Chapter 54
ALL THE WAYS
Ivy
Aubrey curls a chunk of my hair into a loose wave.
“Beach waves,” she says with pride. “You look so good like this.”
“Thank you,” I say, more calm than I’d expected to feel, given what I’ve planned for tonight.
“There’s nothing quite like getting a blowout before you pour your heart out,” she says.
“Good hair really sets the stage for everything, doesn’t it?”
“I’ve been saying that for ages. Finally, someone’s listening.”
I look into the salon mirror. I feel ready. Certain. And most of all, changed.
Nearly three months ago, when I grabbed Jackson’s binoculars and checked out a naked man on the roof of my building, I had no idea that it would upend my life.
I had no idea that it would lead to me marching into a job I’d thought I loved and flipping all the tables.
That it would send me into the arms of not one amazing man, but two.
But life is surprising. When Aubrey’s done, I stand and then give her a hug. She lets go first and shoos me to the door. “Go. Report back tomorrow.”
“Promise.” I leave Aubrey’s salon, fueled by confidence and great hair. When we returned from Los Angeles the other night, the guys told me not to make a decision about the job right away. To take my time.
I told them I would.
But really, I knew. I didn’t need to run to my grandmother when I landed. I didn’t need to wring my hands and ask her plaintively what to do. I didn’t need to wander along the water or walk across the city or play emo music until the answer came to me in a bolt of lightning from the heavens.
The answer’s been inside of me since the night the guys and I went to Kana’s and Brady’s house and declared ourselves together.
I knew then, somewhere inside me, what I wanted.
It just took a few more weeks for that voice to grow louder, to turn into a Greek chorus in my heart, to become its own anthem, guiding me to a wide-open door.
That door leads to The Great Dane tonight.
I suppose it’s fitting. Stefan wasn’t here the night I spotted Hayes, but I learned later that he’d swung by a few hours after.
He told me that he’d come here, stared off in the distance, and plotted a course to reach me.
So, it seems fitting that we’d meet here now.
I arrive early. Mid-December is not rooftop weather. The warm fall has burned off, and the chilly temperatures have rolled in. I’m wearing jeans and a sweater that slopes down one arm, my waves curling over my shoulders.
Right on time, two handsome hockey studs walk toward me from across the restaurant. I spot the vulnerability in their eyes, but the confidence too. I also notice the planner under Stefan’s arm and give it a funny look.
When they reach me, Stefan dips his face and brushes a kiss onto my cheek. It’s a kiss that says you’re mine. Hayes does the same, his lips saying this was meant to be.
They sit across from me at our table for three.
Yes, this is what I want. I know. But I am curious what they have. “Is that a planner in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
“Both.” Stefan slides it across the table.
Normally, he sets the agenda, but Hayes jumps in. “We made you something. Open it to today.”
With excited fingers, I open the book to December, finding the date.
They filled in dinner at The Great Dane.
Then tomorrow’s home game. A few days from now, there’s a night in at Stefan’s house.
Then Christmas together. But January gets more interesting.
They’ve filled in their hockey schedule, where they’ll be, and when they can get away to see me in… Los Angeles.
And when I can fly up here.
Wow. They’ve done it for every month through the end of hockey season. When the summer months come, they’ve blocked out all their days and nights in Los Angeles.
My breath catches.
I’m floored by their declaration. By their plans for me.
“Ivy, if you want that job, we’ll make it work,” Hayes says, intensely serious, his eyes locked on me.
“We plotted it all out,” Stefan adds. “How to see you. How to do this.” He’s calm but full of emotion. “Whatever you need, we’ll make it happen.” Then, he grabs my hand, squeezing it desperately. “I love you so much. I’ll do whatever it takes for you. We’ll do whatever it takes for you.”
Hayes grabs my other hand, the three of us squeezing hard together. “I’m so in love with you. I love the way you are with your dog. I love how you take care of her. I love how you look out for your friends and treat them like family.”
Stefan locks eyes with me and continues, taking the baton. “I love spending mornings with you. Talking about our days. Making smoothies and coffee, answering your questions and then asking a million more.”
“I love that you understand what I need before I even need it,” Hayes says, taking his turn. “I love that you’ve supported me from the day we met. I love your confidence, and your energy, and your eyes that just make me fucking melt.”
He draws a big breath, and Stefan takes over. “And I love that you stand up for yourself. You tell people no when you need to. You don’t take any shit. I love that you’re tough and resilient, but so damn tender in your heart.”
“And I love how you look out for both of us,” Hayes adds, then shifts his gaze briefly to Stefan, who smiles back. An appreciative smile from both of them.
A knot rises up in my throat, climbing sky-high. I’m bursting with emotions, with joy, with…this overload of feelings.
That’s what I’ve always felt with them—so very much.
I shake my head, amazed, awed, and wildly happy.
“I love you,” I blurt out simply. How can I compare to that beautiful ode to all the ways they love me?
I can’t, and that’s okay. It’s not a competition for their love or mine.
Both are boundless. “I love both of you. I need both of you. Together. This thing we have? It’s better as three.
I can’t imagine us any other way. I love you both so much, and I’m not taking the job.
I want to be here in San Francisco with my friends and my family and my growing business—and with the two loves of my life.
So I turned it down.” My voice cracks at the end, my heart overflowing.
“Thank god,” Stefan says, relaxing in his chair, laughing with joy.
“I’m so fucking glad,” Hayes seconds.
These guys. I love them so. “And look…great minds.” I take out my planner, the one where they mark our dates, and I flip it open to show them what I did.
I point to a date a week or so from now. The Sportsman of the Year awards. It doesn’t say TOC. It says JT.
“What does that mean?” Stefan asks tentatively.
“It means we’re not a Throuple of convenience. We’re just…throuple,” I say, then swallow past the emotions clogging my throat. “We’re just together. No end date. Just…a wide-open future.”
“It worked,” Stefan says, sounding on top of the world. “We’ve been trying really hard to get you to fall in love with us, and you did.”
I laugh, delighted to hear his confession. “News flash: I was already in love with both of you.”
“Good. I was going mad thinking about you leaving,” Stefan admits.
Hayes cracks up. “He really was.”
But then they both stop laughing. Stefan cups my left cheek. “You’re staying,” he says with relief.
Hayes takes my hand and squeezes it solemnly. “This is us.”
I nod as tears slip down my cheeks. “This is us,” I repeat, then purse my lips together before taking one more chance. “I was thinking…what if we all moved into Stefan’s home?”
Stefan pops up from the table and taps his watch. “Yes. Now. Let’s go.”
We don’t go right away. We stay and eat and drink and laugh. Then, we get my dog and make plans for the three of us—well, the four of us—to make a home.