Six months later
“How is it? Does it taste anything like your mom’s?” I sampled a bite of the beef stroganoff at the stove, but I haven’t eaten anything since I sat down, and I’m eagerly awaiting the men’s reviews.
“It’s delicious, really good,” Dodge says.
“Really? Chase, how do you like it?” It’s not that I think Dodge is lying, but I know he’d never say an unkind word about my cooking, or about anything else.
Chase takes another bite and looks thoughtful before he answers. “It’s very good, but different from hers. She cuts the meat and mushrooms into smaller pieces.”
“Okay. How about the sauce? Diesel? Maddox?”
The two of them currently have their mouths too full to answer, but Maddox gives me a thumbs up, and I’m happy with that.
I’ve gone along with the guys three times to visit Ms. Stanton in Richmond, and she’s come here once since I’ve been living with the men. When she was here, she taught me to make their favorite dish. I’ve also been learning to cook other things, and I’m very pleased to have a growing repertoire of recipes that I can make, but Chase and Maddox still do most of the cooking.
Tonight is a special occasion though, because the men are coming out of retirement for a one-night-only performance at their club.
None of them have performed in at least two or three months, maybe longer. And before that, it was rare. Occasionally, they had to fill in when they were short staffed, but they’ve grown their roster of dancers because they get a lot of demand for private bookings, even for locations up to several hours away.
After I moved in with them, I was surprised and pleased to find that the idea of them performing no longer bothered me. Maybe I’d feel differently if they were still doing it full time, but I don’t think so. Something shifted in me, and I’m no longer concerned about other women watching them or even touching them. I know it doesn’t mean anything to them, and the only thing that matters is what’s between all of us.
They never give me any reason to doubt the fact that I’m enough for them, and that all they want is me.
So I’m actually excited to watch them perform tonight, even though I’m still not completely clear on why they decided to do it. Maybe it’s marketing, or they’re shorthanded, or maybe they miss dancing, even though they tell me they don’t.
After we eat, I change into a short dress that I know they love, apply a bit more makeup than usual, and style some waves into my hair. Even though I’m not jealous of other women, that doesn’t mean I want to go to Club Red looking plain and boring.
The men have to go to the club early, but I ride along with them and keep myself busy until showtime. Even though I haven’t seen the men dance in a long time, I’ve been to the club many times, both for bakery deliveries, and to visit the guys when they’re doing the work of running the business. I’ve gotten to know many of the people who work here, and, since the men asked me not to go to their dressing room tonight because they want their costumes to be a surprise, I chat with Brittany in the lobby while she gets her front desk station ready.
While she’s telling me tales about some of the newest hires, Duke, the security guard, comes in.
“Good evening, Brittany. Hello, Jade. Nice to see you here,” he says in his usual gruff voice.
“Hi, Duke. Good to see you too,” I say as the man passes through.
“Hi, Duke.” Brittany sings out his name in a teasing way, and bursts into laughter like she’s just heard the funniest joke.
Duke merely grunts in response and continues toward the backstage area.
“What was that all about?” I ask.
She explains that a lot of club attendees have been asking for Duke to join the show. “They want to see him dance … and strip,” she says, still giggling. “I’ve been giving him a hard time about it.”
“That’s not his thing?” I ask.
She shrugs. “He seems embarrassed by the attention, or maybe annoyed, actually. He definitely has the looks to go on stage, but who knows if he has the moves.”
“He’s a lot bigger than most of the guys who perform, isn’t he?”
“Yep, sure is.”
We talk for a while longer, until the customers start filing in. “The guys told me to sit at a table up front, so I’d better go grab one,” I say, waving to Brittany as I leave.
It’s not long before I’m surrounded by a huge crowd in the showroom. The place seems even more packed than I remember, and I’m starting to feel funny about being the only person at a table meant for four people, when Becca appears.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
When I stand, my friend gives me a hug. “I heard there was going to be a special performance.”
I’m about to ask follow-up questions when I notice all four of Becca’s men behind her. “What’s going on?”
“We came to see the show,” Becca says, pulling out a chair. “Why does something have to be going on?”
“We can try to find a bigger table,” I say, looking around the room, though there isn’t much open space anywhere.
“It’s fine. The guys can hang out at the bar.”
I narrow my eyes at her, still wondering what they’re all doing here. I don’t recall even mentioning to Becca that I was coming tonight.
As we get settled at the table, her men disappear, and then reappear surprisingly fast with drinks for both of us.
I give Becca a look when Devin sets a familiar-looking orange and red cocktail in front of me. “I don’t know about this,” I say, eyeing the drink suspiciously.
“One won’t hurt you,” she says, giving Khalil a kiss on the cheek when he delivers the same Pop My Cherry drink to her. Just as the men are leaving again, the room goes dark. “It’s starting!” Becca says, sounding a little too excited.
Just like the first night I was here, Chase opens the show in his police uniform, jokingly scolding the audience for being too rowdy. When he calls for backup, I’m expecting to see my other men, but they’re not among the five troopers who come out. Before any clothing is removed, Chase makes a discreet exit, and leaves it to the other men to strip and make the audience scream.
Other performances follow, both group and solo numbers, but the Stanton brothers aren’t in any of them, and I’m wondering if they changed their mind, or aren’t needed tonight. But then the music changes, signaling the start of another act, and something’s different this time. Before anyone comes out on stage, dramatic lighting pairs with the music to build up more anticipation than had preceded any of the previous performances.
Suddenly, everything goes dark for several seconds, and when lights illuminate the stage again, there are four men standing in a line across the stage. My men.
They’re breathtakingly handsome in perfectly fitted black suits with bright white shirts underneath, and crisp, black bow ties at their necks. Each of them is highlighted in a spotlight, and everyone around me is cheering wildly, but I’m stunned into silence.
Chase, Diesel, Dodge, and Maddox are gorgeous, and I would find them intimidating and almost unreal, if I didn’t know what beautiful hearts they have, what good pet dads they are, and how warm, funny, and amazing they are.
They’re looking out at the crowd at first, accepting the loud applause, but then they all focus on me, and I realize that a fifth spotlight is highlighting my table. It becomes hard to see the men, and my focus momentarily shifts to the music, which, instead of the typical loud, driving beat, is now a love song, a song that the men once playfully sang to me when it came on during a car ride.
I’m shaking when I see the twins step off stage and come toward me. I’m a bit calmer when they take my hand, because their touch always soothes me, but I’m still a bundle of nerves as they lead me to the steps and up on stage.
I stretch up toward Diesel’s ear and whisper loudly. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll see,” is all he says, his smile magnificent.
I expect one of them to produce a chair and set me up for a lap dance, but instead, I’m taken to center stage and surrounded closely by all four men. The lights are nearly blinding, but when Chase gives a signal, the angle of the spotlights shift and I can see the audience.
I think I preferred being blinded. The room is packed in every direction, and every face in the crowd of hundreds is focused on us. As I stand there in a daze, still holding the twins’ hands, Chase picks up a microphone and talks to the crowd.
“I want to thank you all for coming here tonight, because this is a very special evening. Don’t worry, the show’s not over yet. There’s still lots of fun to be had, but first we wanted to share something with all of you. Everyone, this is Jade,” he says, gesturing to me. “My brothers and I were very lucky to meet her here at the club last year. She was just making a delivery, and we only talked for a couple of minutes, but all four of us knew right away that she was someone special.
“We had a bumpy road at first, but it’s been smooth sailing for quite some time, and my brothers and I are all very much in love with this woman.”
A few people cheer, and then more join in. I’m squeezing Dodge and Diesel’s hands tight because my legs are shaking. I find Becca in the crowd — she’s one of the people cheering the loudest — and she forms a heart with her hands while she gives me a huge smile. It’s cute but doesn’t do much to quell my nerves.
When it’s relatively quiet again, Chase continues. “Jade has brought so much love into our lives. She makes us happier than we could have ever imagined, and we have a very important question to ask her.”
The audience erupts, yelling, clapping, and whistling, but I don’t hear much of it because my pulse is pounding in my ears, and my heart feels like it might burst out of my chest.
When all four men drop to their knees in front of me, I come very close to having an out of body experience.
But then I look into their eyes, and I see so much love there, that I’m overwhelmed with happiness, so much so that it overrides all of my anxious feelings, and calms me enough so that I can take a deep breath and focus solely on the four of them.
Chase sets the mike down, so that he’s only talking to me. “Jade, we’re so grateful we met you.”
“We want to spend the rest of our lives with you,” Diesel says.
“We want to spend the rest of our lives making you happy,” Dodge says.
Maddox, last in line, pulls a small box from his pocket and opens it, presenting me with a sparkling diamond ring and setting the audience off once again. He waits a moment for their cheers to fade, and then says, “Will you marry us? Will you be ours?”
I look at him, and back at his three brothers, and the answer in my heart is perfectly clear. I wasn’t expecting this — not so soon, anyway — but I have absolutely no hesitation. “Yes, I love you so much, and yes! Yes, of course!”
I’m crying as they all pull me into a big embrace, and there’s a dull roar of applause around us, but I’m barely aware of anything except these four men who I love so much. We hug and we kiss, and I’m happier than I ever imagined was possible.
Read more about Duke and Brittany and what’s happening at Club Red in Four Nights, the first book in a new series, Four After Dark: https://stephaniebrotherbooks.com/books/four-nights/
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