Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
As I text the address to Aaron, Gray gets up and goes to the stove. “Shall I make eggs for your brother, too?” His tone is full of something that can definitely not be described as hospitable.
“He’ll be here in a few minutes. Maybe we should wait for breakfast.”
“As you wish,” Gray says. “Coffee?”
“Please.”
When the doorbell buzzes, Gray is ready, pulling it open for Aaron just a few seconds later.
My brother’s face goes dark, even before he spots the other men; then he looks confused. “Erik?”
“And this is Brax,” I say, gesturing behind me as I walk toward the door.
I’m immediately flanked by the two big men, their arms brushing mine as they stay in step with me.
Aaron’s mouth opens and closes again. “They’re … you’re not …”
“Yes, I am.” Even though this situation might be done after today, now that I’ve pushed it to a head, I refuse to hide anymore.
My brother’s face twists in an ugly way. He starts to say something, but Erik talks over him, quoting scripture. “Judge not, lest you be judged.”
Aaron glares at him before turning on me. “It’s not right, Ava. It’s not natural.”
“Really? How about all the men in the Bible who had multiple wives, and even concubines? And don’t you dare tell me ‘That’s different.’”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know what to say to you.”
Gray has come around to stand beside Erik, the four of us forming a wall of sorts. “Don’t say anything,” Gray tells him. “It’s Ava’s life, and it’s not up to you how she lives it.”
Brax adds, “If Ava’s in a relationship with the three of us, that’s her business, and no one else’s.”
My focus is on Aaron, but I don’t miss Brax’s mention of a relationship. It’s what I described last night when I said I didn’t want to carry on dating the three of them forever.
“If the church is supposed to be all about love and forgiveness, then why was their response to cast me out?” I ask Aaron.
His jaw clenches. “Sin can’t be overlooked.”
“Really? So are Mom and Dad being banished next? And what about Pastor Williams?”
That shuts him up. Gray steps toward the door, opening it again. “If you can’t support your sister, you should leave.”
And he does.
Though I feel tough as steel, when the men gather around me, I realize I’m trembling. Erik, Brax and Gray take turns hugging me, telling me they’re proud of me for standing up for myself.
“Do you have an appetite?” Erik asks.
Surprisingly—or maybe not surprisingly, after our activities in the bedroom—I’m starving, so I nod.
“First we’ll eat,” Gray says. “And then we’ll talk.”
AVA
I’m getting to be an expert at not thinking about things.
As I enjoy a large omelet—with goat cheese, herbs, and spinach; where did this man come from?—I don’t say much, but I also manage not to overthink things.
Occasionally, I glance around the dining table at the three men, admiring them, soaking in every detail of them, in case this will be the last meal we share. They were apparently all starving, too, and in no time at all, they’re all done eating and waiting patiently for me to finish my last piece of toast.
I’m prepared for anything, but I’m still surprised when, after Gray clears our plates and sits back down, Erik tells me that they want to give me exactly what I want.
I’m sure they’re not expecting my reaction, because all I can do is laugh. “I don’t know what I want. That’s the problem.”
Brax reaches out to take my hand. “You said you wanted a commitment, a relationship, and a family.”
“Yes …” I draw the word out, trying to understand where this is going.
“The three of us want to give that to you,” Gray says.
I look like my brother then, opening and closing my mouth with no idea what to say. Finally, I manage, “You want to give me a commitment and a family? Someday, I want children. What would that look like?”
“With you as their mother and me as the father, they’d be gorgeous kids. I guess these other two wouldn’t make bad-looking offspring, either.” Gray’s tone is joking, but I don’t get the sense that he’s making fun of my question.
“This is new to us,” Erik says, “but we can work it out. The thing is, all of us want to be with you, and we don’t want to be with anyone else, so the commitment part is easy.”
He slides his chair next to mine, puts an arm around me, and cups my face in his hand. “I love you, Ava. I’ve loved you for years, as a friend, and then much more. I want to be with you, and if you want to be with Brax and Gray, too, I can go along with that.”
I’m wide-eyed looking back at him. “That seems like a lot to ask of you. Of you all. You’d be making a big sacrifice for me.”