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“Why did you?” She asks the million dollar question. Answering her will be harder than apologizing to her. Not because I need to come up with bullshit or that I don’t want to be honest. It’s difficult because it makes me feel vulnerable. Raw.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Afraid?” she parrots.
“Yes. We woke up this morning, and you were gone. All I could think about was how perfect last night was. How I want to explore even more with you.” I pause, tempted to leave it at that but knowing the only way forward is with total honesty. I gesture to Hudson and Beck. “With them.”
“You want them, too.” She’s not asking. She’s stating a fact.
“I love them,” I say, simply. “And I think I could be falling in love with them. With you. And it’s the slowest instantaneous freefall imaginable.”
I don’t have to stand alone on the razor edge of vulnerable truth for long. Hudson wraps an arm around my waist while Beck steps close enough I feel his warmth at my back.
“There can’t be love without trust, Asher.” She’s so strong. I’m guessing a lifetime in foster care made her tough, but her inherent sweetness is threaded through the resilience in her.
“If you give me a chance, I’ll prove my trust. I’ll earn your love,” I vow.
“We all will,” Beck adds.
“Whatever it takes,” Hud promises.
Having said our piece, my apology mostly, I step back, ready to leave. I want to snatch Talissa into my arms and force her to let me love her, but I know that’s not how it works. I have to give her space to decide.
On the way over here, I offered to step aside to let Beck and Hudson have her if she can’t forgive me. Both of them flatly refused. I appreciate their support, but this is Talissa’s decision.
“I don’t think you’ll have to work too hard to prove it. One thing going without teaches you is how to recognize a good thing when it comes your way. This is a good thing. I’m willing to accept your apology and give this thing a try. Just…just promise me one thing?” she asks.
“Anything.” We trip over ourselves all saying the same thing.
“You’ll put my name on the guest list at your office.” She smiles, and I know she’s toying with me.
“I can do one better.” I wink at her, and she blushes prettily enough to have my heart in my throat.
“You can take these and be able to go anywhere you choose to go. Anytime. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.” I hold out the keyring with six individual rings that each have two keys on them.
“What are these?” she asks.
“They’re the keys to everything. Our houses, our offices, our hearts,” I explain. Two keys from each of us, the errand I made us run before coming here. A key to each of our residences and our primary offices. I want Talissa to understand she’ll never again be denied access to us. Beck and Hudson agreed.
Talissa launches herself into my arms. Hudson and Beck’s wrap around us both. It’s hard to believe this rollercoaster has brought us full circle in the span of a single day. From love at first sight to heartbreak to happily ever after.
I chuckle to myself at the fanciful thought. Maybe, I’m in the wrong industry. Instead of law, I should be writing fairytales.
Eh, fuck it. Who cares about writing them when we’re going to be busy living ours?
Epilogue
4 years later
Talissa
Baby Micah, the little brother for Marley that I carried for Teagan and Darius, just turned one. Being a surrogate this time was been wildly different than when I did it before. Last time, it was just me, Teag and Darius dealing with all my pregnancy cravings and being excited about the new life coming our way.
This go around, I had Asher, Hudson, and Beck to spoil and pamper me. Micah isn’t their son, but they take their uncle roles very seriously. So much so, at times, I felt like I’d drown in the ocean of their adoration and love.
Love like ours is hard won, so even when the weight of it feels like it could crush, I lean deeper into it. After a childhood as an afterthought, it’s taken me time to adjust to being the center of one person’s world. Multiply that to factor in I’m the center of three men’s worlds and the enormity of our love surpasses the math of it.
Because it’s not just about the way they cherish me. The three of them have fallen in love with one another, too. Witnessing their friendships topple into passionate devotion bolstered my feelings of security. How can our relationship ever fail when it’s built on the four sturdy corners of our commitment to each other?
