I open my eyes, no longer able to ignore the sun bleeding in from the window. For a split-second, I panic, but then I remember that I don’t have to work today.

I sit up and my wrists catch, bound to the bedposts over my head with two long neck ties.

I sigh. “Oh, you guys are funny.” I tug lightly at my restraints. “Bunch of comedians…” I try to slip my hands free but they’re just tight enough. “Max! Thad!”

Shoes touch the stairs out in the hallway, gently tapping upward. I stare at the bedroom doorway, waiting to see which one it is.

Max emerges with an instant grin. “Good morning!” he says.

“Good morning,” I repeat. “Let me out.”

“It’s a beautiful day today.” He walks across the room to the windows.

“Cool. Let me out.”

He throws the curtains open and gazes out into the busy city street. “Not a cloud in the sky.”

“Max.”

“Yes, dear?”

I present my wrists.

He grins. “Oh… that.”

“Yeah.” I tug once. “This.”

“Would you like some help?”

I glare at him but I can’t stop the curl of my mouth.

“Okay, okay…” He walks over and sits beside me on the bed. “For the record… it wasn’t my idea.”

“Still makes you an accessory,” I say. “And according to Penal Law Section 20.00, one person is liable for the acts of another when he intentionally aids, commands, or requests someone else to engage in a crime. New York State law does not distinguish between the primary offender and the accomplice when it comes to criminal culpability and punishment.”

Max blinks. “Goddamn.”

I smile. “Let me out, please.”

“I’m starting to regret letting you help me study to retake the bar exam.”

“You passed on the first try, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” He reaches for the nearest tie. “Eight months ago.”

I shrug. “I have a good memory.”

“Oh, we know.” He pulls the first knot free and stands to walk around to the other side. “Twenty-nine years old and still sharp as a tack.”

“Don’t you dare try and weasel your way of out of this, Monahan.”

“Beautiful and strong…”

“If you think a little sweet talk is gonna turn this around…”

He slips the second knot, freeing my other wrist. “And I love her more and more every single day.”

Warmth fills my chest. “And he’s got me.”

“However, I am culpable, so…” He sits down beside me again. “What was that you were saying about punishment?”

“I don’t know.” I swoon. “I can’t remember.”

“Let’s try this again.” He laughs and leans in to kiss me. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” I whisper before kissing him again.

“Happy birthday.”

“That’s today?” I feign ignorance. “I could have sworn every day was my birthday.”

“Certainly feels like it, doesn’t it?”

I nod and he pecks the tip of my nose. “So, what’s the plan?”

“What plan?”

“The birthday plan you and Thad concocted. Why else would you fasten me to the bedposts other than to keep me here so I couldn’t snoop around?”

“Well…” He clears his throat, amused. “First, I’m to spend as long as possible…” he kisses me again, soft and slow, “distracting you.”

I pull back an inch. “Distracting me?”

He cups my face, holding me to him as our lips continue. “Give Thad enough time.”

“Enough time for what?”

“To get back.”

“Get back from where?”

“The place he went.”

“What place?”

The front door opens and closes downstairs. I gasp with excitement but Max lays a finger on my lips.

“Second…” he begins, “you’re going to get dressed.”

“Get dressed?”

“Yes.”

“Whatever happened to naked birthdays?”

“Oh, that’s later on the schedule. I promise.”

I laugh. “Then, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” He gives me one last kiss before rising off the bed. “Get dressed.”

I throw my blanket off and plant my feet on the floor.

He lays a hand on my shoulder. “Take your time.”

“But—”

“Take your time.”

I squint. “Where’d he go?”

He smiles. “We’ll be downstairs.”

I sit still as he walks backward to the door, waiting patiently as he takes wide, slow strides to fill the time. He flashes a wink and closes the door behind him.

The second it latches, I hop up and rush to the master bathroom. It only takes me a minute or two to brush my teeth, wash my face, and throw my hair up. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt later and I’m bouncing down the stairs to the ground floor of our brownstone.

I spin off the stairs into the hallway and walk toward the kitchen in the back, my eyes constantly moving and searching for anything new or out of place.

Max and Thad sit at the kitchen table together. They’re both calm and casual, sipping coffee from mugs while they read their tablets. Just like every other morning.

Thad looks up and smiles. “Good morning,” he says.

Again, I glance around, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary. “Good morning,” I say.

“Sleep well?”

“Like a baby.” I walk forward slowly.

He takes a victory sip from his mug. “I love it when I do something right.”

“I was there, too,” Max says.

“And that’s about it.”

“Now, now…” I say, moving through the kitchen. “Let’s not argue on my birthday…”

Thad stares at me with suspicion. “Phoebe…”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“What are you looking for?”

I stop. “Why? Did you get me something?”

He glares at Max. “What did you tell her?”

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Max says, drinking away at his coffee.

He looks to me. “What did he tell you?”

“That he was supposed to distract me for as long as possible until you got back from some mystery place. Where did you go? What did you bring me?” I bite my lip in sweet anticipation. “Gimme, please.”

Thad scoffs at Max. “I knew I should have been the one to stay behind…”

“She’s wickedly smart, man,” Max argues. “She had it all figured out.”

“You’re weak.”

“She quoted the penal code.”

“Weak.”

“Guys!” I hold my hands in prayer and pout my lip. “You’re killing me.”

Thad smiles and softly sighs. “Ahh, jeez.”

“See?” Max shakes his head. “She turns you to mush, too.”

“She really does.” Thad slaps the table once. “All right. You got me. Let’s do this.”

I squeal as they rise from their chairs. “Where is it?”

Max hooks my elbow. “Close your eyes.”

“Oh, come on—”

“Pheebs,” Thad takes my other arm, “close your eyes or you get nothing.”

I shut them tight.

“See, Max?” he says. “Sometimes you just gotta be firm with her.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” I say.

They lead me forward into the hallway, taking their time as I grow more and more impatient and excited. My toes sink into the living room rug and they sit me down on the sofa by the coffee table.

“Can I open them yet?” I ask.

“No,” Thad answers.

“Just another second…” Max adds.

I count up in my head, stopping at five. “Okay, can I open them now?”

“No, wait,” Thad says. “Maybe we should do this later—”

“Guys.”

They laugh.

“He’s just kidding,” Max says. “Go ahead and open them, Phoebe.”

I force them wide. They instantly land on the large, red box in front of me, tied off with silver and gold ribbons and bows.

“Oh, pretty!”

Thad and Max stand in front of the table, both looking a little nervous. I reach for the ribbon, my gaze bouncing from them to the box as I slide it free.

The box lurches and I flinch.

“Uh… did it just move?” I ask.

They grin.

I grab the lid and pull it off.

My jaw drops.

The puppy stands up on its hind legs and grips the rim. Tiny eyes stare up at me with excitement as the tail wags and slams against the side. A bright pink collar rests around its neck, clashing beautifully with her chocolate brown fur.

“Oh, my god!” I lay a hand on my chest. “My heart…”

The box nearly topples as she tries to leap out at me. I pick her up and her tongue instantly connects with my burning cheeks.

“I think they like each other,” Max says.

Thad nods. “I think so, too.”

“I love her!” I say. “It’s a her, right? I don’t want to offend the pupper…”

“Yes,” Max answers. “She’s a girl.”

“Oh, good. My days of being outnumbered around here are finally over.”

Thad reaches behind the couch and pulls out another present, this one a smaller bag with tassels on the side. He sits on the couch and opens it. “And today, after we’re done with breakfast, we’re all gonna walk her out to the dog park for a little fun. How does that sound?”

I look in the bag, spotting a leash and several toys. “Yes! I can’t wait.”

Max sits on my other side. The three of us trade her back and forth, laughing and swoon over her little, adorable face.

I kiss her head over and over again. “Oh, I love you, I love you.” I turn to Max to kiss his cheek. “And I love you.” Then, to Thad and his stubbled chin. “And I love you.”

* * *

Max tosses the ball and the dog rushes after it for what feels like the fiftieth time but I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of that little face and her adorable bark.

I glance over at Thad. He sits nearby under the shade of a tree. His back is to it and he has a new notebook in his left hand, his right scribbling along the page with a little pencil.

I draw Max closer and give him a soft kiss. “I’m gonna go sit down for a bit.”

He kisses me back. “I’ll be here. She’s gotta lose some of that puppy energy at some point, right?”

I laugh as he runs after the dog. “I hope so.”

Thad looks up as I walk closer. He flips the notebook closed and stuffs it into his jacket pocket. “Hey,” he says, smiling.

“Working on something new?”

He nods. “Yeah, felt a little spark of inspiration this morning.”

“Because of me?” I ask. “Or the puppy?”

“Little of both.”

“Well, I look forward to reading it,” I say as I drop to my knees. “Two hours with a puppy and I’m already exhausted.”

“She’s gonna be a handful, that’s obvious.”

I fall the rest of the way down and lay my head on his lap. “We sure we can handle it?” I ask, staring up into the tree limbs as they wave in the wind.

“The three of us together? Oh, yeah.” He nods. “No question. Max and I went over this for weeks, Pheebs.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna alternate days to come home during lunch breaks,” he says. “Make sure she doesn’t get too lonely. Take her outside. Give her a snack. And she’ll be taken care of during my days off and on the days when Max works from home. And that’s just us. Your office is only a few blocks away so you’ll be able to get home when needed, too. This’ll be easy. And it’s what you wanted, so it’s what you got.”

I smile wider. “How did you know I wanted a puppy?”

“Jackie,” he answers. “Max and I have been talking since like July about what to get you for your birthday and we came up with nothing. Finally just called her because we figured she knew you better than anyone. She told us you wanted a live-in butler and a cook. We told her you already had those.”

I snort.

“Then, she said a chocolate lab puppy with a pink collar… and we knew that was it. We went to a shelter about a week ago and there she was. Insta-love. She took us both down.”

“Aww.” I rest my head. “She’s perfect.”

He smiles at me. “Yeah, she is.”

I look up in the sky, catching sight of a plane flying high up in the air with a trail of white following close behind.

“Hey, Thad?”

“Yes, milady?”

“Do you miss it?” I ask, pointing up.

He follows my finger. “Being an airline pilot?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, hell yeah. Checking into a half dozen hotels a week in amazing places all over the world with a different beautiful woman who I never have to speak to again? It was the best life ever.”

I glare up at his smirking face.

He brushes a few strands of red hair off my forehead. “No, Phoebe,” he says. “I don’t miss it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I still fly,” he says. “The difference now is that after a long day of being an instructor, I clock off and I come home to the same beautiful woman who I love more than life itself.” He looks forward. “And that pretty bastard.”

I follow him across the park to see Max lying on his back in the grass with the puppy lapping at his grinning face.

I laugh.

“I’m right where I’m meant to be,” he says. “Never been surer of anything else.”

“Promise?”

He leans down to kiss me. “I pinky promise.”

Our lips touch, gently grazing for a moment before he purses down.

“Okay…”

We look up as Max walks over holding the puppy in his thick arms.

“I think I successfully wore her out,” he says as he sits down. “Finally.”

He lays her on my lap and she settles with a little yawn that tears my heart in two.

“Tired little… What should we name her?” I ask.

We pause, each of us staring down at the beautiful lump of tired, brown fur.

Thad smiles. “Stinky.”

I gawk at him. “Stinky?”

“Stinky Pink. It’s cute.”

I consider it. “It does kind of rhyme...”

He winks. “That’s kind of my thing sometimes.”

“Why does she get my last name?” I ask.

Max laughs. “Don’t start this argument, please.”

“Yeah, Max and I battled over this already,” Thad says. “Ultimately, we found the best compromise was to give her your name and leave ours off.”

“Also, doesn’t Stinky Hemsley bring back some bad fourth grade memories for you, Thaddeus?”

Thad glares at him. “No comment.”

“Wow…” I shake my head. “Having a puppy is a lot more complicated than I thought it’d be.”

Max pets her head and she laps at his familiar hand. “It’s worth it,” he says.

“Yeah,” Thad says. “Agreed.”

I blink. “A birthday, a new puppy, and my boyfriends actually agree on something… all in one day. I’m officially shocked.”

Thad leans down to kiss my forehead. “And we’re just getting started.”

I look at them. My Max and my Thad. Just me and my boys against the world. And now, our girl, too.

Max settles beside me and rests his head on my hip. The three of us lie still, gazing up into the bright, blue sky. Happy, inside and out.

We really are just getting started.