Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
Rebecca
London RomanceCon is massive, and I'm living my best life.
The convention center buzzes with energy—readers clutching tote bags, authors signing books, cover models posing for photos that will break BookTok by tonight.
It smells like new books and that specific blend of coffee and excitement that every convention has.
My feet already hurt and I don't even care.
I'm grinning like an idiot as Leo and I weave through the crowds, his hand warm and possessive on my lower back.
Six months ago, I stood in a Melbourne hotel bar in an emerald dress, convinced "only for tonight" was the safest thing I could say.
Turns out I'm terrible at one-night stands.
The video calls started the next day. Leo texted before I'd even landed in Perth. Then James called that night, and that voice wrapped around me even through the phone. Luca sent me a shirtless selfie with the caption Missing you already, beautiful and I laughed and cried at the same time.
Two weeks later, Leo showed up at my door unannounced.
Said he had a "job" in Perth that weekend.
The job was bullshit, we both knew it and he spent three days proving that Melbourne wasn't a fluke.
A week after that, James flew me to London for a week.
Luca "accidentally" booked a modelling shoot in Perth the following month.
By month three, we stopped pretending this was temporary.
By month five, James mentioned the cottage—casually at first, then more seriously when Luca realized most of his modeling work could be based anywhere in Europe.
Luca moved to London first, splitting time between James's place and hotels for shoots.
Leo wrapped up his carpentry contracts in Sydney and lined up work at a local pub near the cottage doing their renovations and handyman work, but he waited to make the move.
Said he wanted us to go together. Now here we are.
Six months later, and in three days we'll all finally be under one roof.
"You're vibrating," Leo observes as I stop to gawk at a display of limited edition hardcovers with hand-painted edges. Those dark eyes are amused. "Go ahead. I'll carry whatever you buy."
"You say that now," I mutter.
"Sweetheart, I've seen your book collection. I know what I signed up for." He takes the books from my hands before I can argue and adds them to the growing pile. "Besides, watching you get excited about books is one of my favourite things."
I love all of them so much it sometimes catches me off guard.
Leo nods toward the photo area where a crowd has gathered. "There's your golden boy."
Luca's in his element, all golden skin and perfect abs, posing with fans who look ready to faint. When he catches me watching, he winks.
My stomach flips. Even after six months, he still makes me feel like the only woman in the room.
"He's working," I defend weakly.
"You're getting your money's worth," Leo says, amused. His hand slides lower on my back, possessive and casual all at once. "I can see you checking him out."
I bump his shoulder playfully. "Can you blame me?"
His laugh is warm. "I'm not complaining. I watch you just as much." He leans in, voice dropping to that rough register. "More, actually."
We find James at his signing table, that devastating voice making every reader interaction feel special. He's wearing a dark blue button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. When he spots us, his whole face transforms. He excuses himself and walks straight over.
Then he kisses me. Right there. In front of everyone—readers, authors, his fans with their phones out. Thorough and claiming, his hand cupping my jaw.
"Leo better be buying you books," he says when he pulls back, grinning.
Leo holds up two full tote bags already heavy with my purchases. "Every single one."
I stopped trying to pay after the fourth vendor. He just gives me that look and hands over his card first.
"Good man." James presses another kiss to my forehead. "I'll find you later. Don't let her buy the entire convention."
"No promises," Leo calls after him.
We spend the next hour wandering through vendor booths. Every time I catch Luca's eye across the crowded convention floor, he grins like we're sharing the filthiest secret.
Leo finds a quiet corner near the coffee stand and sets down the overflowing bags with a grunt. "You've got that look."
"What look?"
"The one where you're overthinking." His hand finds my hip, thumb stroking through my shirt. "Talk to me, sweetheart."
I take a breath. "It's just... this is really happening.
After the convention ends, we're packing up my hotel room and moving into the cottage.
All of us. Together." I laugh, but it sounds nervous even to my own ears.
"I keep waiting for someone to point out that four people living together is insane.
Or to wake up and realize this whole thing has been a really elaborate dream. "
"Having second thoughts?" His voice is gentle, but I can see the tension in his shoulders.
"No. God, no." I step closer, needing him to understand. "The opposite, actually. I'm terrified of how much I want this. How right it feels. What if I'm bad at living with you all? What if I hog all the hot water or leave books everywhere or—"
"Bec." His thumb traces my hip in soothing circles. "You already leave books everywhere. We know what we're getting into."
That startles a real laugh out of me. "I do not."
"You had seventeen books on my bedside table in Sydney before I packed up to move here."
"That's not—okay, maybe I do."
He's right. The moment I fell in love with three men scattered across the world, everything changed.
"I want you. All of you. Every day." I meet his gaze steadily. "Not just video calls at weird hours. Not just stolen weekends. I want forever. I'm just... processing that I actually get to have it."
Hunger flares in his expression. "You do. We all do." He pulls me against his chest. "Three more days, sweetheart. Then you're home for good."
Before I can respond, Luca appears, grinning and slightly sweaty. "There you are!" He pulls me into a spinning hug. "You okay? You look like you're spiralling."
"She's processing," Leo says with a smile.
"That we're really doing this," I add. "That it's actually happening."
"Hell yes it's happening," Luca says, setting me down but keeping his hands on my waist. "Three more days and you're stuck with us forever."
James appears then, looking slightly harried. "My handler is going to kill me for abandoning my signing table."
"Worth it," Leo says simply.
"Always." James's gaze finds mine, warm and certain. "Everything okay?"
"She's getting nervous," Luca explains. "About the move."
"Not nervous," I correct. "Just... processing."
"Good nervous or bad nervous?" James asks, stepping closer.
"Good nervous." I look between all three of them. "Really good nervous."
James's smile is soft.
We attend more panels after that, stealing kisses in quiet hallways between sessions. Making plans in heated whispers while pretending to browse books. Every glance across crowded rooms is a promise. Every casual touch reminds me that this is real.
That night in the hotel suite—smaller than the Melbourne penthouse but still luxurious—we're sprawled across the bed in a comfortable tangle of limbs. Exhausted but happy.
"Can't believe this is almost it," Luca says, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my ankle. "No more goodbyes after this."
"No more airports," Leo adds, pulling me closer.
"Our cottage," James says softly, his hand resting on my hip. "All of ours."
Leo's arm tightens around me, pulling me closer. "Done with long distance. Done with missing each other. Done with goodbyes at airports." His voice roughens. "We want you all the time."
"Want to wake up with you," Luca adds, his hand sliding higher up my leg. "Make you breakfast. Everything."
"We want forever," James says simply.
Forever.
I think about Melbourne. About standing in that hotel bar in my emerald dress, convinced that "only for tonight" was the safest thing I could offer. The way to protect my already bruised heart.
"You know what I said that first night?" My voice is quiet. "In Melbourne?"
"Only for tonight," Leo answers immediately, his chest rumbling against my back.
"Yeah." I sit up, needing to see their faces. "I was so sure that's all it could be. One perfect night, then back to reality. Back to playing it safe because wanting more had only ever gotten me hurt before."
James reaches up, brushing his thumb across my cheekbone. "You were protecting yourself."
"I was," I admit. "Brett spent four years convincing me that wanting grand gestures and real love was asking too much. That I needed to be different, smaller, quieter… before I deserved it." My voice steadies. "But you three never asked me to be anything other than exactly who I am."
Luca sits up, his hand finding mine and squeezing. "We're not letting you go. Not now, not ever."
"I don't want you to." I take a breath, looking at each of them. "So I think we need new terms."
Leo sits up behind me. "New terms?"
"Yeah." I'm smiling now, feeling brave and certain. "Because 'only for tonight' doesn't work anymore. It stopped working about five hours after I said it. So I'm changing the terms."
"To what?" James asks, his grey eyes intent on mine.
I look at each of them. Leo with his tattoos and calloused hands and patient strength.
James with his voice and careful control and hidden intensity.
Luca with his golden warmth and playful confidence and genuine heart.
These three impossible men who saw me in a hotel bar and decided I was worth keeping.
"Only for forever."
The silence is complete, heavy with emotion. Then Leo makes a sound, half laugh, half something deeper and pulls me back into his arms, his face buried in my neck.
"Only for forever," he repeats against my skin, his voice rough. "I like these terms much better, sweetheart."
Luca's arms wrap around both of us. "Me too. So much better, beautiful."
"Much better," James agrees, his hand finding my face and making me look at him. "Only for forever, love."
We stay tangled together like that, a mess of limbs and hearts and promises. Home in the shape of three men who chose me.
"Tomorrow," Leo says eventually. "We finish the convention. Then Tuesday, we all pack up and move into the cottage. Together."
"Together," I add, the word feeling like a vow.
"Together," they echo.
James's hand finds mine, lacing our fingers. "Only for forever, love."
"Only for forever," I whisper back.
And as they hold me, warm and close and mine. I know this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. Not just for tonight. Not just for now.
For forever.
THE END