Epilogue
Mason
Eighteen Months Later…
Leo’s “Can’t wait to see you” and the clear need on his face on my tablet screen made me smile every single time. This was followed by the obligatory “Drive safely” from Mitch with his usual scowl, which I used to take as him being permanently pissed off at the world. Now that I recognized the subtle nuances of his expressions, I knew for a fact this one was his worried face. He was the biggest softy anyone would ever meet, unless they got in the way of either me or Leo. Then he turned into the big grizzly bear I’d first met, all snarls and snapping fangs.
It never failed to turn me on.
“Can’t wait to see you guys, too, and I’ll make sure I’m careful driving home,” I answered before ending the call. As if I’d do anything else. I had way too much to lose these days to contemplate being reckless with my life.
Eighteen months of complete and utter bliss.
There was no other way to describe the bone-deep contentment I felt every single day. The fast lane of my past life had turned into the extremely slow lane of my present, and I couldn’t have been happier.
My two weeks every couple of months in the New York office had worked like a charm. Of course, I missed my fiancés, but as compensation, I got to spend quality time with Ethan, Nate, and Ty and be fed at least twice by my mamá during my stay so a win-win all around.
I pushed the elevator button for the parking garage at the same time my phone starting ringing.
Talk of the devil.
I swiped my finger and answered the call. “Hey, Mamá.”
“How’s my baby boy?”
I chuckled. “As the youngest of your sons, I’m your only baby boy.”
“And you’re the best of them all.”
I’d take that because, hey, I really was.
“What’s up?” I asked her.
“We’re checking if it’s still okay for your papá and I to arrive tonight instead of tomorrow morning?”
“Are you kidding me? Of course, you’re coming tonight. I’ve been looking forward to it, especially since you’re cooking my favorite meal.” Smoked pork chops with a chipotle sauce. “I’ve been craving your food all week.”
Her answering laugh sounded light and carefree, but I knew my answer pleased her. She cleared her throat, and the line went quiet. Too quiet.
“What?” I asked cautiously.
“I know you’re happy. I do, but I am your mamá, and I worry. I want to be sure this is what you truly want, to marry these two men, to spend the rest of your lives together after everything you went through with them ?”
By them, she meant Karl and David.
I’d done a lot of self-examination since being with my guys, analyzing my past relationship to ensure I didn’t make the same mistakes again. I’d been paranoid my newfound life would crumble all around me, and it had taken a lot of reassurance from Leo and Mitch to convince me I wouldn’t fuck things up. I shouldn’t have worried as, clearly, what we had was as different as night and day. I went out of my way to stay as close to them as possible, to not let work interfere in my personal life the way I had in the past. We talked, too, more than ever, about how we were feeling or whether anything was worrying us, and we actively worked to find a solution to whatever came up that would benefit all three.
I’d felt ill the first time I’d had to leave them and return to the city for work, but they’d made the whole process so easy for me. We messaged all the time. I video called them every night to see their faces and hear their voices as we talked about our day. They centered me, calmed my anxieties, and their endless patience made me fall in love with them even more.
Being with Leo and Mitch let me see what a truly committed relationship should be, and though I’d thought I’d had one in the past, it had never felt as all-encompassing with Karl and David, and they’d deserved better from me.
I’d extended an olive branch to them…well, more of a belated wedding gift, really. A basket from David’s favorite upmarket English food store. We’d been to Europe on vacation once, and our last stop was London. He’d always wanted to go and had been ecstatic when he’d finally gotten his wish. They accepted my gift and apology with good grace, and though we’d never be close again, and in all probability not maintain contact, I was grateful to finally put my past to rest.
“Yes, Mamá, I’m sure.”
She paused for a while before replying, “Okay, my boy.” It was done.
“Now can you let me go and get back to my men?”
Another laugh. “You and your men. I don’t know how you manage them both. Your papá is more than enough for me to handle.”
“I think it’s more how they handle me.”
“You, my son, are easy to handle. As long as they shower you with love and affection and make you feel secure and happy, you’re putty in their hands.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Mothers . Were they ever wrong?
She sighed her happiness. “I’m so looking forward to seeing my boy get married and start a family of his own.”
Now wait a minute .
“Mamá,” I warned.
“What? I’m not getting any younger, Gabriel.” Oh, I knew damn well who she’d picked that up from.
“Oh, it’s Gabriel now. What happened to my baby boy?”
“We all have to grow up and take on responsibility at some point,” she replied tartly. “Even you.”
I spluttered, unable to respond.
“We’ll see you tonight, mi hermoso chico .” And she was gone.
My beautiful boy .
Beautiful, definitely, but also the luckiest boy alive.
Leo
I stood at the kitchen sink, looking out the window at all the activity going on in the yard for the wedding preparations and had to cling to the countertop to prevent myself from fainting. In less than twenty-four hours, I’d have to stand in front of a bunch of people and speak my vows. Not that I didn’t want to commit to the two men I loved more than anything, I absolutely did—with everything I had. It’s just the idea of having to share what I held closely in my heart, with everyone else, in addition to Gabe and Mitch, that gave me palpitations.
Put me in a public court room fighting for the right outcome for my client, and I was in my element. Declaring my love in public, not so much.
Solid footsteps sounded behind me, and I automatically turned in their direction. “Where do you want these?” Mitch asked…well…more grumbled as he held up the numerous sets of clear string lights currently draped over his arms, his adorably sexy scowl making me smile.
“In the barn,” I said, going over to him and looping my arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss. The scowl immediately disappeared as I took his mouth, his body molding to mine, the lights dropping to the floor, already forgotten as we lost ourselves in the taste and touch of each other.
“Gabriel can’t get home quick enough for me,” he complained, as he ground his hips with mine, getting harder by the second. “This only making love when all three of us are together shit is fine until he’s not around.” He sighed against my mouth. “The sooner he’s here with us the better.”
I totally agreed. Not having Gabe around while he was in New York was akin to torture, with Mitch so close but completely out of bounds.
“You suggested this compromise.” I moaned as his hands slid down to my ass and cupped me firmly, allowing him to rub his hard length over my own.
“Don’t remind me.”
I understood, of course, why he’d come up with the arrangement, and I’d instantly agreed. He hadn’t stated the words outright, but Gabe worried, even now, he’d be the odd one out, and Mitch and I would eventually decide we were better off without him. There was no way we were ever going to let him think like that, so we’d made a pact to keep our hands to ourselves, unless we were all together. Hugging and kissing and making out were fine, but no jerking the other off or sucking or fucking unless we were all together.
It made for an interesting, if frustrating time, waiting for Gabe’s return, but when he did, we had some of our best lovemaking ever. Coming together, reacquainting ourselves with one another’s body after our abstinence, always ended in the most delicious of ways, involving a lot of lube and a whole load of cum.
I ran my fingers through Mitch’s beard. He’d grown both it and his hair longer in the last year and I loved the new look. He’d always be our big and rugged bear, but these recent changes also gave him an edge of danger, and it took all my willpower not to drag him to bed every chance I got.
“He’ll be here soon, and then we can play,” I soothed him.
His answering growl caused my toes to curl and my cock to throb.
After one final, bone-crushing hug and a lingering kiss, we reluctantly parted. “I’ll come help you put up the lights. I just need a couple of minutes to reply to Jackson, and I’ll be over.”
He grunted at me, picked up the lights, and headed out as my eyes stayed riveted to his perfectly round plump ass currently being hugged to perfection in his khaki shorts. I pulled in some more air and willed my body to calm down. I’d be inside him soon enough and waiting a few more hours wouldn’t kill me. Possibly. Maybe.
I’d been surprised when Jackson had made contact after my showdown with Malcolm. I’d expected him to side with my stepfather, take his version of the truth over mine, but surprisingly, he hadn’t. Instead, he’d checked up on me, when he never had before, and asked for my forgiveness for not being there for me when we were growing up.
I’d been extremely wary at first, reluctant to let my guard down, wondering if he’d contacted me to win favor with the asshole and report what we’d discussed back to him. He hadn’t, and over the last eighteen months, we’d gotten closer than we’d ever been. I’d never really considered why he’d left the East Coast to move to Los Angeles. He’d always been so much flashier than me, so I assumed he’d been drawn to the glamourous lifestyle and faster pace, but in reality, the complete opposite was true.
He hated my stepfather almost as much as I did, and bastard that he was, good old Malcom Taylor had also been undermining Jackson as much as me. He’d been playing us both our whole lives, and Jackson had taken the only option open to him—escape—moving to the other side of the country.
His confession made me hate my stepfather even more, and if I thought I could get away with it, I would have murdered the manipulative bastard and disposed of the body. The only thing stopping me were my years in the courtroom, and the knowledge one was guaranteed to get caught in the end.
I didn’t tell anyone, but secretly, I was still considering it.
I replied to Jackson, telling him to have a safe journey, and I’d see him tomorrow morning. Apparently, he had to deal with a troublesome client throwing a hissy fit, as he called it, so was unable to get here any earlier. He’d told me he couldn’t wait to see me and meet my men and get a first look at my new offices in town.
I’d debated long and hard about what I wanted to do once I’d finally broken free of Malcolm’s shackles. Gabe had offered me an amazing opportunity to work in his New York office, and I’d been sorely tempted. Corporate law was an area I’d wanted to get into while practicing in Boston, but doing so now would mean being in the city a lot more than I wanted as I settled in and learned the business.
Truth be told, I didn’t want to be away from Mitch and Gabe for so long. I got I should be looking out for my future, but I’d already found it in the two men I’d fallen in love with, so I had no need to look any further.
After deliberating and procrastinating for a few months, I decided to reopen my own law practice here in Melrose Bay. I’d rented different offices, with no connection to my stepfather, and so far, business had been going well. To my surprise, as soon as everyone discovered I no longer worked for Malcolm Taylor, they were more than happy to use my services. The business had steadily built over the last year and a half, and I’d shortly need to hire another lawyer to keep up with the increasing number of cases. General practice wouldn’t ever be as high flying as I’d originally planned for my career, but the work did give me the one thing I’d previously lacked: job satisfaction. I loved everything about it, loved helping people with mundane everyday issues such as wills and neighbor disputes, loved helping the little guy overcome the big boys who tried to buy their way out of any legal issue. Mostly, I loved doing the pro bono work for the people who would have had no chance at getting justice if I hadn’t.
Not having my sister Caitlin be a part of my wedding was the single dark cloud hanging over my happiness. True to his word, after Malcom signed over the guardianship to me, Gabe had taken over the costs of Caitlin’s medical treatment and moved her to a state-of-the-art facility catering specifically to her special needs. She had responded well and had recently begun to show small signs of communication. We had high hopes for her future, but her progression would take a lot of time and effort, and she’d need full-time care for the rest of her life. But she continued to improve day by day and that was more than I’d ever hoped for.
Yep, all in all, life was pretty good, and with Gabe and Mitch along for the ride with me, by my side and in my bed, I felt truly blessed. And tomorrow I’d show everyone how supremely happy and truly thankful I was.
Shit . Back to nearly fainting again…
Mitch
“Here, let me.” Gabe fiddled with the tie I’d been unsuccessfully trying to get right for the last twenty minutes. I’d been so damn nervous all morning when I had absolutely no reason to be. In a little under an hour, I’ll be standing on the shores of the lake and saying “I do” to the men who’d battled their way into my heart and refused to leave. Facing the fact Katie’s death was not my fault had been a long time coming, but I couldn’t have found two people more perfect to help me move on to this next stage of my life than them.
Leo: Kind, thoughtful, constantly looking for ways to make our lives easier day to day. But at night, he morphed into a whole other Leo Taylor, with a dominant side in bed neither me nor Gabe saw coming and was something we both craved and looked forward to.
Gabriel: Fiery, cocky, arrogant, and with so much bravado I’d wanted to smack him so hard sometimes. But once he let us fully inside, let us see the real him, he had the biggest heart of all three of us.
“There.” He tapped my chest a few times as he moved away, his eyes deliberately trailing over my body, scorching me with their gaze. “You look good, Mr. Houghton,” he said gruffly.
I never normally pulled off getting dressed up in a suit, due to being so broad across the shoulders and chest. If the jacket fit there, the rest hung on me like an old sack. When I’d grumbled at wearing one for the blessing, and Gabe had eventually got me to admit my reasons why, he’d given me his trademark sexy grin and told me in no uncertain terms, there’d be no off-the-rack suits for our wedding.
We’d been herded to New York, to a bespoke tailor and had our suits individually made. My eyes had bugged out of my head when I found out the price, but Gabe had simply shrugged before informing me, “You get what you pay for.” It would take me an exceedingly long time indeed to get used to the fact my fiancé was seriously rich, and I could have anything I wanted. The concept was really quite scary.
He’d been right about the suit, though, and the light-brown, checked-tweed three-piece, because he’d refused point blank to let me wear plaid, fit me perfectly.
I pulled him in to seal my mouth over his, loving how he melted against me as our tongues tangled. He tasted of mint toothpaste, coffee, and the vanilla creamer he loved.
“You look pretty good yourself,” I husked, enjoying his low moan of desire when I slid a hand around his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair. He immediately bucked into me, making me chuckle. “If we had the time, I’d strip you out of your expensive linen suit and fuck you on the kitchen table.” His desperate groan made my cock throb. Giving him a final mauling kiss, I took a step back before I followed through on my threat. “Later. I’ll give you what you want later.”
His unhappy whine was so cute.
When I heard Leo enter the kitchen, I turned to greet him, only for all my breath to evaporate. In his tailored, dark-taupe three-piece, the vest matching mine, he looked absolutely stunning.
Before I’d agreed to our blessing, we’d talked and talked about Katie, about my grief, and how hard I found letting her go. With their help and an amazing grief counselor, I’d managed to lay the ghost of my late wife to rest and fully embraced moving on to the next stage of my life, and new relationship.
We’d also come to a compromise with the property. I kept the cabin and 6,500 acres of land along with a section of lake frontage. The rest I’d sold to Gabe’s company to build their eco retreat, on the condition they ensure their guests take as much care of the land as I do.
A portion of the money I’d gotten from the sale I’d invested back into the cabin, which had become our home. I’d completed the renovations, allowing the three of us to move in together, and also turned one of the barns into guest accommodations for family and friends whenever they came to visit.
It’d also been a stipulation of mine as part of the sale, to split what had belonged to me three ways. If they were going to be a part of my life, it was all or nothing. Leo had been the most reluctant, as he maintained he had nothing to offer, but we’d managed to placate him by constantly telling him exactly what he offered and had taken him to bed to show him over and over how we felt about him and what he brought to our relationship.
Gabe had dropped the biggest bombshell when he’d split the beach house three ways, too, and his work shares, bonus, pension, you name it—we both got a slice of it. On paper, I was richer than I ever dreamed possible, but I didn’t care about that aspect. All I cared about were Leo and Gabe and continuing to love them with all my heart.
Everything about my life had finally fallen into place, and I was happier than I ever believed possible.
Leo made his way over to us and stood close, linking our fingers.
“Are we ready?” he asked us. We both nodded. “So, let’s go.” He tugged on our hands and turned to leave. “The rest of our life starts here, where our journey began, in the home we’ve created between the three of us, and I, for one, can’t wait a minute longer.”
I stopped his movement, forcing him to turn back to me. I gently, lovingly, kissed first his lips and then Gabe’s.
I couldn’t have agreed more.