Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Abby
Maybe it was a dumb idea to spill my guts in front of the three men I am completely in love with and then bail.
It probably would have been smarter to give them the chance to respond right then and there. If they’re going to let me down gently, at least I would know already.
It’s been two days, and I haven’t heard a peep from them. I haven’t tried to breach the silence either, but I haven’t really felt like I should after our conversation at the bar.
I asked them to think about it, and my silence gives them space to do so. I guess I just didn’t consider how torturous the waiting would be.
As each hour passes, the hope I hold in my heart about our future is mixed with a heavy dose of doubt. I’m starting to second-guess everything.
Maybe I was completely off base, and they don’t feel remotely the same way that I do about them. Maybe a future with me was the furthest thing from their minds.
Mav isn’t even with me this week, so I’ve had nothing other than work to distract me.
I groan, burying my face in my hands. This has been one of the longest shifts I have ever had to endure.
It isn’t because I’m here for more hours, but time is slowly creeping by like molasses dripping from a nearly empty bottle.
Each minute feels like an hour in and of itself. I’ve been trying to finish the charting for a patient that was discharged over an hour ago.
Becks plops down in the seat next to mine. It isn’t even her computer, but she doesn’t give a single fuck—in normal Becks fashion.
“Have you talked to Wyatt, Linc, or Kane in the last couple of days?” The question flies out before I can reel it back in.
I have avoided talking to her too much, not wanting her to pick up on how I actually feel about them and the nature of our relationship.
She’s way too perceptive to not pick up on it. Just the way I reacted after Kane’s accident was probably all the ammo she needed for her to start putting together the puzzle pieces in her mind.
“Nope,” she says, resting her head against the back of the chair. She’s practically lying on it by now. “This is the third day in a row I’ve worked. Being here and sleeping is all I’ve really accomplished.”
“Mmm,” I hum, trying not to give anything away.
“Trouble in paradise?” she asks.
My eyebrows shoot up. “No… I mean, what?”
She smirks, shaking her head. “I might be old, Abby, but I’m not dumb.”
“I never said you were.”
“I can tell from a mile away that you’re in love with them,” she says, her face more serious now.
“We’re just friends.”
“Okay, fine, if that’s the story you want to stick to,” she says, looking up at the too-bright lights above.
I guess my avoidance of the topic was unwarranted because she figured it out anyway. I let out a heavy exhale. “Fine… you’re right.”
“Always am.”
Fucking Becks.
“Did something happen?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug.
“Good or bad?”
I let out a nervous laugh. “If that isn’t the million-dollar question.”
“They love you, too,” she says. “They look at you the same way you look at all of them.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say, feeling a little glimmer of that dying hope flare back to life in my chest.
“Didn’t we already clarify that I’m always right?”
I laugh fully for the first time in days. It feels good. The questions and unknowns finally stop strangling my heart, even if only for a minute.
My phone skids across the desk in front of me as it vibrates. I snatch it so fast that it should probably be embarrassing, but I don’t care about anything other than seeing who texted me.
Seeing Wyatt’s name on the screen makes my heart pound a little faster. It’s just an address from the next town over. A second message quickly follows.
Wyatt: Meet us here when you get off work, beautiful.
He follows it up with another message with four red hearts. I read over the messages two, three, four times.
He called me by the endearment he usually uses. That must be a good sign.
Right?
“I take it’s one of them?” Becks asks. I forgot she was sitting there.
I nod, not able to formulate words. I glance at the clock on my computer.
Forty-five minutes. Then I’m either going to have my heart smashed to pieces or all my dreams will come true.
All of it is held in the hands of three men who I never saw coming but are everything I never thought to wish for.
My hands are shaking as I grip the steering wheel. I’m glad I plugged the address into the GPS because my brain is mush right now. The stress of all this is scrambling my already chaotic head.
I didn’t even take the time to go home and change before driving here. I’m in my scrubs with my hair thrown up in a messy bun because I couldn’t be bothered to do anything more elaborate this morning with the way I was feeling. I’m pretty sure the little bit of makeup I put on is long gone.
That’s the thing, though. My guys never needed me to wear a fancy outfit with my hair and makeup all done.
I’m not saying they don’t appreciate it when I do, but they like me just as much when I’m wearing a hoodie and leggings with my hair a mess and glasses on.
Regardless of what is about to happen, it doesn’t matter what I look like.
The minutes tick by until I’m only two minutes away. I round a corner, pulling onto the street where the address is located.
Their three hulking frames come into view.
They’re all leaning against a brick building. My heart starts to pound erratically in my chest, which aches at the sight of them.
I’ve missed them so much. It has only been two days, but going that long without seeing or talking to them has been torture.
I hope I never have to do it again. I pull my car to a stop on the side of the road, right in front of where they are all standing.
I can feel their intense stares on me before I even climb from the car. I was in such a rush to get here, but now I’m nervous to get out and face them.
I drag in one deep breath after another, trying to calm my racing heart. It’s no use. This is just one of those things I am going to have to do scared.
I jolt slightly when my door is slowly pried open. I can’t even turn to see which of them it is.
I don’t need to, though. His presence is enough for me to know it’s Kane.
“Sweetheart.”
“I’m scared.” My voice shakes just as much as the hands I’m wringing in my lap.
He crouches down in the open doorway. I finally turn, taking in his handsome face that I’ve missed so much.
His hand trails down my arm from my shoulder to my fingertips. “You don’t need to be.”
I use his words to fuel the bravery I need to pull myself from the car. His fingers weave through mine as he guides me around the car and onto the sidewalk.
Wyatt is smiling at me like a kid who was just told he can have candy for dinner. Linc has on a pair of aviators with his hair pulled back. He looks like a character straight out of an action film.
“We thought about it,” Kane says, tightening his hold on my fingers.
“Okay,” I say, looking up into his blue eyes.
“We want this,” Wyatt says.
My heartbeat wavers, but I need to make sure I understand. “All of it?” I ask.
“All of it,” Linc confirms with a confident nod.
“Marriage… and rings… and babies… and forever,” Wyatt says. I’m pretty sure he’s going to hurt his face with how big he’s smiling.
“Really?” I ask, feeling like I’m going to pass out. My eyes roam between the three of them.
They all nod in agreement.
My body freezes, not knowing how to react. I have never wanted to break down into tears and jump around with happiness in the same exact moment before, but that’s what’s happening in my brain.
“Beautiful, if you don’t get over here and hug me, I’m going to spontaneously combust,” Wyatt says, bouncing up and down on his heels.
I laugh, stepping closer to him and wrapping my arms around him. He pulls me in close to his chest. His hands move to either side of my face, making sure my eyes are locked on him.
“I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I would have told you in that damn storage room if you had let me.” He must see the look on my face because he adds, “It took us a few days to plan all of this, but I didn’t need time to figure out how I felt about you.
“I can be rash about things, but the way I feel about you is far from that. I’ve felt this way for a while. I didn’t need any time to figure that out. You were never a question for me. You are my certainty, beautiful.”
Fuck. Tears are falling from my eyes and onto his hands. He uses his thumbs to swipe them away. “I love you, too,” I get out through broken sobs.
His lips descend on mine. This kiss is salty with my tears. We hold onto one another like we never want to let go. And now, I guess, we don’t ever need to.
The breeze picks up, the chilly air making my exposed skin pebble with goosebumps. It’s probably below forty degrees out here, and I’m only in my scrubs. I didn’t even bother to put on a long-sleeved shirt under it this morning in my fog of worry.
Kane grumbles something behind me that I can’t make out. He holds up his coat. Wyatt gives me one last kiss before letting me go.
I slide my arms into it, feeling instantly better. It has more to do with Kane’s scent surrounding me than the protection from the cold.
“What am I going to do with you?” Kane asks, rubbing his hands up and down my arms that are encased in his coat.
“Love me,” I say with a shrug.
“Well, that’s easy,” he says with a smile. “I’ve been doing that for a while.”
His smile fades as his eyes look so deeply into mine, and I just know he’s peering into my soul.
“I love you, sweetheart. I started falling that very first night, and I haven’t stopped since. Three years apart wasn’t enough to stop it because you’re it for me.”
I launch myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck. He catches me easily, holding me to him as our lips crash against one another.
“I love you,” I gasp between kisses.
The kisses slow as he lowers me onto my feet. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I ask. “With Oliver?”