Chapter 17
Mioko
I smoothed my skirt nervously as I peeked around the column at the bottom of Joe and Lori’s staircase.
All week, I’d managed to avoid both Luke and Eli in a town so small you couldn’t run a simple errand without bumping into at least four people you knew.
I’d rearranged my schedule at Tapped Amber, claiming I had work to do for Moss & Whimsy.
Anything to avoid thinking about what had happened between us in that apartment. The things we’d done. The way they’d made me feel like I belonged somewhere for the first time in my life—which was exactly why I couldn’t let myself get pulled in deeper.
But I couldn’t exactly skip the Merrick family Christmas dinner when I was staying in Lori’s guest bedroom. And I’d definitely tried to get out of it, but none of the Merricks were having it.
Lori spotted me from her position on the couch, her face breaking into a smile as I quickly pretended I hadn’t been hiding.
“I put together an emergency craft kit,” I said, lifting the oversized bag, which contained enough beads, wire, and random sparkly objects to occupy a kindergarten class for days. “To distract the kiddos while the adults enjoy their relaxing meal.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” Joe said, leading me to the twins who were sprawled on the floor in front of the TV.
“Aunt Mioko!” they chorused, abandoning their cartoon to tackle my legs. “You finally woke up!”
“She was awake, just working. She has a company to run,” Lori said.
I laughed, bending to hug them properly. Ethan and Emily weren’t actually my niece and nephew—weren’t actually related to me at all—but I’d been there for every major event in their lives, and I was honored to be given the title.
“Hey there, double trouble,” I said, ruffling their matching sandy-blond hair. “I hear we’ve got some serious crafting to do.”
Lori waved from the couch, looking tired but content. “You’re a saint.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked, moving to sit beside her while the twins returned to their glitter explosion.
“At this point, I think I’m 100% heartburn,” she groaned, patting her rounded belly. “But the doctor says everything’s stable. Just need to keep resting until this little girl decides to make her appearance.”
Edie and Maggie peeked in from the kitchen, waving to me as Joe bustled around us, arranging a tray of snacks on the coffee table before setting the twins up at the craft table with my emergency kit.
The house was chaotic in the best way—children’s laughter, the clatter of pots and pans, Christmas music playing softly from hidden speakers.
It felt like a home should feel, warm and alive and full of love.
“Luke called to say they’re running a bit late,” Lori said, her eyes knowingly on my face. “He and Eli are bringing side dishes, and Henry made pie.”
I nearly choked on the glass of water Joe had handed me. “They? Like, both of them? Together?”
Lori’s lips quirked. “Yeah, of course.”
“That’s... nice,” I managed, my voice strangled.
Before Lori could question me on my weirdness, the front door burst open with a gust of frigid air.
Luke appeared first, his cheeks flushed from the cold, arms laden with covered dishes.
Behind him came Eli, his dark hair dusted with snowflakes, carrying what looked like a casserole dish.
Henry brought up the rear, two pies balanced carefully in his hands.
My heart didn’t just skip a beat—it stopped entirely, then restarted with a painful thud that resonated through my entire body.
Luke’s eyes found mine immediately, his face lighting up with a smile so genuine it made my knees weak.
Eli’s gaze followed, more measured but no less intense, a slight quirk to his lips that sent heat spiraling through me.
“Mioko,” Luke said, my name on his lips sounding like something precious. “You’re here.”
“Where else would I be?” I replied, attempting lightness but hearing the strain in my voice. “I’m staying here.”
“Right,” he nodded, still staring at me like I was a miracle, not a woman who’d slipped out of his bed at dawn and spent a week actively hiding from him.
The next few minutes were a flurry of activity—dishes being transferred to the kitchen, coats hung up, greetings exchanged.
I helped the twins set the table, hyperaware of Luke and Eli’s movements around the room, the way they seemed to operate as a unit now, communicating with glances and brief touches that spoke of a newfound intimacy.
When Joe announced dinner was ready, we all migrated to the dining room where a long table had been set with Lori’s grandmother’s china. I deliberately aimed for a seat between Lori and Emily, but somehow ended up sandwiched between Luke and Eli, their solid frames hemming me in on both sides.
“This looks amazing,” Eli said, his deep voice rumbling beside me as Joe carved the turkey.
His shoulder pressed against mine, warm and firm, sending electric currents through my body.
On my other side, Luke’s thigh lined up against mine under the table, a deliberate point of contact that he made no attempt to break.
I shifted in my seat, trying to create space, but there was nowhere to go. They had me trapped between them, and from the sly glance they exchanged across me, they knew exactly what they were doing.
Their proximity assaulted my senses. Eli’s arm brushed mine each time he reached for his water glass. Luke’s hand grazed my thigh when he adjusted his napkin. Their cologne—Eli’s woodsy and masculine, Luke’s lighter but no less enticing—mingled in the air until I could barely breathe.
I struggle to focus on the conversation.
Lori was discussing the baby’s nursery, Joe recounted a car repair story, and Edie talked about a wacky customer at Tapped Amber.
I barely heard any of it, too consumed by the men on either side of me, by the heat of their bodies, too focused on the way their shoulders crowded mine as they passed side dishes around the table.
But things came back into focus as I heard Luke mention going back to Boston.
The words hit me like a physical blow. Back to Boston?
After everything? I couldn’t process, couldn’t understand, and my heart was racing like the beginnings of a panic attack.
Embarrassed, I stood and went to the bathroom, splashing water over my face and taking slow breaths to calm my beating heart.
Fuck. He couldn’t leave.
I looked at my wide, panicked eyes in the mirror. “It’ll be fine. I probably just heard him wrong, right? I wasn’t really paying attention.”
When I came back out, though, he was shrugging into a coat and opening the front door. Why wasn’t Eli stopping him?
I sprinted across the room before I could think better of it, mumbling some excuse about fresh air as I chased after Luke’s retreating form, sliding my feet into a pair of boots by the door that weren’t even mine.
The rational part of my brain was screaming at me to stop, but the part of me that had been cracked wide open by Luke and Eli, the part that was raw and bleeding and desperate not to lose what I’d just found—that part propelled me through the front door and into the frigid December night.
The cold slapped me across the face, stealing my breath.
Snow crunched beneath my boots as I stumbled down the porch steps, wrapping my arms around myself as I realized I hadn’t even put a coat on.
Luke stood by his car, illuminated by the soft glow of streetlights reflecting off the snow.
The car was running, exhaust creating wispy clouds in the frigid air.
“You can’t go back,” I blurted out, my voice sharp in the quiet night.
Luke turned, surprise on his face. “Mioko—”
“No, you listen to me,” I said, advancing on him, all the emotions I’d been suppressing for the past week bubbling up like a volcano. “You can’t leave. Not again. Not after everything.”
“I’m not—”
“Do you have any idea what you’ll do to him if you leave again?” I demanded, jabbing a finger at his chest. “To Eli? He spent six years missing you, and now you’re just going to walk away?”
Luke’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open slightly.
“He loves you,” I continued, my voice cracking. “He fucking loves you, and you’re going to break him, and I can’t—I can’t stand by and watch that happen, not when I—”
I stopped abruptly, horrified by what I’d nearly confessed.
“Not when you what?” Luke asked softly, stepping closer.
I shook my head, backing away, suddenly terrified of my own vulnerability. Snow was beginning to fall again, fat flakes landing on Luke’s golden hair, melting on his flushed cheeks.
“Nevermind,” I whispered.
“We know, sweetheart. We feel it, too. There’s something there.”
I spun around to find Eli standing behind me, his dark eyes soft in the dim light, snowflakes catching in his eyelashes. I hadn’t heard him approach, too caught up in my confrontation with Luke.
“Mioko, I don’t know what made you so worried, but Luke isn’t leaving.”
“What? He said he was going back to Boston.”
Luke reached out, brushing a snowflake from my cheek, his touch lingering. “I’m going back to Boston to talk to my boss about a remote role, pack up my apartment, and come back here permanently. For us.”
“For us?” I asked, confused.
“For us,” Eli confirmed, moving to stand beside Luke, their shoulders touching, a united front. “If that’s what you want.”
I looked between them, these two beautiful, infuriating men who had somehow found their way back to each other despite years of separation and miscommunication—and who were now offering to make room for me between them.
Eli’s lips quirked. “Were you actually listening to the conversation, or were you too busy freaking out because we were sitting next to you?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I was—I mean—I wasn’t—” I took a deep breath. “Why did you walk out of Christmas dinner, then?”
“I didn’t walk out. I came to get Rambo,” Luke supplied with a grin.
As if on cue, a muffled bark came from inside the car. I peered through the window to see the basset hound lounging across the back seat, looking supremely comfortable.
“You left your car running for a dog?” I asked, momentarily distracted.
“It’s cold,” Luke said defensively. “And Rambo needs his naps. He gets cranky if you wake him.”
Eli rolled his eyes. “Luke insisted on letting the mutt continue his nap instead of bringing him inside like a normal person. Luke couldn’t bear to disturb His Royal Highness.”
Another bark sounded from the car, more insistent this time.
“He heard that,” Luke said, moving to open the rear door. “Didn’t you, buddy? Don’t worry, he’s just talking smack about you because he loves you.”
Rambo emerged with surprising agility for a dog with such short legs, shaking himself vigorously before trotting over to sniff my boots.
I blinked, still trying to process everything. “So you’re not... you’re not leaving?”
“Nope.” He reached for me then, his hand cupping my frozen cheek, thumb brushing away a stray snowflake. Eli moved behind me, his solid warmth at my back, hands settling on my hips. “So... you’re so in love with us that you chased me outside to stop me?”
“I didn’t say that,” I hedged.
“It was implied.”
“It was not!” I huffed. “You two are insane.”
“But you still want to kiss us?”
“Only a little,” I grumped, and Luke’s mouth covered mine, his kiss achingly tender, a promise wrapped in the taste of wine and want. When he pulled back, Eli turned me in his arms, claiming my mouth with more urgency, his tongue seeking entrance, which I granted willingly.
“Come back inside,” Luke whispered when Eli released me. “It’s freezing out here, and you’re wearing the thinnest sweater in the state of Vermont.”
I nodded, suddenly aware of just how cold I was, adrenaline no longer enough to ward off the chill. Rambo barked his agreement, already trotting back toward the warmth of the house.
“Smart dog,” I muttered, making Luke laugh.
He laced his fingers through mine, and Eli took my other hand. Together, we walked back toward Lori’s house.
Inside, warmth enveloped us immediately.
The dinner conversation continued as if we’d never left, though I caught Lori’s knowing smile as we returned to the table.
This time, when we sat down, Luke and Eli kept hold of my hands, our clasped fingers resting in my lap beneath the tablecloth.
Hope flared in my chest, and I tried my best not to let myself get too carried away.
But it was a losing battle, especially when the guys announced that they had a surprise for me back at the Honeyfern Inn.