CHAPTER NINE
Three months later . . .
~Kevin~
“WHERE IS SHE?” I ASK as I pace the floor and glance out the living room window for the third time.
“You’ve asked me that six times in the past five minutes. She’s on her way,” Gray replies calmly and shakes his head at me.
“How can you be so calm?”
“Getting all worked up isn’t going to get her here any sooner.”
“I hate it when you’re rational.” I glare at him.
“I’m surprised you know the meaning of the word,” he replies with a laugh and only laughs harder when I flip him off. “Is that any way to treat me on a day like today?”
I shove my hand through my hair and pace away, glancing around our house. Bailey has added so much to our home. She’s decorated and added plants and fussy touches here and there. But more than that, she’s made us come alive.
She’s the best part of us.
Now, if she would just get her sexy ass home . . .
* * *
~Gray~
I’m as keyed up as Kevin is. Where the fuck is she? She called us from her event site forty-five minutes ago and said she was on her way home. She should have been here twenty minutes ago.
“Maybe she got stuck in traffic,” Kevin suggests.
“It’s a bit late in the evening for traffic,” I remind him, making him growl.
“She’s doing this on purpose. She knows and she’s doing it on purpose.”
“She doesn’t know a thing about it,” I reply, sounding much calmer than I feel. Shit, could she know?
“Did you get the back yard set up?” he asks anxiously.
“You know I did. You just saw it yourself.” I shake my head in exasperation. “Jesus, calm the fuck down.”
“What if she’s been in an accident?” he asks, near hysteria when we both hear her car door slam and whip toward the front door.
She walks in with a small smile on her lips and when she looks up at us that smile blooms across her face, lighting her up.
God, every time I look at her it’s as if it’s the first time.
* * *
~Bailey~
“When you smile at me like that, it’s like a kick to the gut,” Kevin whispers and Gray nods beside him. They’re both staring at me like they’re starving tigers and I’m dinner.
I fucking love it when they look at me like this. It usually means we’re about to have a damn fun time.
“Hey, guys.” I tilt my head as I shut the door behind me. “What’s going on?”
“Why does anything have to be going on?” Gray asks. “Can’t we just be happy to see you?”
I drop my bags on the nearest couch and prop my hands on my hips as I watch them.
“I love it that you’re happy to see me but you both look guilty. What’s going on?”
They glance at each other and then laugh as they each take a hand and kiss it, then take turns kissing my lips quickly.
Way too quickly.
“Kissing is always good,” I murmur and lean in for another, but Gray chuckles and kisses my forehead instead.
“And you’ll get plenty, but first we want to show you something.”
“Ah, the plot thickens.”
They flank me, looping my arms through theirs, and escort me through the house to the back patio.
“Oh, wow,” I whisper as I take in the white lights that have been strung over head and the table covered in a huge bouquet of my favorite stargazer lilies.
“Here.” Kevin pulls a chair back from the table and motions for me to sit in it. As I do, both men take one knee before me. I cover my mouth with both hands and watch them through tear-filled eyes.
“Are you kidding me?” I whisper.
Gray smiles in that sweet way he does when I’ve amused him and Kevin just chuckles and shakes his head.
“Can we have your hands, please?” Gray asks.
They each take a ring box out of their pockets.
“We had trouble deciding who should go first, but finally came to the conclusion that we should do it based on who’s oldest, so I get to go first,” Kevin says with a wink.
“You’re two months older.” I laugh and dab at my eyes with a napkin, then give them my hands again.
“He’s still older,” Gray replies with a laugh.
“And nervous,” Kevin adds as he licks his lips. Oh, my sweet man. He’s good at being silly and outspoken, but I’ve learned that he has a soft side too. “I love you, Bailey.” He pins me in his green gaze. His blonde hair is all messed up from his nervous fingers, I’m sure. “You’ve brought so much to my life in the past few months. I can’t imagine my life without you, and I don’t ever want to know what that reality feels like. I want you to be mine, to be ours for the rest of our lives.”
Gray clears his throat, catching my attention. His blue eyes are calm and clear. “I love you Bailey, for all of the million little things that make you you, and for all of the ways you’ve made us better. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for us.”
They glance at each other and then back at me as the tears finally spill over and down my cheeks.
“Marry us,” Gray says. “Spend the rest of your life with us.”
“We will spend every day of our lives devoted to you, Bailey. We promise you that.”
I bring their hands up to my lips and kiss them both at the same time.
“I would be honored to marry you,” I reply and find myself in the biggest bear hug of my life, trapped between two very strong, very happy men. Gray lifts me off my feet and kisses me with everything he has, then passes me off to Kevin for the same treatment before they open the ring boxes, which are both . . . empty.
“That’s the way to knock a girl off her feet,” I say with a laugh. What do my amazing men have up their sleeves?
“We thought of each buying you a knockout engagement ring, and you could wear one on each hand,” Gray begins.
“Then we thought about buying just one ring,” Kevin continues. They’re both looking down at the boxes, almost as if they’re embarrassed, then they both look up at me.
“But that’s not who you are,” Gray says. “Every time we try to spoil you with something expensive, you decline.”
“I don’t need . . .” I begin but Kevin lays his finger over my lips, shutting me up.
“Yes, we’ve heard it, over and over again,” he says with a smile.
“We’d like for us to all wear matching platinum bands, if that’s okay with you,” Gray says. “If we’re way off base here and you’d rather have the diamonds, we’ll happily buy them, but we didn’t think that’s what you’d want.”
God, they know me so well. I swipe at the tears pouring down my cheeks and shake my head.
“Oh shit, we fucked up.” Kevin rubs his fingers over his lips as I laugh.
“No, you’re right. This is perfect. Matching bands are perfect.” I pull both of their faces close and kiss them, then they lean their foreheads against mine. “I love you both so much. How do we do this? I’m quite sure a marriage between the three of us isn’t legal, even in the state of Washington.”
“No,” Kevin agrees and looks at Gray.
“You’ll marry Kevin legally and take his name,” Gray says and shushes me as I begin to protest. “He’s the oldest.”
“We come to the table equally, Bailey,” Kevin continues. “We make the same amount of money, and most of what we own is in both our names. Either of us can put you on our insurance policies. We can both take care of you equally, so we decided that it should be the older of the two of us.”
I shake my head and bite my lips. “It doesn’t feel right.”
“Washington is a liberal state, sweetheart, but not that liberal.” Gray smiles and brushes his knuckles down my cheek. “It’s okay. We know that we love each other and are committed to each other.”
I chew on my lip, considering the options. “I’ll legally marry Kevin, but I’m changing my name to Bailey Welling-McDermitt.”
Both of their jaws drop as they watch me in a stunned silence.
“You’d do that?” Gray’s voice is hoarse as his eyes fill with tears.
“People will know, Bailey. You won’t be able to hide that you’re married to both of us.” Kevin tucks my hair behind my ear. “Are you sure you want that?”
“Are you ashamed of me?” I ask uncertainly. “Are you ashamed of the three of us being together?”
“Hell no,” they reply in unison.
“Fuck people then,” I insist. “You will be my husbands. I’m not ashamed of either of you. I love you.” I link my fingers with theirs again. “If we’re going to do this thing, we’re going to do it right. I’ll take both of your names.”
“I love you so much,” Gray whispers and he crushes me against him, clinging to me.
“I love you too.”
“Well,” Kevin says and he kisses my forehead and wipes the tears from my cheek and Gray continues to hold me against him. “It’s going to be one hell of an adventure.”
“My favorite kind,” I reply with a wide smile.