Page 7 of Stone
Stone released his brother’s neck. Finn had plenty of time before he would have passed out, but Stone wanted to make sure he got his point across.
“Geesh, Stone. Can’t you take a joke?” Finn wheezed, rubbing his throat.
“Man, you need to learn to read the room. Finn is sorry he teased you, isn’t he?” War asked.
Finn nodded.
Stone had hoped after the unicorn bashing fiasco that Finn had learned his lesson. It seemed his brother still had a ways to go.
They talked for a little longer and ate. By the time they got on their bikes to ride, Stone was feeling a little less angry. He was still furious, but it wasn’t an anger he needed to get out. The ride would help him center himself before his first appointment. He hoped Naomi still wanted him to tattoo her. With her sunny personality and beautiful smile, he could see Monarch butterflies with their oranges and black contrasting with the green of plants. Maybe some other flowers or hearts hidden with her girls’ names. He’d have to wait to see what she wanted, but he admitted to himself, he’d be disappointed if she took his suggestion of having one of the women tattoo him.
Chapter Four
Naomi stood in Sarah’s kitchen, waiting for the rest of the women to arrive. Her sisters were all here. Tori, as the oldest, was impatiently waiting to hear what the meeting was about. AJ, her middle sister and peacemaker, was helping Sarah get everyone drinks and food. Lilah and Chloe, the sisters she’d shared a womb with, were talking with the Franks sisters who’d arrived. Chloe, who loved cars, was asking Jesse all sorts of questions about the garage, and Lilah, who was her go-with-the-flow sister, was chatting with Winnie about the gym.
Naomi wasn’t sure who else was arriving, but Sarah had said it would be a big group.
“I’m here. The life of the party or the reigner of chaos if needed,” her cousin Beth announced, walking in with Lilly, one of her dogs, following her in.
“Is reigner a word?” Sarah teased.
“Well, it is if I decide it is. If all those social media people can come up with different words, so can I. Woohoo, did I beat Remi, the queen of being early?” Beth asked.
“Yes, you did,” Remi called out, walking in and taking a mixed drink out of Winnie’s hand to gulp down.
“What happened to you?” Sarah inquired, grinning.
“Remind me why I love my man before I goCode Joeyon him,” Remi said.
“He’s sexy. He knows you’re an amazing, fierce woman and buys you whatever you want. I'm guessing having a pierced dick makes up for some of his less-than-stellar qualities, andCode Joeycould make his dick unavailable,” Beth replied.
Remi stared at the ceiling. “Okay, the positives do outweigh the negatives, though today was pushing it. He was playing that friggin’ game that they’re all obsessed with, and he had Amelia in her playpen. He was supposed to be watching her while I got ready. She’d pooped, and he hadn’t changed her because, hello, the game. She didn’t like the way it felt, and since she only had a shirt and diaper on—she got one of the tabs loose. She rolled out of the diaper and then rolled back across after somehow the diaper twisted and moved higher. When I walked in, she was covered in poop all the way up her back into her hair. He took one look at her and ran out of the house, saying he had to meet the guys. That’s why I’m late, because I had to give my poopy daughter another bath before dropping her with Dad.”
Naomi laughed along with everyone else. It was nice to know the guys weren’t perfect, but Jared wouldn’t have even been watching the girls in the first place. She remembered how exhausted she’d been when they were little. She’d tandem feed two of them, then feed the third, get them to sleep, and then they’d wake up soon for another feeding. Jared had slept through everything because it was a woman’s job.
“What’s aCode Joey?” Tori wondered.
“Targets neutralized. Medical attention may be required,” Remi said, giggling. “You’re right. I’d miss his pierced dick along with his smile and the way he kisses my neck. Okay, enough about me. Let’s get to the reason for the meeting.”
Regina, Meg, and Hope had arrived along with some other women. After the introductions to those they hadn’t met, Sarah herded everyone into the family room.
“Thanks for everyone coming for myCode Rachel,” Sarah began.
“I assumed it was that something had gone wrong with our D-Day commemoration planning. We’re three weeks away. Was I wrong?” Meg asked.
“Something else came up, and I convinced the person to share with all of us because sometimes, we, as women, need to be reminded our family has our back,” Sarah shared, staring at her.
Naomi knew she’d have to do this, but she didn’t want to see disappointment or disgust on her sisters’ faces.
“Naomi, what do you need to tell us?” Tori demanded.
“This is hard, but I know I need to come clean. Jared and I were never happy. I wasn’t ever what he wanted, and I only married him because Mom and Dad pushed until I gave in. Honestly, I’m not sure why I got to go to college when all Dad ever wanted from me was to have me marry one of his men,” Naomi said.
“You got to go to college because Tori told Dad she’d never work for the company unless he allowed all four of us to attend college if we wanted,” AJ revealed.
Naomi stared at her sister. She’d sacrificed for them. “Thank you. Being at college was the happiest I ever was until I had the girls,” she said.
Tori nodded but didn’t say anything.
