six of Hearts
"Okay. Don't take too long," Liam said.
"Bye."
"Bye," Gabriel and I both responded, and then the line went dead.
I started to climb out of Gabriel's car, but he grabbed my arm and stopped me.
I looked over my shoulder, and his face was stone serious. "What?" I asked.
"I just think, before we do this, I want you to know…" Gabriel began, and I'd never seen him look so serious before.
"That last shot you got off."
"Yeah?" I said.
"It only brought you up to eight. I still won with ten points," Gabriel said, then he flashed a dumb smile.
I flipped him off, climbed out of the car, and slammed the door. Moron. I actually thought he had something serious to say. I probably should have known better. I made my way to my own car and expeditiously returned to my home.
I took a quick shower, dressed myself in something comfortable, and then made my way over to Noah's house. Everyone had already gathered, and once drinks were poured and everyone was comfortable in the den, Noah checked his watch.
"Alright, we don't have much time. Aria is picking the kids up from school and bringing them here, so we gotta talk and talk fast," he said.
"Tell us everything," Gabriel said.
"It happened really quickly," Liam said.
"I asked her to hang out while I tucked Mila in, and when I came back, she was making herself an ice cream and coffee liqueur bowl. I got one myself, and once we were both a little tipsy, she asked me about our dating lives. I tried to keep it vague, but I think she could tell I was lying and pushed."
"I'm sure she could tell you were lying. You're a horrible liar," I said.
"Anyway," Liam continued.
"Once she pushed me enough, I told her the truth about us sharing a woman, usually the nanny. I thought she was going to freak out, but she really just looked intrigued. We started talking about arrangements; twosomes, threesomes; and I think she got turned on. She climbed onto my lap, kissed me, and things escalated from there. I knew what we'd decided, so I didn't want to sleep with her just yet, even though she would have let me. But we didn't exactly stop at talking."
Gabriel leaned forward. "So she's interested. Actually interested."
"It seems that way," Liam said. "But that's the thing—I don't know if she fully understands what she's getting into. This isn't just about attraction. It's about seven kids, five men, and a very unconventional situation."
"Which is exactly why we need to handle this carefully," Ronan said, speaking up for the first time. "Aria is caring for our children. More than that, they all seem to adore her. We can't afford to rush into something without being absolutely certain she understands what this means."
I nodded. "Ronan's right. My ex left because she couldn't handle the pressure of being a cop's wife. If Aria's going to be part of this, she needs to know what she's signing up for. All of it."
"So what do we do?" Julian asked. "Just... wait and see?"
"No," Noah said. "We need to have a real conversation with her. Lay everything out clearly. Make sure she knows this isn't just about physical attraction—it's about building something together. A family."
"The question is who has that conversation," Gabriel said, looking around the room.
Liam raised his hand. "I'll do it."
Gabriel raised his hand higher.
"No! I'll do it."
"Okay, so clearly we can't trust either of those two," Julian said. He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow, then shifted his gaze to Ronan.
"Ronan, you should do it."
