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“I fell for both of you years ago, and I never stopped loving you.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss over Jake’s lips. “When you ordered that ridiculous coffee, I didn’t know whether to roll my eyes or kiss you until you changed your mind.” Jake smiled and nuzzled his cheek.
“My brain had switched off that day. Seeing you there—”
“Believe me, I know.” He brushed his lips against Jake’s again and turned his attention to Cassie. “You, you’re a flirt. Made me so jealous when you asked me to meet the guy who wanted to date you. I didn’t know whether to go all caveman and carry you out over my shoulder or ask to watch. It was so damn confusing when I realized I wanted both of you. Then it hit me that just getting laid would never be enough, and I had no idea what to do. I never imagined for a second I could have you both.” He bent and kissed her slowly, his tongue sneaking out to taste her strawberry lip gloss. “We might not have seen each other for years, but I never stopped loving you.”
“I love you too,” Cassie whispered, reaching out to stroke his cheek with her thumb and kissing him again.
“Me too. Both of you,” Jake murmured. “I’ll always love you.”
“I’ll always cherish both of you. Care for you and be there to celebrate your successes. I’ll hold your hand when you’re sad and lift you up when you need it. I’ll stand in front of you to protect you and love you until the day I leave this world. Then, I’ll wait for you so we can spend an eternity loving each other.”
Cassie blinked, the tears forming on her eyelashes spilling over.
“Don’t cry, baby,” Phoenix murmured, kissing her tears away. His eyes softened when he turned to Jake, and he lifted his hand to their guy’s cheek. The sniffle from behind her clued Cassie into Jake’s failure to keep the tears at bay too.
“I’ll care for you and respect you for the rest of my life. Loving you is easy—”
Cassie knew the words Jake was reciting. She’d made the very same promise to him that night on the beach. Jake paused and looked at her, and Cassie nodded, her heart overflowing with love. The tears slipping free were happy ones. Grateful ones for bringing them back together and letting them have this moment and every one to come. A future of joy and wonder. A future where she could love the two men who’d given her the world.
She joined in, reciting the same vows she’d made to the man who’d stood by her, proving the strength of their love. She’d memorized the words years earlier, but they’d never held more meaning than right then—when they were finally complete.
“Loving you is the easiest thing in the world. I’ll strive to be a better person for you. When times are hard, I’ll do my best to make you smile. I’ll care for you when you’re ill and comfort you when you’re sad. I’ll have your back when you need me and be your biggest cheerleader. Then when we’re old and grey, I’ll love you like I do today.”
Phoenix crushed them in a hug, and Cassie breathed him in, his spicy cologne rich and heady. Something she couldn’t get enough of. She’d been wary when he’d come back into their lives. Scared that he would hurt Jake, and Cassie wouldn’t be able to protect him from heartbreak. Hope had reared its head, too, peeking above the dark clouds that had surrounded them.
She and Jake had built a life together, a good one. They were happy. In love and content together. But nothing compared to their life now. Phoenix healed them just with his presence. Glued the broken pieces within each of them back together. He completed them. Cassie knew they did the same for him. She’d seen the changes in him too, the weight lifting off his shoulders as he let go of the stress he’d carried for years. As he forgave himself for feeling like he’d failed. As he learned to love the man he was today and all the days to come in the same way that Cassie and Jake loved him.
Whispered utterings of love were shared between the three of them, and Cassie held on tight, never wanting to let her men go, but when Phoenix spoke, she pulled back and looked at him, her eyes wide.
“Jake shares your name. Can I do that one day too?” he asked.
“Yes,” Cassie and Jake answered in unison, laughter bubbling up from deep within, like a well overflowing. “A hundred times yes,” she exclaimed.
Clapping sounded from around them, and Cassie remembered their friends. She looked around the room, seeing the people who had accepted them into their lives. She hadn’t been lonely since moving to the Gold Coast, not with Jake by her side, but having people who had become like family to them, she realized just how lucky she and Jake were. Having Phoenix come back into their lives made them blessed.
“I’m so glad fate finally got its arse into gear,” Jake added with a kiss to her throat.
Cassie laughed and reached for Phoenix, hugging him tighter. His smile softened, and Phoenix pressed his lips to Cassie’s as Jake kissed his way up Phoenix’s throat and pressed his lips to theirs in a messy three-way kiss.
They stayed like that; Jake pressed to her back, swaying slowly as Phoenix walked around them, trailing his hand up Cassie’s arm and over Jake’s shoulder before he slid his hands down to her waist.
Cassie spun, this time placing Jake in the middle, and smiled as he leaned his head back on Phoenix’s shoulder and closed his eyes. Sliding a hand into Phoenix’s hair, he turned his face and kissed their man. Cassie cuddled into his shoulder and closed her eyes too, forever grateful for the two men she called hers.
No matter what their future held, Cassie knew one thing for certain. They would always be together and in love. Fate had taken its time, but they got there, but it was all the more reason for Cassie to cherish every moment of loving the man who’d stolen her client, then her heart, and the one who completed her.
And love them, she would.
*****
Thank you for reading Threepeat. I hope you loved Cassie, Jake and Phoenix’s journey.
Want to read Adelaide’s story? Third Time’s A Charm is available for pre-order.
My brother’s best friend, Liam Masters—life of the party, pro-footballer, temptation personified.
He’ssooff limits.
I’ve wanted him for years, but he still sees me as a kid.
