Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
And when I can fly up here.
Wow. They’ve done it for every month through the end of hockey season. When the summer months come, they’ve blocked out all their days and nights in Los Angeles.
My breath catches.
I’m floored by their declaration. By their plans for me.
“Ivy, if you want that job, we’ll make it work,” Hayes says, intensely serious, his eyes locked on me.
“We plotted it all out,” Stefan adds. “How to see you. How to do this.” He’s calm but full of emotion. “Whatever you need, we’ll make it happen.” Then, he grabs my hand, squeezing it desperately. “I love you so much. I’ll do whatever it takes for you. We’ll do whatever it takes for you.”
Hayes grabs my other hand, the three of us squeezing hard together. “I’m so in love with you. I love the way you are with your dog. I love how you take care of her. I love how you look out for your friends and treat them like family.”
Stefan locks eyes with me and continues, taking the baton. “I love spending mornings with you. Talking about our days. Making smoothies and coffee, answering your questions and then asking a million more.”
“I love that you understand what I need before I even need it,” Hayes says, taking his turn. “I love that you’ve supported me from the day we met. I love your confidence, and your energy, and your eyes that just make me fucking melt.”
He draws a big breath, and Stefan takes over. “And I love that you stand up for yourself. You tell people no when you need to. You don’t take any shit. I love that you’re tough and resilient, but so damn tender in your heart.”
“And I love how you look out for both of us,” Hayes adds, then shifts his gaze briefly to Stefan, who smiles back. An appreciative smile from both of them.
A knot rises up in my throat, climbing sky-high. I’m bursting with emotions, with joy, with…this overload of feelings.
That’s what I’ve always felt with them—so very much. I shake my head, amazed, awed, and wildly happy. “I love you,” I blurt out simply. How can I compare to that beautiful ode to all the ways they love me? I can’t, and that’s okay. It’s not a competition for their love or mine. Both are boundless. “I love both of you. I need both of you. Together. This thing we have? It’s better as three. I can’t imagine us any other way. I love you both so much, and I’m not taking the job. I want to be here in San Francisco with my friends and my family and my growing business—and with the two loves of my life. So I turned it down.” My voice cracks at the end, my heart overflowing.
“Thank god,” Stefan says, relaxing in his chair, laughing with joy.
“I’m so fucking glad,” Hayes seconds.
These guys. I love them so. “And look…great minds.” I take out my planner, the one where they mark our dates, and I flip it open to show them what I did.
I point to a date a week or so from now. The Sportsman of the Year awards. It doesn’t say TOC. It says JT.
“What does that mean?” Stefan asks tentatively.
“It means we’re not a Throuple of convenience. We’re just…throuple,” I say, then swallow past the emotions clogging my throat. “We’re just together. No end date. Just…a wide-open future.”
“It worked,” Stefan says, sounding on top of the world. “We’ve been trying really hard to get you to fall in love with us, and you did.”
I laugh, delighted to hear his confession. “News flash: I was already in love with both of you.”
“Good. I was going mad thinking about you leaving,” Stefan admits.
Hayes cracks up. “He really was.”
But then they both stop laughing. Stefan cups my left cheek. “You’re staying,” he says with relief.
Hayes takes my hand and squeezes it solemnly. “This is us.”
I nod as tears slip down my cheeks. “This is us,” I repeat, then purse my lips together before taking one more chance. “I was thinking…what if we all moved into Stefan’s home?”
Stefan pops up from the table and taps his watch. “Yes. Now. Let’s go.”
We don’t go right away. We stay and eat and drink and laugh. Then, we get my dog and make plans for the three of us—well, the four of us—to make a home.
EPILOGUE
A NEW HOME
Stefan
It doesn’t take long for my place to fill up. Hayes brings his telescope and sets it on the rooftop balcony, since, yes, I have one too. We’ll definitely make ample use of that for stargazing and other nighttime activities. Daytime activities, too, come to think of it.
Ivy brings all her clothes, and I have to make room in the main bedroom closet for them, adding a new hanging rack, which gives me the chance to break out my toolbox, which gives Ivy the chance to watch me hammer.