A long, hot shower behind me and a tall glass of iced tea in hand, I quickly checked on my sons, relieved to hear them giggling over the newest Disney movie they were watching rather than fighting. I shook my head, a relieved smile creeping over my lips, before heading up to my bedroom with my phone firmly in hand. Ignoring the other messages for the moment, I shot a message to Jenna to check on her and Brooke.

All good here. Stop worrying. Have a drink. She shot back at me. I snorted, amused at her ridiculousness, and finally faced the built-up messages in my cell.

Alex and Max’s were first questions about what had happened with Libby, followed by pleas to speak with me and apologizing for Troy’s behavior. Troy’s had been increasingly desperate, stating that he needed to speak with me urgently. He had gone silent over the night, but a few new messages were there from him from today.

I’m sorry. The first one read. I should never have scared you like that, and it wasn’t my intent. I hope you won’t look poorly on Alex or Max because of my own behavior. My chest tightened at those words, the seeming dismissal of our relationship in them.

If you would feel up to it, I would like to speak with you about the conclusions that were reached by the school. The formal text from a few hours ago read. I sighed at the formality, unsure of where to begin with my own. I decided it would be best to form a group text, to get everything out of the way.

Brooke came home today, extremely upset. Apparently, news of us has gone far past the school board and has become the source of common gossip. The boys heard a little bit of her tirade. I figured you should know because if it’s reached my children I’m sure it will be reaching your ears shortly. I need to focus on my kids for the moment, but I do want to speak with you about how the meeting with the school went. I’m sorry for everything all of you are experiencing at the moment. I sent the message out first, before composing a short one to Troy as well.

I can’t meet at the moment to talk, the boys are here and I don’t have a sitter, but I truly hope that the meeting went positively. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I have no issue threatening the school board if they try and follow through with their threats. It’s all hearsay.

My phone buzzed immediately and I blew out a breath, leaning back against the pillows on my bed. I felt nearly as dramatic as a teenager myself, wrung out after two days of highs and lows. I debated a moment before grabbing my laptop. I doubted the self-pity was going anywhere soon, especially with the decision I would have to make now, and the fact that I was waiting on decisions from all three of the men I had become so close to. I didn’t want to let myself sink into it, however. I had taken control of my life through every step and stage, it was time I did that now. I wasn’t going to let Libby or anyone else run roughshod over me, my family, or my future.

I glanced at my phone quickly as I arranged myself comfortably.

I miss you, Emily. Alex’s latest text caused my chest to ache. I hesitated, unsure if I should respond, but in the end, I couldn’t resist the pull he had on me.

I miss you, too.

Thinking of you, Em. Let me know if there’s anything you need. Max’s warm text had a smile playing over my lips before I turned my focus back to the problem in front of me. It was time to unravel the puzzle that had fallen into my lap.

I blew out a breath, staring at my computer screen and debating what to do with the information I had spent the past few hours gathering. Cal and Jake had been on their best behavior, probably still shocked from the screaming match they had witnessed earlier, so I had the chance to get more research done than I had originally thought possible.

The doorbell rang and I pushed aside my laptop, tossing my phone onto the rumpled covers as I headed downstairs. I assumed the boys had finally ordered the pizza that Jenna had left money for, so I took a minute to grab my purse from the kitchen counter before swinging the door open with a smile. My smile fell away, tears burning at the back of my eyes as I faced Alex, Max, and Troy.

“What?” The word was out before I could stop it, and I glanced quickly behind me to see if Jake or Cal had come out to see who our visitor was.

“We wanted to talk to you,” Alex offered, his voice soft.

“We missed you,” Max added.

Troy sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. “I wanted to apologize. In person, not simply via a text.”

“You didn’t need to do that. You really didn’t need to apologize again.” Okay, so, I appreciated the apology, but it wasn’t his anger and hurt that I wanted the apology for. I was still selfish enough that I wanted him to say that he would choose me, as ridiculous as it may be. I checked again for the boys, not wanting more questions from them. I could still hear the television, but I wasn’t exactly comfortable talking on the street. “Come in. Quietly. I don’t really want to advertise that you’re here.” I led them into the kitchen, leaning up against the fridge as I faced them, waiting for what was coming.

“I am sorry, Emmie,” Troy said, keeping his voice down as I had asked him.

“What did the school say?” I resisted the urge to chew on my lip or knot my hands together. I wanted to remain cool and collected, and not let myself devolve into a mess in front of them.

He grimaced, his brow wrinkling. “They made threats, but as of now, especially with nothing substantiated, they aren’t taking action. They warned me I was risking my career if I let things continue. They emphasized the impact that it would have on my students. Then they began to complain they we would possibly lose in football if I put myself ahead of my players. All in all, some thinly veiled threats, but I still have my job.” His unspoken “for the moment” hung heavily in the air.

My chest ached and I nodded slowly. “I’m sorry that happened.”

“How did your kids find out?” Alex asked, concern clear on his face.

I attempted a nonchalant shrug, though I was sure I failed. “Brooke was told at a dance team sleepover. All the girls and moms were talking about it.” Remembering one of her comments, I turned my attention back to Troy, my voice stern. “Talk to your players, Troy. Apparently, she has been receiving some really disturbing text messages from your team this morning asking if she’s as kinky as I am. She’s very upset by it. I figure I’ll give you a chance here to correct it before I go take their punk butts out.” Troy’s eyes were hard, his lips pressed tightly together, and his green eyes flashing with irritation.

“It won’t happen once I talk to them. They’ll be punished for it. If you see anything else come through, you tell me right away.”

“The boys?” Alex pressed for more information. “Do they know?”

I rubbed at my forehead, my headache coming back. “Brooke wasn’t exactly quiet with her tantrum this afternoon. They came to see what was going on. They caught a little bit of it, though thankfully they were still too young to get what she was insinuating.” At least, I hoped they were still too young to understand it. I tried to ignore the greasy knot of dread that was balled up tightly in my stomach.

“I’m so sorry, Em.” Max’s voice was nearly a whisper. “None of us expected it to go down like this. I don’t even know how anyone found out about us.”

I laughed, the sound bitter even though I kept it low. “Libby. How else?” All three swore. Troy appeared furious, Max as bitter as me, and Alex looked nearly devastated at the news. “That’s my best guess, at least,” I amended, trying to remove some of the sadness from his eyes. “She’s the only one who’s seen us together, and we had that confrontation at the club.”

“What was that even about?” Max asked.

I paused for a moment, unsure, before shrugging. I may as well fill them in on everything. “She was warning me away from Troy, insinuating that they were going to be married shortly and I was just a pawn. That you guys took women into threesomes frequently as some kind of twisted game.” All three gaped at me, unable to speak through the shock. “She was quick to admit Troy wasn’t her usual type but stated that his inheritance made up for the fact that he was only a teacher, and emphasized he may have other options coming his way soon as well.”

Troy was nearly shaking. “I don’t understand.” He seemed to trip over the words. “Why in the hell has she hooked onto us like this?”

In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought. “I wondered about that too. I was kind of going to let it be, but then she decided to aim for ruining my life.” I could feel the fury building in me now, and I was grateful that it was replacing the desperation that had been nagging at me. “I looked into her background a bit.” I hesitated, but then shrugged off the uncertainty. “All of your backgrounds, actually,” I admitted.

Alex’s expression was shocked, and Troy’s irritated. Surprising me, Max snickered. The other two turned to look at him, Alex’s eyes wide and Troy glaring. Max simply shrugged. “She’s a single mom of three kids. You really think she wouldn’t look into our backgrounds? She’s no fool. If anything, it means she’s more interested in us and considering introducing us to the three of them.” He turned back to me. “Right?”

I didn’t answer the question, instead moving back to what I was saying. “Troy had that inheritance come in. You and Alex own a business, property, and have several investments.” Troy was gawking at me, apparently surprised by my thoroughness. Alex had joined in Max’s humor, both now grinning at me, seemingly proud of me.

“If the writing thing doesn’t work out and you ever need a job, come and see us,” Alex offered. “We could use someone with your skills.”

“How did you even know how to do this?” Troy asked, his voice considering as he watched his friends.

“Trial and error. Research for books. Some classes.” I shrugged. “I’m a writer. I’m nosy by nature. There’s very little you can’t access if you know what you’re looking for and how to get there.”

I shot Max a pointed look. “For example, you need to remember to pay your property tax. You were late last year.” Max snorted, shaking his head. Alex glared at him.

“I sent you a dozen reminders about that and programmed it into your phone. How could you still have been late?” Max waved a dismissive hand.

“This is fascinating,” Troy drawled, “but it doesn’t really explain anything about our situation at the moment.”

I leaned back, crossing my legs as I thought things out. “Do you all realize that Libby had almost no internet presence before she moved here?” I asked. Alex shook his head slowly. “Did you ever run a background check on her?” His gaze shifted to the window and I sighed, taking that as a no. “She wasn’t on any social media site. She had no recorded e-mail address.”

“So what? I don’t have social media, what does that matter?” Troy seemed completely confused.

“Since moving here, she’s developed one.” I explained. “She takes pictures constantly, always showing off. Everything from her food to her outfits. Anything and everything is up to be commented on. Yet as of eight years ago, there’s nothing. Absolutely nothing. If her age is accurate, then she would have been, what, in her late twenties? Prime time for social media usage, especially at its outset and for someone as vain as she is.”

Troy grunted, rubbing at his face. “I still don’t understand.”

“No one in town knew her. She has no family here, there’s no history in the town of her visiting. If I ask around enough, I can hear stories about you or Alex or Max. What kind of tipper you are at the bar you prefer to hang out with, what your grandmother was like, when Alex began looking at real estate.”

“The joy of small towns.” Max’s voice was dryly amused.

“So you’re saying it’s weird she moved here randomly?” Troy’s question was slow.

“She moved here out of nowhere. Then she simply happens to start hitting on three of the most prominent men her age in town?”

Alex shook his head. “It wasn’t just us, though. What about Phillip and the others?” he pointed out.

“Do you know anything about Phillip?” I asked the question cautiously, knowing how much it would hurt.

Alex considered for a moment. “I looked into him during…” He cleared his throat. “During everything. He’s got family in Indiana, but locally he just worked in an auto body shop. He didn’t have a criminal record. He went to college here and decided to stay.”

“His family is pretty well known in Indiana. His grandpa had a security company. It wasn’t his thing, apparently, and he liked the area here when he went to school. He took business classes though, and his intent seemed to be opening his own garage.”

“You think she was latching onto men with money or possible prominence,” Max mused.

“If that was true, why is she still chasing us? Why would she not just marry someone else if that’s all she wanted?”

“Marriage is a traditional aspect you may see with gold diggers. It’s not the only one though. Especially in this age where prenuptial agreements can be common and there are stricter ordinances involving spousal support for shorter term marriages. Marriages are recorded, it’s very hard to lie to future potential spouses about what your prior marriages were.” I shrugged. “Plus, she’s vain. I don’t know that she’d like the idea of being seen with someone she didn’t consider attractive.”

“You think she’s using sex.” Troy seemed to consider this. “Possibly even pregnancy.”

I nodded. “She seemed to have no problem with the concept of sleeping with all three of you. She hinted that she had already done so.”

Troy wrinkled his nose. “No. Not my type.”

“She pushed for it though.” Alex seemed to be considering what I was saying. “When we would drink, or anything along those lines.”

“You think she was trying to get us into a compromising position before blackmailing us?” Max seemed to be completely shocked at the thought.

“Look, all of this is fascinating and definitely worth considering,” Troy interjected before I could continue. “However, it’s not what we’re here to talk about.” He took a deep breath, stepping forward and holding my gaze with his. “I’m very sorry, Emmie. I didn’t mean to make it seem as though I wasn’t choosing you.” My heart sped up as I listened. “I was completely overwhelmed, but it wasn’t right for me to throw it all on you, or infer that the blame lay at your feet. I apologize for that.”

“You weren’t exactly wrong.” I replied. “I had considered how our relationship would affect my kids, but I hadn’t focused on how it would affect all of you besides the possible strain on your friendship. Your careers being in danger had never crossed my mind.

“Screw my career,” Alex burst out, shocking me enough that I slipped, nailing my elbow against the corner of the counter. “Sorry,” he apologized, lowering his voice. “I’m forty-two years old. I have spent my whole life doing what everyone else thought was right, working to help others. If people can’t remember all of the years I spent helping them and would rather focus on a rumor in regards to what I may or may not be doing, then I don’t care anymore. If I have to take a different track, I will. My sex life does not invalidate my degree or my years of experience. I enjoy what I do, but I’m not going to continue to do it by pretending to not have feelings for you. If I need to put my focus to something else, teaching or mediating or, I don’t know, writing a book, I will. I’m not going to let anyone dictate to me anymore.”

My eyes welled with tears, and I wanted to throw myself into his arms. “Alex, you really are the sweetest man I have ever met in my life.”

“I’m not sure that I would throw away my whole career,” Max admitted, choosing his words carefully. “It has nothing to do with how much I care about you, Em, because I adore you. I just don’t think it’s necessary. I agree that I won’t be dictated to, but I know that these things blow over. People will gossip and complain for a few months, maybe a year or two, and then they’ll move on. I have enough in savings to cover that.”

“I have other tracks in mind, too,” Troy admitted. “There are other potentials for me, some I was even thinking about before any of this mess began to happen. Working in training camps, colleges. It helps that I still have friends in high places in the sports world. I love my job, and I don’t want to be fired for my personal choices. Our relationship is consensual and it’s private. It should be no business to anyone else what I am doing in that regard.”

Tears were streaking down my cheeks, and I could barely breathe. These three incredible men were willing to change their whole lives. “We’ve only known each other a few months,” I pointed out. “You may be right that this will blow over, but it may not. You can’t imagine how flattered I am that you would change everything you’ve known, just for me.”

A shutter came down over Alex’s eyes. “You’re turning us down. You don’t want us.” His voice was cool.

“You’re wrong. I want all of you, more than I’ve wanted anything in years. As much as I want you, though, I can’t have what I want.”

“Why not, Em? We’re right here for you. We still want to make things work.” Max’s voice neared pleading.

“Brooke is already getting harassed, and at this point, it’s just a rumor.” I wrung my hands, wishing I could ease the tension I was feeling.

“She’ll be in college next year, though,” Max offered, hope tinging his voice. “I can wait.”

I could feel my heart break as more tears trickled down my cheeks. “Then what? I’ll have a seven-year-old and an eleven-year-old. Two little boys who don’t need to be harassed because of the way their mom is living her life.” I could barely force the words out between my lips. “I don’t think Brooke’s right, I don’t think they’d become perverts. There are all kinds of relationships in this world, and as long as we showed them love was a happy, healthy thing, that relationships were work, I think that they could grow up in a positive way. What we model in this house though, probably wouldn’t be enough to counteract what they’ll hear outside of it. People were already threatening to call child services on me at just a rumor.” Alex hissed in a breath through his teeth, and I nodded as he grasped the severity of the situation.

“What if…” Troy trailed off for a moment, glancing first at Max, then Alex, before returning his gaze to mine. “What if you picked just one of us? I care about you, Emmie.” The words were low and nearly pleading. “I care about Max and Alex as well though, and I’d be willing to step back. If maybe you picked one of us for now, if the others just stayed friends, maybe, when the kids are older…” He trailed off again.

Max appeared shocked for a moment, then considering. He looked first to Troy who shot a rapid, pointed look at Alex. Max nodded, slowly. “You know I care about you, Em. I could back off though. Keep it as a friendship for now.” I knew the two of them were worried about Alex, and it only made me cry harder.

Alex shot his friends a sad, rueful smile before stepping forward. “Emily, I would love to lay a claim to you. To give in to what these two think they’re sneakily doing. I adore you, I really do. I think I’ve been falling for you since the first time you tripped over your feet and into my arms.” A wet chuckle broke from my lips, a desperate attempt to release the emotions unfurling inside me. I wrapped my arms tightly around my waist trying to hold myself together. “Max and Troy have been my friends for years now. It wouldn’t be fair to them, or to you, for me to take that choice away from them. I can read your feelings in your eyes. You care about all of us. You told me yourself you couldn’t choose, that losing them would hurt you. I know it would hurt them to try and act just like your friends while the two of us moved our relationship forward. I can’t do it to them, or to you.” He stepped forward to brush a kiss across my cheek, wiping the tears from cheeks though they were immediately replaced.

“I’m so sorry.” I looked from Max’s soft blue eyes, to Troy’s apple green ones, to Alex’s electric blue.

Alex grasped my chin. “Don’t apologize. We all loved spending time with you. Give us some time, and we can try that friendship again.” He blew out a breath. “If I still had Ryan,” his voice cracked on his son’s name and he cleared his throat before continuing. “If I still had Ryan, I’d make the same choice you are. You’re an amazing mom, putting your kids before yourself this way. I hope someday they can know the sacrifice you’re making for their sake.”

“Everything I’ve done this year has been for me,” I admitted through the tears that blinded me. “Moving them here instead of with their dad, putting them into a new school, staying here rather than joining them in California, my relationship with all of you. I have to pick them now. Maybe, someday, I can pick myself again.” Pick us again, were the words I couldn’t say.

“We understand.” Max’s voice was rough as he stepped forward to brush a soft kiss over my lips. “I wish it could be another way, but I do understand. Just know that I’m here if you need me.”

Troy stepped up next, pulling me tightly against him as he buried his face into my hair, inhaling as if trying to memorize my scent. “Sweet Emmie. I really think I could have loved you.” He kissed me, hard and fast, before pulling away and striding out the front door, Max on his heels.

Alex stroked a hand down my cheek. “Want to call Jenna real quick?” he asked. “The three of us are probably going to head over to Max’s or Troy’s. Being this close to you now would be hard. I don’t want to leave you here alone, crying.” I nodded rapidly, grabbing my cell and firing off a quick text, begging Jenna to come over. I didn’t want to break down in front of the boys and I knew that as soon as that door closed I was going to lose it. He laid his forehead against mine, tangling his hand into my hair before pulling back with a sweet attempt at a smile. “Goodbye, Emily.”

I heard the door close behind him, and I pushed my face into my hands, stifling my sobs so my children couldn’t hear. “Goodbye.” I managed to murmur.