a moment. He hadn’t told his brothers the whole story. Mostly on purpose. He realized what a bone head move it had been. Now, it didn’t seem to really matter.
"He has a son," Jack blurted. "I didn’t know that. I left because I got called into work. Urgently, but uh… well, it may have come off..."
"Like you saw that he had a kid and you bolted,” Bray supplied very unhelpfully.
"Well, it could have looked like that, but it wasn’t. His kid is adorable, looks like a mini Eli. I love that he has a kid," Jack said.
"I believe you. But maybe he needed to hear you say that before you bolted," Braeden pointed out. "But well, a little less talk." Braeden clapped. "Back to work. Everyone is set to arrive soon, and the party favors are not ready."
"Who knew he was such a taskmaster?" Colt nudged Braeden.
"And proud of that fact. And for the record, if you guys ever throw me a party, get Quinn, or Eli when you fix that, to help. Cause you two are hopeless.” Bray rolled his eyes, grabbed a vase of flowers, and left them standing there.
Jack shared a look with Colt, and they both laughed and got back to work. However, he kept thinking about what Colt said, and he knew that he was right. He just hoped it wasn’t too late to rectify it.
The guests started to arrive right on time, and the three of them worked on getting everything finalized. Everyone had parked up and down the street, out of the driveway so that Quinn wouldn’t get suspicious when they arrived back at the house.
They were finished in plenty of time and killed the lights, making it look just as it was when Aiden and Quinn left the house earlier in the day.
At five minutes until one, Jack received a text message.
Aiden: We’re on our way back. About five minutes out.
"They’ll be here in five," Jack called out. "Everyone ready." Everyone gathered in the middle of the main living room. Jack couldn’t help it. For some reason, at that moment, he decided to text Eli. Maybe it was seeing what Aiden had planned for Quinn. Or perhaps it was just noticing most of the people there had spouses or partners. Whatever it was, he decided to send Eli a message.
Jack: I’m sorry. Please forgive me. We need to talk. I’ll call you, so please pick up. Give me a chance to explain.
He stared at the phone waiting for a response when he heard the car pull up. He quickly put his phone away, and everyone quieted down. The door opened, and Aiden walked in first, followed by the kids and then Quinn. In unison, they all called out, "Surprise!"
Quinn’s jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and then he covered his face as he looked around. Aiden came in and hugged Jack, Colt, and Bray. They stood back giving everyone else ample time to visit with the new parents.
Now he only needed time to fix the mess he made.
He was just about to leave and find a quiet place to call Eli when Aiden stopped him. "You guys did a great job. Thanks, bro."
"Anytime, brother. But I messed up big time, so I have to go grovel if I want to have one of these for Eli one day."
"Go handle your business and then we’ll talk." Aiden squeezed his shoulder. "Quinn and I can’t wait to meet Eli."
"Yeah, well, if I’ve not completely screwed it up.”
"Just show him he can trust you," Aiden said. "I can’t speak for Eli, but with Quinn, he needed to see that I was choosing him. Obviously, the situation is not the same, but I think the advice transfers in this case."
"Right. You’re right." Jack nodded. "Quinn was surprised, right?"
Aiden’s eyes rested on Quinn for a moment. "I think this definitely surprised him. And the kids, too. They look like they’re having a good time."
"They love it," Jack reassured Aiden.
Aiden looked his way, grinning, then he looked back over to where Quinn was sitting with Lila and another group was standing around them, cooing.
Jack smiled. "He definitely seems to be. I hope the food and everything is okay."
"They absolutely are. You, Colt, and Bray. You guys are the best." Aiden pointed to one of the smaller living rooms. This one was Aiden’s space where they’d watched a couple of games before. "Now, go in there and fix everything with your man. Especially if it means we get free desserts."
He