“What the fuck kind of gift did he get Frankie?” Archie’s entire demeanor shifted and I chuckled, which yanked his attention to me. “Why are you laughing about it?”
“Cause we’re not in school and we don’t have to chase the other boys off. Trust that she wants us and nothing he has to offer or is bringing her has anything to do with stealing her.”
Jake snorted. “I haven’t had a good fight in a while.”
“If you get into one today, you are explaining it to her.” I patted his shoulder as Bubba just shook his head. Before the argument could go anywhere else, there was a knock at the door. “Oh look, someone’s here.”
Archie got the door first and he yanked it open. Dominic Walsh, dressed in a light-colored suit, said, “I come in peace and bearing gifts.”
“How’s Frankie doing?” I asked before he could incite Archie or Jake. I swore the guy really did like to wave a red flag at the bull that was them.
“She seemed good.” A smile crossed his face. “She also signed everything, so—I’m here to collect your signatures, gentlemen, then I’ll take care of all the final filings.”
“Hmm.” Archie stepped to the side and let him in. We all moved to the chairs and the pair of sofas that framed the conversation area of the suite’s sitting room. “You didn’t have any trouble with the LLC requests?”
“Nope. That’s taken care of, which means all tax considerations will be folded under that umbrella. It also means any new contracts for Bound Hearts or the division of Standish-Benton Engineering will have to be folded under that heading as well. Essentially, each of you will be a signing agent for the LLC.”
“In English?” I asked. Frankie had been a part of the language on the contracts, and I absolutely trusted her judgment, but I still wanted to at least distill it down to something that made sense to the individual.
“Base facts,” Dominic said as he set out five folders. One for each of us. “The Standish-Jackson Family LLC pools all of your financial holdings under the LLC, for which each of you is a full partner and has signing rights. All joint property will be transferred into the LLC, meaning you are all equal title holders to each piece of property established under it.”
“It also provides a tax shelter for our assets and income.”
“Exactly,” Dominic said. “That’s the first three pages. The next three are the domestic partnership agreements tying all five of you together in a domestic partnership under Freshtown statutes. This will extend all co-parenting to each of you in the event of offspring. Then we have the medical power of attorneys, granting each of you full rights to make medical calls and to visit in the hospital.”
Offspring. I snorted. What a way to phrase it. I picked up my folder and flipped through each page. Each page had little sticky notes color-coded for where we had to sign and initial.
“The last set of pages are the legal name changes you requested. Once everything else is filed, I will submit these. It will probably take six to ten weeks before you will get everything back, at which time you can then update your licenses and passports.”
Amongst all the stuff at the end was also another sheet, this was a—
“Holy shit, Arch,” Jake said. “Are you sure about this?”
JAKE
“I told you I was when I told you about the prenup. This just finalizes it. A joint account that we all have access to and full signing rights on. Frankie moved her funds last week when I did. You guys can drop in yours when you want or not, we will all still have our own bank accounts too, but this will be where we pull for anything joint—like homes, vehicles, vacations…”
Fuck, that was a lot of zeroes. But Archie had been very clear that he was all in. We were all in. Since Frankie’s signature graced every single page, I added mine. We traded folders as we each signed our way through them.
“And that,” Dominic said after he checked them, “is that. Congratulations.”
Since he offered his hand, I was the first to shake it. Then Coop, Bubba, and finally Archie. “You are staying for the wedding, right?” I didn’t really like the guy, but he had come through and his research had settled some issues Frankie had that I hadn’t even thought or worried about.
“That’s the plan.”
I nodded. “Then we’ll see you down there.”
Once he was gone, I looked at the guys. “Well, Mr. Standish,” I said to Archie. “You still sure about this?”
“Mr. Standish-Benton, I absolutely am.” He grinned. “Along with Mr. Standish-Brennen, and Mr. Standish-Rhys.”
Yeah, that was weird.
Course, weird had become our brand.
Archie was at the bar and pouring champagne into the glasses. “One each and not a drop more until the party this afternoon. But I thought we owed it to ourselves to celebrate making this shit work.”
I couldn’t really say he was wrong. After he handed out the glasses, he raised his and said, “To the last five years and to the three years before that. I can’t imagine a better group of brother boyfriends, fiancés, or husbands.”
Bubba chuckled. “To a friendship that lets us fuckup but never lets us get away with it and which we can always count on to have our backs and kick us in the ass—at the same time if necessary.”
I thought it would be a strain to come up with the words, but no, they were right there. “I told you guys five years ago that I was in. That if she wanted all of us, I was fine with it. I was fine with it being us. We’ve had our moments.” I met Archie’s gaze. “We’ve had our challenges. I don’t doubt we won’t have them in the future, but if I’m going to have any team at my back, you guys are the ones I want.”
That left Coop. “And you call me the sap. To Frankie, because she’s the glue that brought us together and for whom we will do anything.”
Our glasses clinked as we toasted. Then drank. If I were going to get emotional with anyone, it would be these assholes.
“How we doing on time?” Archie asked and Bubba glanced at his watch again.
“Thirty minutes.”
Fuck. My stomach dropped. It was like I’d gone too steep a climb and we needed to level out.
“Nervous?” Coop asked.
“Yes,” I admitted. “And no. It’s like the feeling I get right before a big game.”
“Nerves,” Bubba said. “A little stage fright thrown in. Only, this is a hell of a lot more important than a game.”
Yes, it was. “You guys got your vows?” I’d been having trouble with mine.
“Right here,” Archie said, tapping his head. Coop and Bubba both nodded, and I made as if to pat my jacket pocket where there was no slip of paper with the vows on it that I hadn’t written yet.
The champagne helped. Some. But that jittery feeling increased. I moved away from them to glance out the windows. The old inn was a real find. Apparently, Bubba had stolen away with Frankie up here for his birthday that first summer after we moved into the brownstone.
Good place.
The rose garden and the gazebo were perfect. The sun shone, the sky was a perfect shade of blue, and there was barely even a cirrus cloud to break it up.