I don’t know, Braden. Are you sure it’s clean enough to put her down on the ground out here?” Greg fretted even though the picnic blanket that I’d spread out on the grass was perfectly clean.

“It’s fine, babe. Trust me. I’m not going to take any chances with our little shamrock. Now, come on, give her to Papa.” I reached both hands out for our daughter.

Shannon was decked out for St. Patrick’s Day in an adorable clover green onesie with glittery pink four leaf clovers printed all over it. And of course, the standard Kiss Me, I’m Irish was printed across the front.

Greg had finished her outfit with an adorable pair of baby jeans with pink lace ruffles around the hem, and a tiny baby size pair of white kicks. He’d placed a green stretchy headband with a lacey, pink rose around her cap of silky brown hair.

Once I had her in hand, my husband—wow, even after three months I still loved saying that word—my husband knelt down on the blanket beside us. He carefully placed a tiny pair of pink, plastic, baby-sized sunglasses on her face. It was freaking adorable.

“Okay, she’s been sun-screened and her eyes are protected—I think we’re okay for at least twenty minutes.” Greg looked so serious that I honestly couldn’t tell if he was fucking with me or not.

“Since you went to all the trouble of setting the crockpot up with our festive American style St. Patty’s Day meal of corned beef and cabbage, I’m pretty sure we’re not in a rush to get home quite that soon.”

Greg shrugged, then flashed me a sheepish grin. “Sorry. I suppose I can dial it back a notch or two. I know I get overprotective with Shannon. But look at her! She’s our perfect little miracle.”

“I don’t know if you guys are still watching my videos, but you might want to dial back your adoration before she gets much older. And hopefully way before you head to the preschool years! You want to make sure you don’t start out by spoiling her. Precious as she is, there’s nothing worse than a spoiled brat that you can’t take out in public.”

I looked up to see Luke standing there with a couple of other guys and two little boys. He grinned and held up both palms as if warding off a blow. “Not that I’m saying that your little Shannon would ever be a brat.”

He turned and held a hand out to the other two men. “Have you guys met my bosses? This is Ian and Cecil, and these two rascals are their sons, Bruce and Josh.”

Greg lit up with a big smile and waved at one of the men. “Ian! Good to see you, it’s been forever! Hey, if you guys have a minute I’d like you to meet my husband Braden and our little Shannon.”

“I had no idea you’d settled down, Greg. Good for you,” the blonde alpha said. “Does this mean you’re not tending bar over at the Big O anymore?”

“No, I’d meant to after my paternity leave. But then we got married when Shannon was a few weeks old and I didn’t need the health insurance from there anymore. And since we don’t need the extra money, what’s the point?”

“What are you doing these days that you don’t need to work to get money? Don’t forget, I’m a lawyer if you get caught,” Ian joked.

Greg shook his head with a light laugh. “Believe it or not, my husband makes his living playing video games. He gets paid every time someone watches him play. And I get to handle his business affairs, and most importantly, be home with Shannon. Can you imagine that? Of all people, I’d never pictured myself as a stay-at-home kind of omega, but it works for us.”

“That’s because you’re staying at home with your husband,” Greg’s friend Tom said as he came over and dropped down the blanket. “If I could stay home with my hot alpha daddy all day and get paid for it too? Heck, I’d never need to leave the house.”

Tom was reaching for Shannon with grabby hands, so I passed her over without a fuss. He and his group had really welcomed us the past few months. Apparently Tom had tried to get us over for a barbecue while Greg was pregnant, but that timing had never worked out.

“Can Tom just go on public record and say what’s been bothering him for a very long time? Tom is not happy that Greg and Braden slipped off and got married in another one of those boring civil ceremonies at City Hall. Honestly! When will Tom ever be able to showcase his mad party planning skills if everybody keeps eloping?”

“It’s not all about you, Tom. I keep trying to tell explain that to you.” Our friend Kent said as he walked over and ruffled Tom’s hair before waving a greeting at the rest of us. “Where’s Colin and the kids?”

Tom pointed toward the playground. “Are you kidding? They’re all over there trying out the new addition to the rock wall.”

Kent looked at his husband Pierre, then gave us all a sheepish smile and said goodbye before escorting his family over to the play area.

We sat there for another hour with our large circle of friends coming and going. They all had children that were the perfect age to be at the park, and it was a gorgeous spring day.

Knowing Tom had somehow given us quite the social circle. Greg and I were both still easing our way in, but Tom was pretty persistent in getting us involved. There were apparently still some we hadn’t met, as evidence by having just now met Ian and Cecil.

“Oh! That reminds me,” our friend Liam said, interrupting my thoughts. I looked over at Liam and his husband Christian, wondering when they had wandered our way.

I must’ve been more spaced out then I’d realized. Tom was still holding Shannon, who was now sound asleep. I looked back over at Liam to see what he was talking about, he and Greg were busy talking.

“I heard you guys are buying a house in my neighborhood. Please tell me that’s true,” Liam was saying.

“I’m pretty sure that your source was Tom,” Greg said as he looked over at Tom with a teasing glare. “So, obviously it must be true, right? Seriously though, we close escrow next week on a little cottage right around the corner from you guys. We’re pretty excited about it.”

While Greg told them about our new place, I looked over at a tree across the park when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I sat up and tapped Greg on the arm to get his attention, jerking my chin toward Shamie.

Our old friend was leaning against the tree with a big smile splitting his face. Unlike last year where he’d looked like he might possibly resemble a leprechaun, this time he was decked out in stereotypical leprechaun garb—complete with knee high green and white striped socks, black shoes the big golden buckles, what could only be described as a green romper suit, and a black hat with a big, glittery clover on the front.

He was shuffling a stack of gold coins from palm to palm. When he saw me looking, he slid the coins into his pocket and waved. Then he blew a kiss to Shannon and vanished right in front of my eyes.

“Did you guys see that?” I asked, when I realized that nobody else was paying attention to what had happened.

“See what?” Luke asked curiously.

“Our weird little buddy, Seamus. He kept leaving us gold coins last year. I met him on St. Patrick’s Day when he was hired as a dancer at the Big O. He almost got himself killed by accident when an alpha hung him by his necktie from a hook in the center of the cage, before proceeding to get into a fight with another alpha. I saved his life by helping him down.”

“There’s a lot of strange shit that goes down in this town, and many weird characters,” Tom said quite seriously. “But I wouldn’t think being a cage dancer over at the Big O would count as being part of it. Although, my buddy Tofer was briefly one of those dancers, now that I think of it.”

“But wait, there’s more,” Greg intoned dramatically. “After I saved him, he said he owed me a boon and the next thing I know, I go from being infertile to having my miracle girl. But the crazy thing was when I went to get my last check after Shannon was born. I wanted to say hello to Seamus, but he wasn’t working that night. So I asked my boss about him, and he had no clue who I was talking about, and neither did anyone else.”

“Not even people who’d worked there while he was dancing and had actually talked to him could remember the dude,” I added. “And you’d think they would, considering he nearly caused a riot on his first day there. But no one seems to remember him at all. That’s why Greg and I have come up with our own explanation. It makes sense, especially since he likes to appear and vanish at will.”

“Wait,” Greg said suddenly. “Tom, you and Pierre both met him! Remember, the day I ran into you when I found out I was pregnant? That red haired twink that came up to talk to me? That was him.”

Tom sat up and preened, carefully cuddling Shannon in the crook of his arm as he did. “Tom would remember if another ginger twink appeared in Hollydale. Trust that, and take it the bank, honey. Tom is the only ginger twink allowed around these parts,” Tom added with a giggle as he sat back again.

“As a matter of fact, you met him too, Luke.” I said as I remembered Shamie interrupting my first meeting with him. “Come on, you’ll have to remember this one. It was that day when we first met at Slow Grind, and that annoying little dude came and crashed our conversation? That was him!”

Luke looked at me curiously. “Braden… I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. The first day I met you we had an uninterrupted cup of coffee and went to go look at baby furniture after I found out you needed help with that. I remember talking about my gaming problems and you being excited about parenthood. I remember everything about that day, except for any rando dudes interrupting. That part, I do not recall.”

Greg and I turned and stared at each other with a serious what the fuck look while everyone around us started laughing.

Tom was the first to catch his breath and explain. “Join the club, guys. In case you haven’t noticed, things aren’t always what they seem here in Hollydale. But when weird things happen—love is usually right around the corner for the couple it happens to. Which has obviously happened again, given the little angel I am holding and those gold rings you’re both sporting.”

Luke stood and stretched. “All right, guys. This was fun but I’ve got to run. But hey, congratulations on your new house. You should have a housewarming party and invite all of us. You know, like a barbecue or something? Anyway I really do need to get going,” he looked around as if trying to see if Cecil and Ian were still nearby.

When he saw they were over at the play area with their two boys, Luke lowered his voice and explained. “I’m not telling them because it’s no big deal, but I have a date with one of Ian’s friends tonight.”

“Then why are you still standing here talking to us?” Tom asked with a light giggle. “Depending on how hot the alpha is and what time the date is happening, you need to get home and start your beauty routine.”

“Exactly, which is why I’m gonna say my goodbyes now, “ Luke said with a decisive nod. He lifted his hand and waved before turning and jogging away.

“Actually, we should be getting home too. I don’t like having Shannon out in the sun for all these hours.” Greg said as though suddenly realizing how long we’d been here now.

Since all of our friends were parents themselves, they fully understood why we’d want to get our daughter out of the sun. Ten minutes later, Greg and I had Shannon loaded into her stroller and were walking home.

Greg was pushing her with one hand and holding mine with his other. Being married to my best friend was pretty awesome, especially during simple moments like these. We were almost home when Greg broke our pensive silence.

“Do you really think Seamus had something to do with me getting pregnant? Was Shannon really my boon for saving him that night? Because, that’s kinda crazy when you think about it. And then all those gold coins? I mean… That would really would make him a leprechaun or some shit. Am I crazy for thinking that?”

“I don’t know, babe. But those gold coin sure came in handy with the deposit on our cottage when you wouldn’t let me touch the investment accounts. So in a way, you could say your boon included a baby and a cottage to keep her in. And since he mentioned a dog when he visited us in the hospital, we should probably accommodate that wish. I mean, the man did do so much for us, it’s the least we can do.”

“Nice try on pushing for a dog, Bromeo. Although, once we get moved, I wouldn’t be against adopting one. But seriously, do you think he’s a leprechaun?”

I thought about it for a second. I mean, it was pretty obvious that Shamie was some sort of magical being—whether that was a leprechaun or not, who the hell could say.

“I don’t know if we accidentally met a leprechaun who gave us a miracle baby or if we are simply blessed with the luck o’ the Irish. All I know is that I’m the luckiest man on earth because I have a bromega like you. And if all that hadn’t gone down last year, we’d still be hanging out like dumbass bros who like to get off together and deny their real feelings. I wouldn’t ever want to go back to those days, I treasure you too much.”

“Dammit, Bromeo. You always know just what to say. But, you know what? You’re not entirely correct. You’re not the luckiest man on earth. Actually, we both are—because we have each other.”

I stopped walking, and pulled Greg close for a kiss. “That was the most bromantically brolicious and brodacious thing you’ve ever said to me. No wonder I love you so much... you really are my perfect bromega.”

Greg rolled his eyes at me. “You’re such a dork. But you’re my dork, and I love you, too.”

As we made our way back home, I thought about the afternoon we’d spent with our variety of friends. I thought about Greg and Shannon, and how lucky I was to have them for my family.

And I thought about my old buddy, Shamie. Whether or not he was a leprechaun, the day Greg had saved him really was the luckiest day of both our lives. And for that, I owed Shamie a debt of gratitude I could never hope to repay.

A year ago I’d been a hapless alpha who never left the house and lived on my Xbox. Now I was making a life with my best friend—and I was pretty much winning at this game of life with Greg at my side.

Who needed four leaf clovers or luck? Not me. I already had everything. Seamus may have given us a bit of his gold, but I had the real treasure in Greg... My best friend… My bromega… My everything.