Epilogue #4
I stretched my arms above my head and just soaked up the sun.
House-sitting was a nice gig too. I watched the house, and Jordan watched the kitten.
Meanwhile, the Rileys were in Kentucky somewhere with the kids.
I yawned.
Almost time to get refreshments.
The patio doors slid open behind me, and I tilted my head back to see Jordan.
“What’re the chances you brought somethin’ cold to drink, baby?” I asked.
“Not great. But I can get you more lemonade soon.” He stalked over to me and sat down on the edge of my lounger. His on-edge behavior had my attention. “It’s possible I did something stupid.” He held up his phone. “You read this earlier, right?”
I squinted and shielded my eyes from the sun with a hand.
Ah, yeah. It was a journal entry. He’d sent me the link last night. Another switch in the community—Macklin—had written a lengthy piece on his experience with having multiple partners, even though his heart was reserved for one, in his words. The entry was titled, “We Adore One Another.”
“Yeah, I read it this mornin’.” I’d liked it. I thought it touched on several things Jordan and I were going through with Ash and Nathan. How the love we shared as husbands was untouchable, all while other types of feelings were developing for new partners. “What about it?”
He bit at his thumbnail. “I tagged Ash and Nathan in it.”
Oh.
He showed me the screen once he’d scrolled down to the comment in question. Yup, right there. He’d tagged @TheAsh and @Rigger and added a heart emoji.
“I didn’t think twice,” Jordan admitted. “I was feeling little and just did it. I wanted them to know. But it’s too soon, isn’t it? They’re not ready yet. And I did it so publicly! Everyone can see that on Macklin’s post—”
“All right, breathe.” I took his phone from him and placed it next to my glass. “You don’t know if it’s too soon.”
“They haven’t responded yet, and it’s been three hours!”
I laughed softly and pulled him down to me. “Three hours is nothin’, darlin. They’re probably explorin’ some godforsaken cave right now.”
I actually didn’t think it was too soon. I’d become ridiculously hooked on how affectionate Nate and Ash were, and I loved that they were so nurturing and caring. A stark contrast to how they treated me during playtime, when I was nothing but a come bucket or used-up whore.
“Where’s Emmett?” I asked. Just making sure.
“He’s beating your score at whatever video game you play,” Jordan mumbled.
In other words, he was next door in our house. I could speak freely.
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?” I murmured. “You know them well enough. They won’t let you feel an ounce of rejection—even if they’re not there yet.”
“I know,” he whined. “But what if they feel pressured?”
I’d worried about that before I’d gotten to know them, because Jordan was all heart, and he jumped in headfirst. But now…
No way. Ash and Nathan knew how to handle Jordan.
They knew how to make him feel special. Besides, I couldn’t think of a single instance we hadn’t been on the same page already.
Maybe Jordan had been first to develop feelings, but weeks had passed. He’d kept that private long enough.
We had no idea where we’d end up eventually.
We were confident in the fact that our marriages came first, but whatever else…
? Who knew? I found comfort in that we were open about following what felt natural in the end.
So if we’d reached a certain level today, it wasn’t the end of the world if we weren’t in the same place.
Because tomorrow was another day, and then next month and next year and…
“Oh my gosh, I got a text from Nathan.” Jordan sat right up and clutched his phone. “It’s a video message. Oh God, he’s gonna let me down gently.”
I dragged myself up and kissed his shoulder. “Play it before you let the drama out, my love.”
He huffed and pushed play.
It was a sweaty Nate who appeared on the screen, with nothing but sunny forest in the background.
“Hey, little duck,” he said, out of breath. And smiling. Fuck, his smile was something else. “We wanted to send this earlier this morning. We are…” He glanced around. “Somewhere,” he chuckled. “Ash and I went out for a run—here he is.”
Ash came up, panting. Sweating too. Shirtless. Goddamn. His tee had become his towel.
“Mornin’, shit-stirrers.”
My mouth twitched.
“Kentucky’s beautiful,” Nathan said. “We’re enjoying ourselves. I’ll send you pictures when the reception is good. Hence, this video message. The kids have tried to FaceTime their grandparents over and over without luck. So…”
Ash dragged his towel across his face. “Baby, we read Macklin’s journal entry last night. You know what we said to each other?”
Jordan shook his head, even though the message was recorded.
Nathan smiled into the camera. “We have to send this to Jordan, we said. Because it describes so beautifully what we’re experiencing with you and James.”
“Oh my gosh,” Jordan whispered. He covered his mouth with his hand, and his eyes became misty.
I smiled and kissed his cheek. Hell, even I felt insanely good at hearing those words. A warmth was spreading through me.
“We can love a million different ways,” Ash went on. “I already know there’s gonna be a special way for just you and Daddy.”
“And you and your Rigger,” Nate added with a devilish grin. “We already adore you, darling boy. We even put up with that slut of a husband of yours.”
I laughed silently and shook my head.
Jordan giggled and wiped at his face.
Ash leaned closer to the camera. “Don’t tell him, but we adore him too,” he whispered.
Damn you, boss.
“We’ll see you when we get home,” Nate said. “Soon as we roll in, we’ll find a moment so we can hug you silly and kiss you all over.”
Jordan sniffled. “I can’t wait.”
Ash pressed a kiss to two fingers and touched the screen before he ended the message.
Jordan promptly smooched the screen.
I let out a long breath and hugged him to me.
This was more than we’d ever dreamed of.
“I’m so happy, James,” he croaked.
“Me too, baby.” I kissed the side of his head.
“You know what we need now to celebrate?”
I did, actually. “Cold lemonade—”
“A cute Dachshund puppy.”
Ash, Nathan, James, and Jordan will return as secondary characters throughout the rest of the series. They will also receive a novella in the Mclean Tales to show you their lives a few years into the future.