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“Well, yes,” said Preston. “But only if you want to. You could decide on none of us, and that’s okay too. We understand that we put you in a tough position. And we acknowledge the whole thing is kinda crazy…”
“And if I picked one of you, then what?” I asked. “The rest of you are just going to be okay with it?”
They nodded, twisting the caps off their waters. “That’s what we agreed upon, yes.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup,” said Adrian. “The others will back off entirely. As difficult as that might be.”
“Besides,” Jax grumbled. “You obviously want one of us more than the others. That’s human nature. And who wants a girl who wants someone else?”
Several beats of silence followed. For some reason, my heart sank.
“That’s not fair,” I told them.
The boys looked at each other in confusion. They seemed honestly surprised.
“Why? We thought it was the fairest way to—”
“You’re making me choose between three men I’ve grown to care about very much,” I cried. I pointed to Jax and Adrian. “You’re asking me to come between lifelong childhood friends,” I nodded toward Preston, “or to give up on someone who’s so super-compatible to me, it’s like he was molded specifically to be my boyfriend.”
“Then choose him,” Jax shrugged, as if he didn’t care. “If that’s what you want—”
“That’s not what I want!” I shouted. “I— I wanted…”
My sentence trailed off awkwardly. There was no good way to finish it.
“What?” asked Adrian.
I sank my head into my hands. I should’ve used them to pull my foot from my mouth.
“She wanted all of us,” Jax laughed gruffly. “That’s what she wanted.”
Another span of silence followed, even more awkward than before. I could feel their eyes on me.
“Is that true?” asked Adrian. “Is that what you want?”
I didn’t know what to say. All I could do was shrug.
“I don’t know what the hell I want,” I admitted finally. “I know I don’t want to lose any of you, though. That’s for sure.”
“Unbelievable,” Jax laughed.
I whipped my head up. The others were staring at him, angrily.
“Jax—”
“Greedy,” Jax grunted. “Just as I said. Just like—”
The door to the apartment opened abruptly again, and our heads turned in time to catch Brayden and Emma. They flew inside happily, ahead of a smiling woman who could only be Jennifer, the sister of Jax’s sister-in-law.
“Hi!” cried Jennifer. “Sorry if I’m a bit early, but…”
Brayden rushed to his father first, hugged him, then headed straight for me. Emma did the same with Jax. Both children reached me at about the same time, arms outstretched, as I struggled to pull each into my lap.
The life-changing double-hug they gave me drove every last worry from my conflicted head.
~ 33 ~
