Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Enzo
By the time I got to Surf ’N Shack, another round of food was being delivered to the table.
Everyone was laughing and smiling, which made me happy to see.
Violet quickly introduced me to her friends, and I was surprised to meet the other halves of the girls she called her best friends.
Asher hadn’t mentioned who was there when he told me to come join them.
Capshaw sat back in his chair, his fingers tracing circles on his wife’s shoulder as Violet explained what happened with Jared.
While I was disappointed that Asher didn’t get to deck the asshole, I was happy that Capshaw had stepped in to protect Violet.
It made me comfortable knowing that she would always be in great hands when we weren’t around.
“I didn’t mean to burn the pizza,” Jones explained, throwing his hands in the air as he told us about the night he and Bella got together. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“Well, it kind of was,” Capshaw said, giving him shit. “You were the one who didn’t take the cardboard out from underneath it before putting a frozen pizza in the oven.”
Kensy scrunched her nose as Violet laughed, sitting comfortably between Asher and me.
“I’m just glad that he’s learned to cook more since then,” Mason said, resting his arm on the back of Lia’s chair. “It’s been nice not having you in the ER for burn treatments.”
“Yeah, Dr. Dickhead has been really sad about that,” Lia said, pouting her lips.
Mason leaned in and tickled her sides before saying something in her ear that made her blush. From what I could hear with her sitting next to me, it sounded very much like he was threatening to fix her attitude when they got home.
I shifted in my seat and let Violet lean against me as she nuzzled my shoulder. I missed being with her all day and loved that it didn’t feel awkward being with people who knew about our situation. Or at least they seemed to—though no one had asked, despite the threats Lia had made.
“I love how close all of you are,” Violet said, smiling at her friends. “It makes me happy to see my friends so well loved. I’m also glad that I finally got to meet Mason. I was pretty sure Lia was going to keep you locked away forever.”
“That’s just because she knows that I know all of her dirty little secrets,” Mason teased, earning an elbow to his ribs from Lia.
“Dr. Dickhead wouldn’t risk his life trying to tell them, so we can move on from that,” Lia said, looking at the three of us and locking eyes with me. “What we really want to know is how well our sweet Violet is being loved by you two.”
I felt Violet stiffen beside me as she sat up straight and started to blush. Asher smirked but didn’t say anything while I kept my eyes glued to Lia’s.
“Violet is very well taken care of,” I said, not letting the weight of everyone’s attention get to me. “And if she ever has any needs that aren’t being met, we will be sure to rectify that immediately.”
“I like a man who uses big words,” Bella said with a giggle as she leaned against Jones. “Good job, Violet. Smart men are hot.”
“Hey,” Jones said, frowning as he looked down at her. “You’re not supposed to think other men are hot.”
“No need to be jealous,” she said softly, rubbing her finger across his jaw. “You know you’re the only one for me. Besides, I’ll make it up to you later. You brought your gear home, right?”
“Ewww,” Lia groaned. “When you talk about firefighter sex, it reminds me that my brother is a firefighter, and I don’t want to think about that. Can’t you guys roleplay with something else?”
“Your brother is super hot in his turnout gear,” Kensy said, taunting her friend. “You should see the pict—”
“Stop it,” Lia hissed, making everyone laugh.
But at least it had pulled the attention away from us, or so I thought.
“So, I will probably get scolded for asking this,” Capshaw said, glancing at Kensy before continuing. “But since someone doesn’t tell me much, can I ask what exactly is going on between you guys? I thought that Asher might have been with Violet earlier, but now seeing you with her, I’m not sure.”
I nodded because that was a fair question.
The only problem was that I didn’t know how to answer it.
While we had talked with Violet about being open to the three of us being in a committed relationship, I wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell them.
Even though she was close to the girls and probably told them everything, I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of the group, especially since Capshaw was her boss.
“The three of us are together,” Violet answered for us. “I know that it sounds weird, and it’s not traditional by any means, but it works for us.”
“I love that you have so much happiness filling your life,” Bella said with a warm smile. “It makes me happy to see you happy.”
“Same. I have loved getting to watch all of this unfold. I can’t tell you how much we’ve been rooting for the three of you,” Kensy added.
Capshaw nodded and smiled at Asher and me.
“I can see how protective both of you are over Violet, and I respect that. I’m sorry for not letting you punch that asshole ex of hers earlier,” Capshaw said to Asher.
“Unfortunately, I don’t get to fight much these days, so I took the opportunity when I had it.
” He winked at Kensy, who just shook her head.
“Well, I’m sure I speak for Asher and myself when I say that we’re grateful for you looking out for Violet. It’s nice to know that she would be taken care of and protected if we weren’t here,” I replied. “She means the world to us. Her happiness and safety are always our main concerns.”
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes as the night wound down. I looked at Violet, loving how happy she truly was. Not just with Asher and me, but with her friends, too. It was like she had finally found what she needed in life, and I was thrilled to be part of it.