Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Jude exchanged a glance with Mason and got a nod. Then he went around the far side of the bed with Parker following him. Mason sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes. “Where do you want me, sweetheart?”
“As close as possible,” I said, my voice almost a whisper. The huge bed shifted as he lay down on the bed, his arm stretched out toward the center. I couldn’t help myself, I snuggled up next to him and rested my head on his arm.
Then I burst into tears.
“Oh, hey, don’t do that,” Parker said, climbing onto the other side of the bed and pressing his body against mine.
Jude climbed onto the huge bed, too, and surveyed the three of us. “You need more than two sides,” he said, and then he crawled down to the end of the bed and sat cross-legged, pulling my feet onto his lap.”
“What’s wrong?” Parker murmured in my ear.
I couldn’t quite control my crying enough to answer. “I—I thought it was over. That—that we’d never be close again.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Mason said, smoothing my hair away from my reddened face.
Parker planted a gentle kiss on my cheek. “We barely lasted one night in that suite. It just wasn’t the same without you. So we started planning.”
“I—I wish you’d told me.”
Jude squeezed my feet in his large hands. “We couldn’t tell you until there was something to tell.”
“And we weren’t lying about being exhausted,” Parker said.
Mason chuckled. “If you think this apartment is a dump now, you should’ve seen it three days ago. We’ve been working hard, sweetheart. For you.”
Jude contradicted him. “For us.”
I took a gulp of air to calm myself. “I thought that there wasn’t going to be anymore us.”
“There wouldn’t have been, if we hadn’t found a way to get you back,” Parker said. “It’s not the same without you.”
“And we never want to be without you,” Jude added.
“I don’t want to be without you guys, either.”
“So, if that means living in a dump for a while, that’s fine by me,” Mason said.
Parker smiled at me. “We’re still us whether we live like a pauper or a prince.”
Suddenly, I felt tongue-tied. They’d given up a free stay in the most amazing room in the middle for me. “I—I like being us.”
“Me too,” Mason said.
“But also—I kind of love being us,” I said softly. “Because I love the three of you.”
“You do?” Jude said in surprise.
“Yes. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but… that’s what I feel.”
“Me too,” Mason said.
“Me three,” said Parker.
And then there was Jude. “Me four,” he said with a soft smile.
“IS that crazy?” I whispered.
“Probably,” Mason said. “But does it matter?”
“No,” I whispered, reaching my arms out to them and hooking my feet around Jude’s waist. “All that matters is being here with you.”
“That’s all that matters to us, too.”
I wasn’t even sure who’d said that last part because the relief at seeing my guys again was almost overwhelming. It felt like I hadn’t had a proper second of sleep since I’d left them.
They were tired too, and we all cuddled up in a heap like sleeping kittens. Later, I wanted to show each of them how much they meant to me. But for right now, I just wanted to rest, safe and secure next to the men I loved.
32
Epilogue
Kylie
Early January
“Mason, your phone’s ringing,” I called, but I didn’t see him. It was mid-day, and the Dancing Horse was pretty empty. Parker and I were going over my spring schedule of classes, and he was giving me the dirt on all my new professors.
Parker glanced down at the screen. “It’s Alyssa.”
“Can you go find him?” I asked as I swiped open Mason’s phone. “It’s me. How’s Louisiana treating you?” Alyssa had gotten a good job at an up-and-coming firm there, and I’d helped her make the long drive down. I’d last seen her two days ago when she dropped me off at the airport. “Alyssa?”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and realized it was a video call. It was hard to see, though, because her phone was shaking like mad. “Alyssa? Are you all right?”
“Yes,” came a very faint voice. Then there was a loud noise like she’d bumped her phone against something, and then the visual steadied. She must’ve propped it up against something.
As her end of the video call came into focus, I gasped. She was in a hospital room. “Mason!” I called before returning to face the screen. “What happened, Alyssa?”
Her voice was faint. “I broke my leg in two places. It’s kind of bad.”
Mason strode into the room, and at the look on my face, he broke into a run. “What happened?” He slid into the booth next to me.
“I don’t know. She’s in the hospital.”