Chapter 16
Danica
One week has gone by. Edmund got an all-clear from his doctor to resume normal activities. Which in his case, means being an absolute menace with Arky and Cackle, getting them all riled up so they chase each other around the house.
Edmund, Troy, and I have settled into a routine.
I go to work in the afternoon at Isabelle’s Creamery and do some consulting accounting on the side in the mornings.
In the evenings, we relax together—reading, watching TV, swimming.
Cackle is ridiculously spoiled. He has Edmund, Troy, and Arky waiting on him.
I once called Edmund a “pretty prick of a prince,” but Cackle is the one who really deserves the title.
I keep waiting for the guys to get pulled back into jobs for the Layton Family. But so far, they haven’t. They go to Finch and Fox, as well as Salt. Edmund even had paperwork drawn up to make Troy his business partner, so they own them together.
Everything feels too good to be true, and yet I’m optimistic. Maybe it’s dumb, but a gut feeling tells me that all is well, and all will be well. We’re set. This is the bright future we wanted, within our grasp.
At least, I thought it was. Saturday night rolls around. One week since Tate Vorsong tried to rip everything good away from us. One week since it all could have fallen apart.
And Edmund and Troy are acting off when they return from Finch and Fox.
“I’m going to swim.” Troy brushes a kiss on my forehead before rushing out to the balcony.
“I’ll join you.” I start pulling off my shirt.
Edmund whirls me around. “Not so fast, princess. You haven’t given me a kiss.”
His smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
I frown up at him, and smooth my fingertips over his brow. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, of course.”
But it isn’t. That smile is false. Something has him rattled.
Is it the Vorsongs, and he just doesn’t want to tell me?
Except they are all locked up and there isn’t a single chance they could get free.
Did I do something to make Edmund and Troy upset?
I don’t think I did. Everything has seemed so great.
“How was work?” I ask.
“Oh, good. Same old shit, you know.”
I narrow my eyes at him. Do I know? Right now, I don’t think I do. He’s hiding something.
“Edmund, you have exactly two seconds to tell me—”
“Dani!” Troy calls into the living room. “Come swimming, little girl.”
He’s trying to distract me. They both are.
Edmund must see the flash of fear over my face, because he dips his head toward mine and whispers, “There’s nothing bad, angel. I promise. Now get that sweet little ass in the water.”
Not entirely reassured, I strip down and head to the balcony. Troy tosses rings into the pool and dives down to retrieve them. Tragically, the water ripples too much, distorting what would be a most excellent view of his ass.
The sound of running footsteps is my only warning before Edmund runs from behind me and leaps into the pool. The resulting splash covers me in water and I shriek in surprise. Then I get my revenge, jumping in just behind him so my splash hits his face when he emerges.
“Where’s Arky?” I ask. Usually when we swim, he anxiously stands near the edge, trying to monitor our safety.
He seems nearly equally invested in all of us, although I’ve noticed he gives Troy a little extra care.
I think it’s great, because Troy’s always looking out for everyone else—it’s about time someone took extra special interest in him. Besides me, of course.
“I put him in the bedroom to keep Cackle company.” Edmund’s grin is too easy, too ready.
Something really is up, and if I have to fuck them to get the full story, well, desperate times, desperate measures.
I swim over to Edmund, ready to give him an underwater blowjob for as long as I can hold my breath. But just then, Troy tosses another ring past us.
“Who do you think can get the most rings?” Troy calls.
I turn around, treading water, to give him a look. I had much more adult games in mind—games where I put their dicks in my mouth. And he wants to see who can fish the most rings out of the pool?
“If I win,” I say, “you both will let me dominate you tonight.”
Edmund’s laugh is loud and sudden. “I want to let you win just to see you try.”
“You better wipe that smug, sadistic smile off your face.” I wave my hands at both of them, mentally cataloging the rings at the bottom of the pool. I think I can reach four of them, easily. “When I’m spanking you until your eyes cross, you’ll be sorry.”
He barely, just barely, keeps his laughter under control. I whirl around to look at Troy, whose dark eyes shine with his own repressed mirth.
Assholes, both of them. I’ll make them pay for not taking me seriously.
Without another word, I dive down toward a red ring. At either side of me, Troy and Edmund make their own bids for rings. We didn’t say what would happen if I lose, but I imagine it will involve a creative punishment of some kind.
So really, for me this is a win-win.
Edmund speeds down to the pool floor ahead of me, snatching up the blue ring I’d been aiming for. Curses. I change my direction, going for a yellow one nearby.
Troy gets there first. At the far end of the pool are two rings—green and black. Both guys take off like cannons shot them.
There’s one more ring, a red one. I don’t have enough air to reach it, so I surface to breathe.
The guys pop up at the other end of the pool, grinning. They each hold two rings. I’ve already lost.
“Well, I guess that’s the end.” I splash them both in irritation.
“The red ring counts for three points—the others only count for one apiece.” Edmund’s green eyes glitter in challenge. “Did we forget to mention that?”
Does he want me to spank him tonight? Intriguing. But I don’t think that’s the reason for his help.
Fuck it. If I can get three easy points by getting that last, stupid ring, then I guess I may as well. I pull in a deep breath, filling my lungs, before diving down to collect it.
I blindly snatch it from the bottom of the pool before kicking off the floor and shooting myself back to the surface. Grinning, I wave the ring in the air.
Something rattles on it.
“What’s that you have there?” Troy’s voice is laced with amusement, but his face gives nothing away.
I examine the ring more closely—to find two extra rings looped around it with delicate silver chains.
And these extra rings aren’t pool toys.
They’re the kind of rings someone puts on her finger. They have diamonds on them. They look like engagement rings.
“You—you guys? Um…”
I’m babbling. I don’t know what to say. Before I know it, they’re hoisting me out of the water to sit on the side of the pool between the two of them, our legs dangling over the edge.
“Dani,” Troy says, fiddling with one of the chains. “Dani, you have my heart. It’s yours, forever and always. It has been since we met you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Please say you’ll marry me.”
I hold back a sob as he places the ring on my finger.
Edmund takes my hand next. “I’ve been yours from the beginning. All of me. And we nearly had a sham of an arranged marriage. I would’ve happily taken it, just to belong to you. But now you have a choice. Marry me, Danica. Marry us both.”
Salty, happy tears sting my eyes as I nod over and over again, my throat too full of emotion to choke out the word yes.
Edmund slips the second ring onto my finger with Troy’s.
I hold my hand this way and that, watching them sparkle.
They fit together perfectly, and they must have had the rings custom made.
“Yes.” I look at Edmund, then I turn to Troy. “Yes.”
We kiss each other over and over again before I pull back, remembering something.
“I want a long engagement.”
“What?” Edmund has the gall to look offended.
Troy nods. “Of course, little girl. You want time to plan everything, don’t you?”
“Oh, I thought you didn’t care what the wedding looked like,” Edmund starts. “But that was because you didn’t care about that wedding. It wasn’t your choice, so you didn’t care about the details.”
“Exactly.” I grin at them. “Now that getting married is my choice, I want to be the biggest bridezilla you ever saw. I have opinions on everything from cummerbunds to what kind of ribbons should be tied to the favors.”
Both men raise their eyebrows, intrigued.
“I heard brat-zilla, not bride-zilla,” Edmund says, “didn’t you, Troy?”
“Definitely heard brat.”
“Well, I’ll behave for my daddies,” I hedge. “But for everyone else, I get to be bossy and pick out every detail, right?”
“Absolutely.” Troy’s kiss is swift and full of heat.
“You’ll be the most spoiled bratzilla to ever live,” Edmund adds.
“Can you start spoiling me by taking me inside to celebrate our engagement?”
“Fuck yeah.” Troy helps me up, then bends to collect the pool rings. “So, who wins? Your pool ring counts for more than all of ours. But there are two of us, and we got four, together.”
I give him a big, smacking kiss on the cheek—then I do the same for Edmund. “We all win. I’ll spank you both some other time. Right now, we celebrate.”
They take me inside, dry me off with a towel, then proceed to make me very, very wet again.
* * *
Troy
Two years later…
The music is soft and romantic. Flowers adorn everything from the rows of chairs to the archway where we stand. Sunlight streams through the trees in colorful beams.
Edmund shifts subtly from foot to foot. Nobody else would notice, but I’m standing right next to him. I know his tells. I know he’s nervous.
I’m not, but then again, I’ve never been left at the altar.
It wasn’t her fault that time, though, and we all know it.
And we have extra security in place. Not from Damiano this time—although apparently his experience is impeccable.
But from Ironwood, who is now happy to work with us because we are no longer part of the Layton crime family.
It feels good to earn money in a more legitimate way. True, we’ve still benefited from our time in the family, and the money they amassed over the years. But we’re doing what we can to benefit society, to balance out the wrongs of the past, present, and future.
My mind is wandering. Guess I am a little nervous.
Dani’s friends Rita and Leah walk down the aisle, followed by her cousin Rachel. After that comes Dmitri, Elias, and Wallace as groomsmen.
Everyone looks great. Happy. Laidback. Dani wanted a romantic, fairy garden vibe. She wanted everyone to “chill,” she said. When I told her I’d feel more chill in a t-shirt and shorts instead of a tux, she stuck her tongue out at me and earned herself a spanking.
But I’m wearing the tux. And I’m doing it with a smile on my face.
Arky strolls up the aisle, our ring bearer. He looks dignified as fuck with the bow tie he wears as a collar, and the little pouch attached that holds all three rings. He comes right up next to Edmund and me.
“Sit down, boy,” I whisper, bending slightly so I can give him an ear scratch when he complies.
There’s a shift in the music. I straighten up, clearing my throat. I’m not nervous. More excited. Hopeful.
Our new friend Damiano is in one of the seats, and he shoots me a reassuring grin. His friend, Seth Colton, sits next to him. They didn’t bring a date, which is interesting. Turns out they’re like Edmund and me, and they like to share.
I push their situation from my mind. Return to the beautiful moment in front of me.
A hush of expectation falls over our friends and family. Everyone looks to the opposite set of arches that face the wedding party.
And then—there she is. Our girl.