Page 28 of Let it Snow Queen
THREE HOURS PRIOR.
KOJI
Ididn’t want to love her. Seeing her flaming, dark-red hair in the forest was like encountering a forest fire. A strong and deadly force. Something to be avoided and run from. Pushing her away was so easy when she looked so sexy angry. I tried to run, I tried to play with fire, and I ended up hopelessly in love. The realization hit after our night altogether, us four. This was what we all needed. She was it.
Ruby had disappeared upstairs to lay Declan down for a nap. Damn, if that little boy wasn’t the most adorable kid on the planet. She didn’t know yet that Gallow, Fox, and I had alwayswanted to be dads. We loved children and would be happy with a house full of them. We’d been together since college, and now, almost ten years post-college, we wanted to settle down. We’d built our agency together and commanded the screen on our television show. Everything was easily understood between my friends and me. And we knew we wanted to stick together. The thought of us each marrying someone and moving away, being pulled away from each other . . . Yeah, that idea sucked. So we hoped, dreamed, and joked about finding a woman willing to be with all three of us. It was a tall order, but then Ruby came into our lives. And god, her family did it, and they were happy as fuck. We saw it, and we wanted it too.
Fox fiddled with cardboard on the staircase. When he met my stare, I signed, “Looks good, but a toddler probably shouldn’t play on the stairs.”
“I’ll be watching him.It’s fine. He’ll love it.”
Gallow strode out of the kitchen with a cookie in hand. “I tell you what; you don’t meet families like this every day. Reminds me of my big ole’ crew back in Ireland.”
“So, we’re doing this then? Because if we’re doing this with her, I won’t let us half-ass it. It’s her, and only her, forever. She’s got a kid and enough heartbreak to last her a lifetime—”
Fox snapped his fingers, interrupting my monologue. “Dude, we were down way before you were. We should be asking you if you’re serious. Gallow and I are sold. I’m in love, man.”
Gallow clapped me on the back, probably wiping cookie dust on my shirt. “Yer high off yer arse if you think I’m letting that angel of a woman get away.”
“Okay then. I guess we convince her and Declan to come back to Hope Falls with us for this project . . . or if she wants to stay here for a while, we could trade off, fly back and forth.” The logistics played through my head like plywood boards on a newbuild. This was a house we were building. A solid home to last us all a lifetime.
“We’ll figure it all out, man,”Fox said. “In the meantime, you know the biggest challenge will be convincing her dads that we’re legit.”
Gallow chuckled. “He’s not wrong. Solid men, though. I feel like we could learn a thing or two from Desmond and Cedric.”
The doorbell rang. I stood from where I sat on the stairs and opened it, seeing a blond man in a white coat leaning against his car. I’d seen a photo of him before . . . in Ruby’s scrapbook.Oh fuck.
I walked down the stairs. “Can I help you?”
He huffed in annoyance. “Who the hell are you?”
The front door closed, and I felt Gallow and Fox appear on either side of me. “We’re Ruby’s men. Who the fuck are you?” I asked back, just as threatening.
He raised his eyebrows and clapped his hands together once. “Wow . . . so the little whore followed in her family’s footsteps and found several dicks to suck—”
Gallow stepped down and, in two bounds, was upon this jackass. Neither Fox nor I stopped him as he reared back and punched that asshole right across his clean-shaven face. The man dropped to his knees. “I’m filing a police report; this is assault. I’m here to get my son.”He clutched his bloodied nose.
Fox pulled him up to his feet by his collar. “Aren’t hands important to surgeons?”
“Ah yes,” Gallow answered. “It would probably tank his career if we shattered his hands.”
“What the actual fuck?” The slimy bastard whimpered, pulling out of Fox’s hold. “I’m here to get my son.”
“Yeah?” I stepped forward, anger making me see red. “Where were you when Ruby was pregnant? Where were you as she’sraised that perfect little boy all on her own, huh? You’re not getting near either of them,” I growled.
“My girlfriend wants to see him, and he’s half mine,” he replied, straightening his doctor’s coat and rubbing his jaw.
I stepped forward, glaring daggers. “If you want to see your kid, put your money where your mouth is. Let’s go to court. Let’s see what a judge thinks about your uninvolvement in Declan’s life. And if you do get custody time? I want you to know that my guys and I here have more money than god, and we’ll fund it every step of the way. I’ll call in my television references and get media coverage. I’ll trash your name; you’ll never find work.”
“Fuck you,” he spat. “I don’t care about the kid. I want to impress my girlfriend, alright? No need for violence and threats.”
Fox waved him off, disgusted, and turned away.
“Get the fuck out,” Gallow said lowly. “And if you ever bother Ruby again, I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Goddamn psychos,” the deadbeat swore as he slid back into his waxed red sports car and peeled out. When I turned, I paused at seeing the men who’d silently joined us on the stairs.
“I’m not sorry,” I said honestly to Ruby’s fathers. “He deserved that and more—”