He pressed his gloved fingers to her lips, his smile going soft. “No, don’t say anything yet. I want you to see the view at the top first.”
She nodded and Andre took the thermoses and tucked them back in his bag. Then they each linked a hand with hers and led her up the slope without saying a word. Emotions rioted in her. She had so much she wanted to say. The thought of Jace sitting up all night doing research had her wanting to cry. But when they finally crested the top of the hill and the guys let go of her hands, all of her thoughts disappeared in the frosty mist.
The snowy peaks of the mountains provided a breathtaking backdrop. One of the prettiest she’d ever seen. But that’s not what her eyes were drawn to. No. Because what was in front of her was far more awe-inspiring. Both men had stepped in front of her and gone down on one knee. Her breath halted in her lungs.
“Evangeline Kennedy,” Jace started. “We know that the three of us are already bound in a way most people wouldn’t understand. We don’t need marriage to put some stamp of approval on it for the sake of others.”
“But there’s something to be said for standing in front of all your friends and family and declaring that love and commitment for the world to see,” Andre added. “We love you more than we could ever put into words, bella. You’re our submissive, our lover, and our best friend.”
“But we also want you to be our wife. We want you to be ours forever.” Jace pulled something out of his pocket. A little velvet box. And though Evan had claimed she never needed or craved this, some part of her cracked open inside. That part of her that believed in fairy tales and watched movies with people kissing in the snowfall. That part of her bloomed.
Jace opened the box, revealing a ring with an antique band that swirled around three perfect diamonds. “We love you. We love our life together. And whenever it’s time, whether that be now or down the road, we will love our children with all that we have. Marry us, Ev?”
Evan’s gloved hand had pressed over her mouth somewhere along the way and she wasn’t sure she could form words. Tears streaked hot down her cold face. But after a few long seconds, she managed to nod and get her voice working again. “Of course I will.”
Both of them climbed to their feet and wrapped their arms around her before she could take another breath. She was lifted into the air, and they kissed anything they could reach—cheeks, eyes, mouth. All of the cold of the day disappeared in the midst of their embrace, as if nothing could break through their bubble of warmth and happiness.
She lost it again looking at them, both men as teary eyed as she was—her tough doms turning into big ol’ softies when it came down to it. She kissed each one of them long and hard until they were all wet-faced and she was a sniffly-nosed mess.
She laughed and swiped at her nose. “Sorry. Ugly cry.”
“Never ugly, bella,” Andre assured her and wiped her tears away with his scarf.
“Let’s make this official.” Jace tugged her glove off and slid the beautiful ring onto her hand.
She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers, the diamonds catching the winter sunlight. She’d never been a jewelry person, but even she could appreciate how gorgeous the ring was. “I love it so much. It’s perfect.”
“Good,” Jace said. “Because I’ve grown rather attached to the idea of seeing it on you.”
She looked up at that. “Really? But I thought you were so against marriage. If this is because maybe there’s a baby—”
He reached out and tugged a lock of her hair. “Baby, if you think this proposal has anything to do with a pregnancy scare, you’ve underestimated us. Andre’s wanted to walk you down the aisle from the get-go. He’s a traditional fucker at heart, though he’d never admit it. And I always wanted the world to know you’re ours. Sure, at one point in my life, I never thought I’d want to get married again. But calling you my girlfriend has never felt quite right. And once I started thinking about it, I couldn’t let go of the idea. But I don’t want to rush you or push something on you that you don’t want.”
She banded her arms around his waist and pressed her head to his chest. “Of course I want it. I want everything with you two. But how can we even do this?”
Andre hugged her from behind. “Jace has some things figured out—legal stuff. But we can get into that later. Right now, I just want to get you back down to the cabin and celebrate.”
“But we’re just beginning to enjoy all this snow,” she said innocently. “I’ve never made out in the snow. Think how sexy that could be, rolling around in it.”
Jace looked like he was trying not to laugh, and Andre groaned behind her. “Bella, if you want me to provide any children in the future, I need to get into the warmth. My man parts are dying.”
She turned around in Andre’s arms and kissed his jaw. “Well, I’m quite fond of those man parts, so I guess we can go. Maybe we can try out the hot tub.”
Jace put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Not so fast. I read last night that hot tubs can be dangerous for pregnant women.”
She let her head drop down against the curve of Andre’s neck with a dramatic sigh. “Is he going to be like this the whole time?”
Andre gave her a squeeze. “Count on it. We both are.”
She couldn’t even muster up a groan because the idea wrapped around her like warm cashmere. Her last pregnancy had been filled with so much fear and despair, so much grief. She could remember sitting alone in a motel room, hands to her belly, and apologizing to her unborn child that she didn’t have the right food to feed her or a nicer place to stay. She’d never felt more alone in the world.
Now it was like that life existed in a different universe. Now she didn’t just have friends or a job or a nice place to live. She had a family. She had two men who would make her laugh and buy her ice cream in the middle of the night and who would throw themselves on a sword to protect her and the life that could be growing inside her. She could barely hold all the bigness of that feeling at once without wanting to cry all over again.
It was like she was there again with her mother, finding those perfect sticks that would make the snowman just right on that perfect day with that perfect person who meant everything to you. That moment when you knew all in your world was just as it should be.
So now, trudging over the snow-covered ground, with Jace and Andre by her side, she knew she’d somehow stepped into that magical place again. The one where her mother was close and smiling at her because her daughter was finally happy.
She was loved again for real.
And when Evan woke up the next morning and the guys hustled her into the bathroom to take the pregnancy test, she had no fear as she watched the little window give the result.
No, when she saw that once-dreaded plus sign appear, all she felt was joy.
Three would become four.
A new forever would start.
And man, she couldn’t wait.
Epilogue
The silence of the baby monitor woke her. So many nights of that steady, whooshing sound made the quiet seem downright deafening. Evan rolled over, blinking awake with a soft groan. Her eyelids felt like she’d shoved sand beneath them and her head was pounding. She rubbed her eyes and the numbers on the clock swam in front of her. Past three in the morning. Lord, she’d just finished the last feeding forty-five minutes ago. She looked toward the dresser where the monitor was stationed. No lights blinked. Had she forgotten to plug the monitor back in? Maybe the thing had broken.
Didn’t matter now. She’d never be able to fall back asleep without checking to make sure everything was okay. She scrubbed a hand over her face and yawned. All right. Up and at ’em. The guys had both had long days, getting the new house put together and unpacking the endless amount of boxes that had gone ignored when Lucy came two weeks early, so Evan did her best not to jostle the bed when she climbed out. The room was pitch black, but she’d memorized where she hung her robe. She’d made this trek enough times ove
r the last few weeks to know it well. She wrapped the robe around her and shuffled into the hallway.
The nightlight from Lucy’s nursery cast a soft glow on the honey-toned wood floors, and music drifted from the room. Man, she was completely off her game tonight. Had she left the lullabies playing, too? God knows sleep-deprivation caused her to forget her own name sometimes. Though, most of that was her fault. Jace and Andre had encouraged her to sleep when the baby was sleeping. But somehow she always found herself watching Lucy in awe as she slept. Okay, fine, she was also watching that little belly move up and down, her near constant fear that Lucy would stop breathing making her more than a little paranoid.
It had taken a lot of convincing from Jace and Andre for her to finally sleep in bed again instead of slumped in the rocking chair in Lucy’s room. They’d actually threatened to cuff her to the bed one night just to force her to get a good night’s sleep where she wouldn’t wake up in need of a chiropractor. She’d balked, but in truth she was glad she had the guys around to rein her in a bit. New parenthood could make anyone go crazy. And frankly, the guys could be as far gone as she was sometimes.
Which was why when she got closer to the nursery, she wasn’t surprised to hear that the music wasn’t the lullabies at all. It was Jace singing. She grabbed the doorframe, trying to keep quiet, and peeked inside the room. The sight inside made every inch of her fill up with soul-deep warmth.
Jace had taken her spot in the rocking chair and had Lucy cuddled against him as he sang Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love” to her. Lu’s little fist was balled against Jace’s bare chest, and she had this contented wonder in those big eyes as she stared up at her daddy’s face. Evan smiled. Her girl was such a junkie for skin-to-skin contact, even when she couldn’t get any milk out of the deal. Though, really, Evan couldn’t blame her. Her two daddies had lovely chests to cuddle against.
Jace looked up, catching Evan spying. “Hey, you’re supposed to be sleeping, mama.”
She crossed her arms. “You turned the monitor off. The silence woke me up.”
He smirked. “I did that so you could rest, but clearly, you’re hopeless.”
“I know.” She stepped inside and walked over to them. Evan ran her hand over Lucy’s fine tufts of dark hair. “She giving you trouble going back to sleep?”
“Nah, Lu just wanted a late-night chat. We’ve been discussing how she’s not allowed to be alone with a boy until she’s twenty-five.”
Evan smiled. “How very Victorian of you.”
“Hey, Andre said thirty, so I’m the reasonable one.”
Evan looked down at Lucy, the big green eyes blinking back at her a mirror image of Jace’s. “Lu, your teenage years are going to be so much fun with these two.”
“You get to obsess about things now. We get to do it later.”
Evan lowered herself to the floor and leaned back against Jace’s legs. “So Van Morrison, huh?”
“Well, she’s partial to indie rock, but I’m trying out some new stuff on her. Want to keep her on her toes.”
Evan sighed and closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of Jace and baby lotion—two things she never would’ve thought she’d smell paired together. “You’re really good at this, you know.”
“We’re just trying to keep up with you.” His hand threaded through Evan’s hair, stroking her scalp. “Plus, I love this.”
“Yeah?”
“Singing to a girl in the middle of the night while she stares adoringly at me and drools? I was born for this.”
Evan smiled. “And what if we have a boy next time?”
“Boys drool over him, too,” another voice said. Evan opened her eyes to find Andre lounging in the doorway, his hair sticking up every which way. “Looks like I’m missing the party.”
“Yes, we’re having a wild time. About to break out the nipple clamps and whips,” Evan said, patting the spot next to her on the floor. “Care to join?”
Andre sauntered inside, all sleepy sexiness, and settled down next to her. “Not tonight. We’re saving that for next weekend.”
“What?” She turned to him, unable to hide her surprise. Over the last few months, none of them had exactly had the energy for anything more that sleepy, half-exhausted lovemaking—and not very often at that. If not for the fact that there were three of them, it would’ve seemed downright vanilla. But she knew it was just a temporary phase. They were giving her time to adjust both physically and mentally to everything. But she couldn’t help smiling at the thought that maybe that was about to change. “Next weekend?”
“Yep. Cela has threatened that if I don’t let her babysit her niece soon, she’s going to tell my parents about that time I wrecked their car trying to drag race and blamed it on a deer. So she’s coming over Friday to watch Lu while Jace and I take you out for the night to The Ranch.”
“Really?” she asked, maybe a little too much enthusiasm in her voice. She knew that when the day came, she’d be all kinds of anxious leaving Lucy with anyone. But on the flip side, some adult time with Jace and Andre sounded heavenly.
Andre leaned over to kiss her. “Really. We never got to have a proper honeymoon celebration after the wedding since we needed to be careful with you. But now . . . well, now you’re fair game, bella. No more restrictions. And we’ve got lots of ideas.”
She sighed. “That sounds kind of amazing.”
“Good. Because we weren’t exactly giving you a choice in the matter.” He tempered the command with a tilted grin. “A night off is good for the soul.”
“I’ll be a nervous wreck leaving her.”
“And we’ll make sure to get your mind off all those things until there’s no room for worry. We’ve got some tricks you haven’t seen yet, you know,” Jace said from above her, his hand still stroking her hair.
“I have no doubt.” She linked her hand with Andre’s, rubbing her finger over his wedding band. Husband. In the end, Jace’s plan had involved her legally marrying Andre to get the benefits that came from being married to a cop. But the ceremony they’d held on Grant’s vineyard hadn’t distinguished whose name was on the marriage certificate. All three had exchanged vows together. They’d found an open-minded minister, who happened to be a member of The Ranch, to bless their union, and their family and friends had attended—none of them the wiser that there was a kink resort housed on the other side of the gorgeous property.
It’d been perfect and magical. A fairy tale. But the white dress, pretty flowers, and all the pomp and circumstance couldn’t compare to this moment. Here, huddled in the nursery in the middle of the night, bone tired and half delirious, with her guys and Lu surrounding her. This was all she ever needed.
Well, this and maybe those trips with them to The Ranch.
Because she was a mom. And their wife.
But she also was still their girl.
She’d always be their girl.
She reached up for Jace’s hand. “Lu asleep yet?”
“Yep. We’ve bored her.”
“Good.” She turned around until she was on her knees in front of the chair. “Then put her in her crib. I think it’s her mama’s turn to get a little skin-to-skin contact.”
Jace’s lips curled as he stood and lay Lu in her bed. “Are you going to drool on me, too?”
“If you’re lucky.” She got to her feet.
He turned and gathered her to him, his gaze so intent it made her chest constrict. “Oh, I’m lucky, Ev.” He pushed her hair away from her face and kissed her. “So. Damn. Lucky.”
And with that, he picked her up like she was as light as Lu, cocked his head at Andre, and all three of them went into the bedroom to remind themselves just how lucky they were.
And how sweet forever could be.
Dear Reader,
First, thank you for reading FOREVER STARTS TONIGHT. I hope you enjoyed discovering more about Jace, Evan, and Andre!
This has been a project that I’ve wanted to do for a while now. As soon as I finished writing M
ELT INTO YOU in 2011, something told me this triad’s journey wasn’t quite over. But I didn’t know if there was a place for a “beyond the happily ever after” story.
Then you guys began to email me. You wanted to know what was next for these three. What would happen with their unconventional relationship? You had many of the same questions that had been bouncing around in my brain. And that made me excited to write more about them and find out the answers. This novella exists because of your feedback and letters.
So, thank you. Thank you for reading my books and caring enough about the characters to want to know more.
Here’s to many more happy endings to come!
Roni
Read on for an excerpt from Roni Loren’s next Loving on the Edge novel
NOTHING BETWEEN US
Available soon from Berkley
12:35 A.M.—Spring
Georgia Delaune had never been particularly drawn to illegal activity. Or taking risks. Or, okay, fine—sexually deviant behavior. She was woman enough to admit what this was. So finding herself hiding in the dark, peering around the curtains of her second-story window with a set of binoculars, should’ve tipped her off that she was officially losing her shit.
But since moving into the house on Fallen Oaks Lane six months earlier, she’d known this moment was coming. Before now, she’d convinced herself that she’d only been catching inadvertent peeks and unintentional glimpses. Her neighbor would surely shut his curtains if he didn’t want to risk being seen, right?
She groaned, lowered the binoculars, and pressed her forehead to the window frame. God, now she was blaming the victim. He gets naked in the confines of his own home. A home that’s on a treed corner lot with tons of privacy and a seven-foot-tall fence. How dare he!
This was so screwed up. What if he saw her? He could call the cops, and she’d be slapped with some Peeping Tom charge—or Peeping Tammy, as the case may be. That’d be an epic disaster. Especially when the cops found no information on a Georgia Delaune. Plus, afterward, she’d have to move because there’d be no facing her neighbor again. Not after he knew what she did at night. And there was no way in hell she was moving. It had taken too much time, effort, and planning to find this spot, to finally feel even a smidgen of security and safety. These walls were her only haven, and she had no intention of leaving them.