The next morning, I wake Asher, and we sneak out of the bedroom to talk, leaving Rose to sleep. She’s tough, but the ordeal stretched her past her limits. I realize she’s going to need time to heal, and the unresolved fight is just complicating everything.

“We can’t let her stay here,” Asher says. “The furniture and stuff is just a temporary fix. This place doesn’t have a doorman or even security cameras for fuck’s sake.”

“We can’t force her to move back,” I say just as frustrated. “She needs a reason. We have to convince her that the penthouse is her home.”

“And how do you expect us to do that?” Asher asks. “We couldn’t even convince her to come home with us last night when the only place she had to go was a half-empty apartment.”

Isn’t that the million dollar question? Rose is stubborn and the fight with Asher and the trauma of the other night has her pulling away. Words and logic aren’t going to cut it. We need to do something drastic.

“I’m not sure,” I say. “But I do know we need to prove to her that we want her to stay. You do want her to stay, right? With both of us?”

“I’m still not convinced this is going to work out like you’ve hoped, but I don’t want to lose her.” Asher rubs a hand over his face. Even though he won’t admit it, I know last night affected him. “I’m in.”

“Good,” I say, slapping him on the back “I need a cup of coffee, and then we need to make some plans.” I head to the kitchen, feeling optimistic for the first time in days. Sarah, my assistant, stocked the cabinets with all the basics. I find coffee and even a bag of those biscotti Rose loves. Sarah is definitely getting a Christmas bonus this year.

I start a pot and consider our options. Putting aside the events from yesterday, our biggest issue right now is trust. Rose doesn’t trust us to stay. Yes, our whole relationship started because of sex, so I need to find a way to convince her that things have changed. She is part of our life and a big part of the future I want for all of us.

Asher and I are all about families of choice, no matter what that looks like. We’re family, and now Rose is part of that. I can see the three of us getting a big house with some acreage and starting a family. It might be a bit unconventional, but I never had the typical family experience.

“I should just tell her I’m back onboard with the three of us,” Asher said, pouring himself a cup. “I’m the one who started all this mess. I should be able to fix it.”

“I think that’s a good start, but you weren’t the only one with doubts,” I say. “Rose was never convinced we could move beyond the physical.”

“Again, that’s all my fault.” Asher sighs and takes a sip of his coffee. “I’ve worked this out a hundred different ways. It all comes back to me begging for forgiveness. I was a stupid fuck who didn’t have a clue what I was giving up.”

“Yes. Yes, you were. And begging may be involved, but we need more,” I say, ready to lay out my plan. I know Asher said he was ready to commit, but I’m not sure he knows what that really means. “For starters, I think we should sell the penthouse and get a real house.”

“What does that have to do with winning Rose back?” Asher asks, shaking his head.

“Well, for starters, it’s hard to be together as a threesome—no, as a triad—if we’re living separately. The penthouse is so broken up, we might as well be living in separate apartments. We need a house where we can live together.”

Asher sips his coffee and considers my idea. “Alright. But we’ll probably have to build something, and that takes time. What are we going to do until then?” He looks around and frowns. “We can’t all stay here.”

“You’re right. The penthouse can work for a while, but there’s something else.” And now for the big one. I don’t know how he’s going to take it. “I want to ask her to marry me.”

Asher sets his coffee down so fast it sloshes over the side. “You can’t marry her.”

“You know I want to start a family. So yes, I’m going to marry her.”

“No,” Asher says. “This whole apartment thing started because she didn't want to drive us apart. If you want a family, if you want to get married, it has to be both of us. I realize it’s not that easy, but we’ll get our lawyers to figure out the legal stuff. But as far as the commitment, it needs to come from both of us. She’ll have to marry us both.”

“And what about what I want,” a soft voice comes from the doorway.

“You were supposed to sleep in,” I say and go over to her, but she waves me off.

“Sleep in while you two plan the next thirty years of my life? Did either one of you think to ask me what I want?” Tears spring to her eyes, and a knot twists in my gut.

“We just want you to know that we love you and want to be with you.” I shoot Asher a look. A little help here would be nice.

“Both of us,” Asher adds. “We’ll do whatever you want.”

“All I ever wanted was your love,” she says, shifting from one bare foot to the other. She sniffs and wipes away an errant tear with the back of her hand. “I don’t want you to change. I don’t need a big house or to get married or any of that stuff. I just want you. Both of you.”

“You have us,” I try to assure her.

“It’s going to take some time,” she says. “I can’t just pick up where I left off.” She bites her bottom lip and looks at the floor. “Things have changed.”

“I’m sorry,” Asher says. “I ruined it all, but I’ll spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.”

“It’s not that.” Rose looks between the two of us. She takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders as if preparing to deliver bad news. “Yesterday, I found out—” She stops and takes another deep breath and then another.

Next thing I know, Rose is running from the room. I look over to Asher. He looks equally perplexed. We follow and find her huddled on the floor of the bathroom with her head in the toilet.

“Call the car, we’re taking her back to the hospital.” I kneel down and push the hair out of her face. “Hold on, sweetheart. We’ll have to the doctor in few minutes.”

She pulls back and leans her head against the shower stall. “I don’t need the hospital,” she says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m pregnant.”

The word hangs in the air like an overfilled balloon ready to pop.

“I know it’s unexpected,” she says. “But at least one of you could say something. Anything.”

“A baby?” I say, stupidly. I’m a shell-shocked by the announcement, but luckily Asher had enough sense to pull himself together.

“You’re going to have our baby,” he says and scoops her up off the floor and kisses her. “I fucking love you.”

“You’re really fine with this,” she asks, softly. The doubt in her voice slays me, and I vow to do everything I can to erase that feeling. She’s never going to doubt how we feel about her again.

“Absolutely,” I say and kiss her temple. “More than fine. I can’t imagine being happier than I am right now. I love you.”