I yawn into my palm.

Still wearing the same dress as I was when I had dinner with Austin, Callum and Troy, I’m about to head into the Honolulu International Airport’s security check line. It looks about a million miles long, and that figures. It’s an ungodly hour in the morning and I should be tucked away under a mountain of blankets, but instead, I’m here.

I’d expect nothing else from karma.

With dark rings under my eyes and my hands still clutching a cup of black coffee that’s both too strong and not strong enough, considering the life choices that led me here.

And boy, are there a bunch of them.

Christine lined up my flights and I’ve had my phone on silent since then. After swallowing my pride on the island, I tried each of the Stephenson brothers, and after getting my hopes up three times before the calls dropped to voicemail, I gave up. The implications were clear enough and I’d like to think that I don’t need to be told at least some things twice.

Like when I’m not wanted and have become a burden.

Or when I’m told to “Get the fuck out of my home,” by my then-fiancé, getting kicked out of an apartment that I was paying the rent on.

You’d think I’d be smarter than that by now, I tell myself, rolling my eyes as I slip my sunglasses on after getting one too many questioning looks on account of my puffy eyes.

“Excuse you,” a man says as he bumps into me at the mouth of the security check line, elbowing past me.

I slick my tongue over my teeth and bury down the explosion that wants to erupt, complete with curses and screams. I think avoiding a run-in with airport security would be for the best at this point in my day.

I’m about to take my spot in the line when a commotion behind me makes me turn around. I freeze in the spot, seeing the wide, powerful forms of Austin, Callum and Troy heading right for me. Sucking in a breath through my nose, I pop my sunglasses to the top of my head and just stare at the approaching men, as most of the other women are at this point.

Austin looks grim but determined, and Callum and Troy seem to be echoing him in that, moving like the point of an arrow straight towards me without a word. They don’t need to say anything, after all. I’m not going anywhere.

“We need to talk,” Austin says as they come up to me.

“Do we?” I ask, trying to muster what little defiance I have at this point.

God knows, Milan beat most of it out of me. All of my arguments about why it wasn’t the worst fucking idea in the world to be together with Austin, Callum and Troy were deftly handled by her and I was left reeling in the aftermath.

And now I’m face to face with the cause of my downfall again, my body far too fucking willing to throw itself into the fire again.

“Yeah, we fucking do,” Troy says, a blaze in his eyes.

He looks like he’s about ready to tear my clothes off right in the middle of the airport. When he steps up to me and kisses me, pulling me into his arms like I’d gotten away from him too soon in the bungalow, I think he just might. Dazed, I answer his kiss and his tongue pushes into my mouth.

There are a few hoots and hollers from the peanut gallery, the three super-hot men that seemed to appear out of nowhere catching attention, and the kiss only adding to it. But when Troy lets go of me and Callum grabs me, the hoots suddenly turn into gasps, and then I hear phone cameras starting to go off.

I panic and try to push myself away from Callum. I completely forgot that Troy and Callum are both nationally known figures and for a moment, I think they forgot too.

“No,” Callum growls. “You’re not going anywhere.”

And then he kisses me and I melt into it, whimpering as his lips leave mine and Austin’s take over.

A part of me is acutely aware of the whispers and the occasional bouts of laughter or disdain from around us, but my body is flush against Austin’s, and Callum and Troy are standing right there beside us, the taste of their mouths still on my tongue. I didn’t have a lot of common sense left when I got to the airport and now I definitely don’t have any anymore.

“Come on,” Austin says, his low voice caressing my ears. “We need to go.”

He tugs me forward and dazed as I am from the kisses, I stumble after him.

“What about my luggage?” I mumble, catching the gazes of one or two appalled onlookers, who have just witnessed the two biggest sports heroes of the current era both kissing the same woman in the middle of a busy airport, and then give her over to a third man.

I can’t blame them for the way they’re looking at me, like they can’t quite name what they’ve seen. I can’t really put a label on it either to be honest.

“Forget about your luggage,” Troy says, and I nod like that sounds like a good idea.

It’s pretty obvious I’m not making the flight at this point.

I think that’s a good thing.

* * *

The airport hotel we end up in is completely okay, even though I’m not exactly sure why we’re here. Couldn’t we have had our necessary chat in a more public place?

You couldn’t kiss them in a more public place, my mind fills in helpfully.

Though… couldn’t I?

Callum unlocks the door to the suite and I’m shown in first, with the Stephensons following behind. I just catch it when Austin grabs the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign from the other side of the door and hangs it out before slamming the door shut behind him. A shudder of anticipation and confusion goes over me.

“Do you guys want to tell me what’s going on?” I ask, sitting down on the edge of the big California King that’s in the middle of the room. “You barge into the airport like you own the place, you kiss me in public, which pretty much means that you three and I will be on the cover of every gossip rag by tomorrow morning.”

I give the twins a stern look, but I think it falters, because I remember way too clearly how it felt to be kissed by them the way I was. Like I was being claimed, a mark of ownership and protection being put on me.

“That was the idea,” Callum tells me, taking a seat next to me, while Austin stands by the window, looking out, and Troy leans against a wall.

“Was it?” I ask, confused. “Why?”

“Because now you can’t keep running,” Austin says, glancing over his shoulder at me.

There’s such conviction in his tone that I’m silenced for a moment, staring at him with wide eyes.

“I… what? It just means I have to lay even lower! I need to find a new job. I w-“

“We know,” Troy says, shaking his head grimly. “That wasn’t fair on you. Milan’s just using everything in her arsenal to get what she wants.”

You guys don’t even know, I tell myself, my stomach twisting.

“Yup,” Austin confirms, fishing his phone out and scrolling through it for a moment.

Suddenly, he chuckles and then, grinning wide, pans the phone at the rest of us. His feed is full of people asking him what the fuck he’s doing with me and his brothers in Honolulu International. I clasp my hand over my mouth, mortified.

This is not what I wanted to happen. This is def-

I frown. The brothers are all looking way too smug and self-satisfied and then it dawns on me. They planned it this way. Not only did they get to stop me from getting on that plane, but now the whole world knows about us. Which means Milan has nothing to hold over Robert’s head.

“You did this on purpose,” I say, shock in my voice as I look from one to the other. “Whose plan was it?”

“Let’s say it was a family effort,” Callum chuckles, leaning back on his elbows on the mattress, his eyes going over me hungrily.

“And I think we can all agree that there’s nothing else that we have to lose,” Austin adds, turning to face me, ready to toss the phone on the floor and forget all about it.

That churning is still in my stomach and I find myself clenching my hands together until my knuckles are white. A part of me thought that I would be overjoyed if all the obstacles were removed and I’d finally have a chance, a real chance with Austin, Callum and Troy. But while they’ve given up everything, I feel like I’m the one who has been taking from them, while I’m still hiding something that can be devastating to their family…

My career, or the men before me, who have given up their reputations and who knows what more for me?

“Lily?” Troy asks, noticing that I’m not at ease with the situation. “Are you alright?”

“No,” I say softly, looking down at my palms for a moment, before meeting their blue and green gazes. “I have something to tell you. You’ve given up so much to give us a chance, I think I have to do the same…”

“What?” Austin asks, his shoulders stiffening.

He’s too used to getting surprise right hooks from life that I can see the gears turning in his head, considering all the possibilities. It makes me smile slightly. He’s just as paranoid about everything as I am. Maybe together, we can get over that…

“It’s about your stepmother. I’m not supposed to say anything. Even though she fired me, I’m sworn to confidentiality with my client. I’ll probably lose my license if I tell you.”

“Then don’t,” Callum says sternly. “You don’t have to say anything that would set you at risk.”

Austin and Troy both nod. I shake my head.

“No, I have to tell you,” I say. “It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”

I take a breath to gather myself, and close my eyes. All my life, I’ve been working to be a lawyer, because that’s what I’m good at – playing by the rules. And now I’m breaking all of them for just a chance of happiness that might not even play out.

But I’m ready to make that leap. I want to make that leap.

I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t tell them. I can always find another fucking career.

“Milan’s planning to take Candice away from your father, and you guys, as soon as the papers are signed. She said that she doesn’t care about their oral agreements, that if Robert gives her full custody, you’ll never see Candice again. Maybe only in exchange for extortionist sums of money, and then for a day or two. You can’t let her do that to Candice.”

Austin’s jaw goes rigid and Callum and Troy both tense up as tightly as Austin does. They all grab for their phones simultaneously, but it’s Austin who holds up his hand.

“I’ll make the call,” he says grimly, striding into the adjacent lounge room with long steps.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and I feel the weight lifting from my shoulders. In my heart, I know I did the right thing. And when I look at Callum and Troy, I get the most obvious physical confirmation of that.

They’re smiling at me, their eyes ablaze. And I know I won’t be leaving the bedroom for a good long while.