“Do you work with Caitlyn?” I asked. I’d only met her that short time, and didn’t know a thing about her.
“Yes. She’s a biologist and we’re working on a wolf DNA project together.” Cord sent a glance Nash’s way that I couldn’t quite interpret. Like Nash should know what that meant or something.
I looked at Nash for more information, but his face remained blank. “I only know her from the kiss-off in front of Shelby’s house,” he said.
I looked back to Cord. “So you’re a family practice doctor and a researcher?”
He shrugged. “Well, the research is my pet project. The family practice is my main source of income, but having Caitlyn’s focus on the research has really helped me move it forward.”
Impressive. “Wow. There’s so much I don’t know about you.”
Cord and Nash shared another glance and Cord got up from the table. “We’ve got all the time in the world to share. Come on, let’s head over to your place.”
“I can follow in my truck. Plenty of room in the flatbed,” Nash said.
“You’re forgetting how I got to West Springs,” I reminded. “Everything I own will fit in one suitcase and a grocery bag.”
Nash laughed. “In that case, we can all ride together.” He slid my chair back like a gentleman and kissed me when I stood.
It was sweet. The kind of thing my father did for my mother. It felt natural when Nash did it, but if Chester had ever done such a thing, I would have rebuffed the attention. It seemed so obvious now that I just was never attracted or interested in Chester. I had tried to make myself believe I was, but there was absolutely nothing there.
As for Nash and Cord, there was definitely something.
It took us all of forty-five minutes to pack my apartment, and then the guys helped me clean the place so I could get my full deposit back.
When a knock came at the door, I frowned, fearing it might be Chester again.
“Hang on, I’ll get it,” Nash said protectively, as if he had the same concern.
“Congratulations!” a friendly voice rang out. Caitlyn and Wade stood in the doorway carrying a bottle of champagne and a fruit basket. “This was all I could get on short notice,” Caitlyn said apologetically.
I laughed, and accepted the gifts and a hug. “Come on in. You know it’s not a real marriage, right?”
Beside me, Nash bristled, but didn’t say anything.
“It’s a good excuse to celebrate,” Caitlyn replied. “You’ve got one legal husband and an illegal one—I’d say you’re doing pretty good!”
I looked over at Nash and Cord, and my insides melted. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
Caitlyn went to the kitchen cupboard and pulled out five mismatched glasses. “Let’s have a toast.”
“Right now? It’s the middle of the afternoon,” I protested with a laugh.
Wade worked the cork out from the top of the bottle until it made a pop. “No better time than the present.” He filled the five glasses, and we each took one.
“To impromptu weddings,” Caitlyn said.
“To West Springs’ newest threesome.” Wade lifted his glass.
“To Rachel,” Cord said.
“To Rachel,” Nash repeated.
For some ridiculous reason, my eyes got wet. Even though this wasn’t a real marriage, even though there hadn’t been a wedding, the feelings were just as strong as if I were standing there in a wedding dress under a country club flower arch.
The complete opposite of how I’d felt at my surprise engagement party.
“To my two fabulous boyfriends, or I should say, husbands, and to new friends.” I clinked my glass against all of theirs and took a sip of the bubbly.
I looked around at them, memorizing the moment. Whether things here in West Springs lasted or not, this was a memory I never wanted to forget. I felt alive for the first time in my life. Like my life, my future, had just begun.
I had friends and lovers. I felt… included.
Nash and Cord each put an arm around me and I tipped my head up to one, then the other for a champagne-flavored kiss. “I love you guys,” I murmured.
“I love you, Rachel,” Cord answered.
“I love you.” Nash stroked my cheek with the backs of his fingers, and smiled.
Was this real?
18
NASH
Rachel was in our bed officially now that she was out of her apartment. Cord’s bed, technically, but the longer we had our mate between us, the more his house became ours. All three of us. Even while we talked and fucked and slept and ate and fucked some more, I thought about what she and Cord had said about meeting Harlan.
I’d never had questions about my parents before. Sure, I’d wondered what they’d been like, since I’d been a baby when they’d died. I’d never imagined having a second father and him be alive.
The picture Wade had shared was irrefutable. I was Harlan’s. We didn’t need any of Cord’s scientific data to know.