“But never in a million years did I think I’d live up to my name… that I’d get lucky twice,” he whispered. “First with you guys making me part of a family I’d always dreamed about”—Lucky’s eyes shifted to me—“and second with bringing my soulmate back into my life when I was sure I’d lost him for good.” Lucky squeezed my hand but moved his eyes to his dads. “I had the courage to take a chance on Zach because I watched you two take that chance with each other when fate brought you together again. And just like you, I finally found the place I was always meant to be.”
I forgot all about Xander and Bennett as something inside of me that had been knotted up for so much of my life finally seemed to loosen and then give way altogether. In its place was a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt for a really long time, and all I could do was sit there and stare at Lucky as I tried to process the new sensation. My ears only perked up when I heard Bennett say the word “rules.”
“Until there’s a ring on his finger, it’s separate bedrooms when you come to visit—”
“What?” Lucky exclaimed while Xander said, “Babe, seriously? That is some heteronormative bullshit. You worried about unwanted pregnancy?”
I found myself sitting back in my seat as Bennett, Xander, and Lucky began negotiating all the ground rules Bennett was insisting on. I figured I’d let my man handle this particular argument, because I’d already learned one really important thing from Lucky about rules.
They were meant to be broken.
Epilogue
Zach
Minna’s eyes narrowed at me as she shoved a cardboard box into my arms. “Don’t hurt him.”
I nodded and chose not to point out that she’d said some variation of that at least a dozen times since July. “Yes, ma’am. Where do you want this one?”
“It’s Leah’s sex toys; shove it in the closet in our bedroom for now.” She turned back to head outside for another load as I stared at her back and tried to forget the words that had just come out of her mouth.
Familiar laughter came from the back of the small rental house. “Your face,” Lucky said with a snort. “I wish I had my phone to get a picture.”
“Mpfh.” I double-timed it back to the ladies’ bedroom and dumped the box in the closet with a little prayer I’d never see it again.
When I walked back out to the living room muttering about how I’d never imagined myself living with a bunch of college students again, I spotted Lucky leaning over to get some cold bottles of water out of a cooler on the floor. His sweat-dampened T-shirt rode up, exposing the dimples over his ass. Dimples I’d pressed my tongue into early that morning at the hotel in Billings. I could still taste his sweet skin on my tongue.
I reached down to adjust myself as he stood and offered me one of the waters.
“Why are you looking at me like you want to eat me?” he asked with a crooked grin.
“I want to eat you,” I admitted with a straight face before downing half of the water.
“Gross,” Minna said, moving past me with a full trash bag in her arms. “I think we need to set some ground rules about sex in the house.”
I put the cap back on the bottle and pointed it at her. “Says the woman who literally tried to do something called the Sexy Spider in the back of my truck last night.”
She tossed the bag down and lifted her hands in defense. “Hey, that wasn’t the house. And Leah was all sleepy and shit. How was I supposed to resist her?”
“Mpfh.” I huffed again, reaching for Lucky. “Maybe we should try the Sexy Spider later. Christen our room the Minna and Leah way.”
Leah walked in with a giant pizza box. “You have two hundred percent too few vaginas for that move. But we could show you the Bottle Rocket if you want. I learned it from my high school boyfriend. We’d need some extra batteries though.”
Min’s eyes heated. “Ohh, the Bottle Rocket…”
“No,” I snapped, pointing the bottle at her again and pulling Lucky against my front so I could feel that sweet skin of his lower back. “We’re not doing this.” I leaned in and took a sniff of Lucky’s sweaty neck before running my tongue up his throat to taste the salt there.
Lucky’s entire body shuddered against me. “Maybe… maybe they know some stuff… that… that we…” My kisses and nibbles distracted him enough that by the time I nosed my way down into the neckband of his T-shirt, he was asking, “Wha—?”
“Bedroom,” I said. “Now.”
Before he could answer, I threw him over my shoulder and strode back toward the door to our room. The girls hooted and hollered before Leah called out a reminder that Tag and his wife were expected soon to take us out to dinner.