Fourkeeps: Ever After Duet, Book 2

by Jayne Rylon

  “Do you really mean that?” Ford stalked closer. “You’re ready to take us on, along with all the bullshit that comes with being involved with us?”

  “Yes. I can handle it.” Kari stood straighter then. “It’s going to take a lot more than someone showing the world how amazing we are together for me to bolt. I’m not leaving, not now and not ever.”

  “That’s good, because we still have the potential to damage your case against Marty.” Josh grimaced. “As much as I wish we could ignore that possibility, we can’t. Maybe we should hide that we’re staying together. At least for now.”

  “Absolutely not. Here’s the thing…” Kari drew a deep breath, hoping to sway three very logical, kick-ass lawyers with her argument. “The whole world has already seen that I sleep with you. What I want to show them is that it’s so much more than that. It’s a relationship. It’s…”

  Fuck, should she say it?

  “What is it?” Ford asked.

  “Love.” There. It was out there. Hanging in between them. “Unconventional, yes. But definitely the most powerful love I’ve ever known.”

  Brady rushed to her and crushed her in a bear hug. “It is. For me too.”

  Josh and Ford were right behind him.

  She was surprised to hear Josh chuckling. “You would have already known that, if you hadn’t crashed from being so well-fucked last night.”

  “Seriously?” Her eyes widened.

  “Yeah, we tried to tell you, but you were passed out.” Ford kissed her temple, healing the last of the wounds they’d unintentionally inflicted earlier.

  “So that should help my case, right? If I run…if people think all we did was have some kinky affair, that damages my chances. Instead, I want everyone to see that this is so much more. I mean…if it is for you too.”

  Josh pried her out of Brady’s arms and smothered her in his own. He kissed her lightly, then said, “It is. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let you walk out of here. I couldn’t stand the thought that we could be harming you. You’re right, though. That would only have made things worse. Not only for your trial, but because I don’t want to live without you anymore.”

  Kari squeezed him back, afraid to let go. Because if she did, that meant she’d have to face Ford, and she knew he’d be the hardest to convince.

  Brady and Josh flanked her as she turned toward him.

  She was shocked to see him bent over, hands braced on his knees, his back heaving as if he was having trouble catching his breath or maybe trying not to cry.

  Kari raced to him and rubbed his shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay if you’re not ready to commit. I know things have been changing fast. I understand if we’re not all on the same page…yet.”

  “Kari…” He growled her name as if warning her to stop pushing. No way.

  “Give this a chance. Please.” She got angry again. “I’m not going to walk away from what I know has the potential to be the best thing in my life. Don’t ask me to do that. Not if you care for me at all.”

  He bolted upright and shut her up by crushing his mouth over hers.

  She lost track of time and place as he showed her exactly what he hadn’t been able to put into words. A man couldn’t touch her like that without an abundance of emotion to back up his caresses. She was sure of it.

  When they finally broke apart for a breath, Ford said, “I love you and what we have together. I’m sorry I almost fucked it up for all of us.”

  She leapt at him, wrapping her legs around him as Brady and Josh surrounded them, pressing in on her from all sides. “However this turns out—with Marty, I mean—we know the truth. That is enough for me, as long as I have you.”

  Ford stared directly into her eyes when he said, “I will find a way to bring him to justice, whether that’s through the courts or any other means needed to ensure you’re protected. You have my word about that.”

  Kari didn’t flinch. She didn’t need to around him or Brady or Josh. They would never hurt her and would only elevate her further.

  “We’re going to battle this together,” Brady promised her. Everything started falling back into place.

  “No matter what happens, we’ll be here for you,” Josh vowed.

  “Forever,” Ford murmured.

  The intensity of the moment might have devolved into some serious make-up sex if someone hadn’t cleared their throat from the hallway.

  23

  “Please tell me everyone’s got their clothes on,” an exasperated Bronson called from the front entryway.

  Kari laughed. If the guy had been a few minutes later, she figured the odds were good he might have gotten an eyeful. As it was, they’d barely had time to make up.

  “All clear,” Ford confirmed. “Come in. What’s going on?”

  “They got him.” Bronson sported a smile the likes of which Kari had never seen on him. She was afraid his face might crack in half. “The cops were able to use the angle of the images published in the tabloid this morning to pinpoint his location. He’d rented an apartment in a building southeast of here so he could spy on you all. He’s obsessed. The entire place was wallpapered in pictures of the four of you in every possible combination.”

  He didn’t say they were naked in those snapshots. Still, Kari figured that was a reasonable assumption, especially when Bronson’s stare slid carefully away from the grand piano on the other side of the room.

  He continued, “Anyway, Marty’s locked up and he’s going to stay that way for a very long time.”

  “If we do our jobs right.” Ford crossed his arms.

  “I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t think you’re going to need to flex your lawyerly muscles in court.” Bronson’s grin widened even more. “One of the guys heading up the investigation is ex-military too. We have a few connections in common. Through them, I heard the bastard confessed. To a whole lot of shit. Including the assault of three other women, harassment of a half dozen more, and stalking Andi. The cops convinced him it was better to come clean and hope for leniency in a plea deal than letting you three take a swing at him.”

  “He always was smart. I’ll give him that.” Brady sighed.

  Josh linked his fingers with Kari’s. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I honestly don’t care. As long as he can’t ruin anyone else’s life, I’m happy.” She smiled up at her three men and Bronson, who nodded at her.

  “Congratulations,” he said to them as he headed for the door.

  Kari knew he was referring to a hell of a lot more than the Marty situation.

  When they were alone again, Kari wandered over to the sectional and sank onto it. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do a victory lap around the enormous living area or sleep for a month. Compromising by some vigorous activity followed by a nap sounded like a good plan to her.

  But it seemed the guys had another idea. Brady said, “You know, Marty isn’t going to bother you ever again.”

  She nodded. “Thank God.”

  Ford took a deep breath, then said, “I guess what I’m saying…” He cleared his throat once, twice, and looked at Brady. “Help me out. I can’t do it. Can’t bring myself to sabotage what we have going, not twice in one morning—”

  Josh cut Ford off. “It needs to be said. Kari has choices and we respect them. This should be her decision.”

  Brady nodded, taking over. “Ford means that you don’t have to stay here, with us, in order to be safe anymore.”

  “Oh.” Kari winced. She turned her back to them and drifted toward the windows. She trailed her fingertips over the piano as she went, remembering all that had happened since this fiasco had started and how utterly her life had been altered.

  How so many amazing and terrible things could be wrapped up together was hard for her to comprehend. They wouldn’t blame her if she was confused about it all.

  “Does that mean you’re ready for me to move out? Go back home while we work on stuff between us?” She didn’t look at them when she asked it, but
the disappointment was clear in her voice no matter how hard she attempted to disguise it.

  “Never.” Josh rushed to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “We just want you to understand that you have options.”

  “The best of which would be if you make our home your home too,” Ford said, ignoring dirty looks from Brady and Josh. “What? We only agreed we wouldn’t force her to stay. But we didn’t say anything about making our preferences known when this day came.”

  “You thought about this?” Kari couldn’t say why that shocked her. They were careful planners. Strategists. Something that helped her feel secure with them.

  “Yes,” Brady told her. “And we have something we’d like to give you.”

  Ford strode over to a bookshelf and took a small box from one of the shelves along with an envelope.

  “It’s not a ring, so don’t freak out. Okay?” Josh told her.

  “If I had my way, it might have been.” Ford stopped just short of scowling. “But they told me it’s too soon for that and I shouldn’t scare you away again.”

  Kari laughed. Considering that she’d nearly bolted less than an hour ago, she figured the guys were right. They weren’t ready for that yet. So what could they have up their sleeves?

  Brady and Josh shuffled closer as Ford handed her their gift. They waited patiently as she neatly unwrapped the bow.

  She lifted a gold pen from the satin pillow cradling it. “Thank you, guys. It’s beautiful.”

  “We’re hoping you’ll use it for a few really important things,” Brady explained.

  “Like…?” Kari tilted her head as she studied them, trying to figure out what they had in mind. There was no way she could guess, though.

  Ford reached behind the chair. He’d stashed something there. When? It had to have been at least the night before since they’d been together nearly every moment since then. So this morning’s fiasco hadn’t spurred him to do this. They’d been planning it all along.

  That thought took away some of the lingering jitters in Kari’s stomach. “What is that?”

  Brady explained, “Back in college, we made a list of all our goals. The big picture ones. And we’ve crossed them all off. You inspired us to add one and we think it’s only fitting that you do the honors…you know, if we’ve succeeded.“

  The three guys circled around and let her read what it was they wanted so badly that only she could give them.

  Convince the woman of our dreams to spend the rest of her life being worshipped by us.

  Live the rest of our lives satisfied and happy.

  Kari sniffled, then knuckled a tear from the corner of her eye. Damn it, they’d made her cry twice in one day. But how could she not when they were sweet, and sexy, and making all her dreams come true?

  “It’s okay if we haven’t yet. We’re not going to give up until we do.” Josh puffed out his chest.

  “No, it’s not that. Of course you have. I just can’t believe I’m the woman lucky enough to get to do this.” Kari closed the gap between her and the paper Ford held out. With a flourish worthy of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, she put a big, bold check in the middle of the box.

  Before they celebrated too much, Brady opened the envelope and withdrew a crisply folded sheet of paper, very different from the weathered to-do list. He flattened it out and handed it to her. “You can also use your pen to sign this.”

  “What is it?” Kari began to read, her eyes growing wider by the sentence.

  “It’s an offer letter,” Josh told her. “We want to hire you again, with a huge promotion and a raise. Not because you sleep in our beds, but because the office is falling apart without you. Please, please come back.”

  Brady wasn’t afraid to beg either. “You’re the glue that holds us together. We need you. Please.”

  She looked to Ford. He nodded. “They’re right. It’s not the same without you.”

  Kari took her time, scanning their letter, which was more than fair, before she said, “On one condition…”

  “Anything,” Ford promised.

  “You have to break the news to my boss. He’s going to be pissed.”

  The guys laughed. Ford stuck out his hand and shook with her on it. “Deal.”

  Then he pulled her into a hug that he capped with a kiss, which turned into a makeout session between the three of them and another sexual escapade worthy of the tabloids.

  24

  Kari sighed as she watched Andi dance with Cooper, Simon, and Reed. They had their own way of moving together, their own rhythm that only they could see and feel. It was familiar and yet different from how she was with her men.

  Andi looked stunning in the romantic, classic gown she’d chosen to wear to their wedding. It meant something to Kari that every detail, from Andi’s antique ring to her dress to the ceremony and venue for the reception, felt very much like a traditional ceremony despite its very unconventional outcome.

  In the six months since Kari had moved in with Ford, Brady, and Josh permanently, that had been her biggest concern. What if one day they realized it was too hard to prove what they’d set out to make clear to each other and the rest of the world—that they were in a committed, loving, enduring relationship?

  So far they were making it work despite the extensive media coverage of the Marty drama, learning to work together again, and navigating the normal pitfalls of living with someone for the first time. If they did fight, there was always spectacular make-up sex to look forward to.

  Kari hoped that one day it would be her beaming at her new husbands like Andi was that night.

  When it was time for the bouquet toss, she reluctantly joined the other women in a huddle at the back of the room. She wasn’t really the type to claw other ladies for a bundle of flowers or even the right to be married next, since she already had the men she wanted in her life and labels weren’t really their thing.

  It was easier to go along with the crowd and half-ass it than to object, so she rolled her eyes at Ford, then took her obligatory place in the herd of hopefuls.

  Andi wound up, then launched her flowers as if she were the star pitcher in the World Series. The bouquet got tangled in the ceiling fan. It spun around and around before slingshotting directly at Kari’s face.

  It was grab the damn thing or take a thorn to the eye. She refused to tell that story over and over at the office next week, when people asked about the freak accident that had led to a temporary eye patch.

  Her hand shot out reflexively, wrapping around the stems of the admittedly beautiful white roses. And next thing she knew, she was clutching the bouquet while everyone else in the room shrieked, clapped, and cheered. The photographer’s flash nearly blinded her with a rapid-fire series of blasts worthy of a laser gun or a solar flare.

  The photographer turned toward the rest of the guests and said, “Who’s here with this lovely lady? Let me take a picture that you can display at your future wedding.”

  The room was filled with murmurs and Kari’s own nervous, awkward chuckle. Hopefully the guys would be good sports. Her knees went weak when the three of them came forward. Shoulder to shoulder to shoulder, they cut through the crowd.

  “Is this the sign you were waiting for?” Josh asked Ford as they neared.

  Brady elbowed Ford and said, “Come on. It’s perfect timing.”

  Ford grinned, then stepped forward. He glanced over his shoulder at their hostess. In a booming voice that projected through the reception hall as well as it did courtrooms, he said, “Andi, will you hate me forever if I steal the spotlight for a second?”

  The bride jumped up and down, clapping. “Not if you’re about to do what I think you are.”

  He saluted her and her new husbands before turning to Kari once more.

  “What? Ford…” Kari’s mouth hung open. Not very flattering for those pictures.

  “It’s my turn to speak.” He shushed her as he sank to one knee.

  Josh and Brady did the same, one
on either side of him.

  The three handsome men she loved with all her heart made a very public display as Ford fished in his pocket for a box that she knew for sure did not hold a pretty pen.

  When he opened it, she gasped, her hand flying to her chest to try and contain her racing heart.

  How could he even expect her to lift her arm if he put a rock that big on her finger?

  They were about to find out.

  Because he said simply, “Kari, we love you. We’d be honored if you’d be ours forever. Will you marry us?”

  The moment she said yes and he slid that gleaming, ginormous, gorgeous ring on her finger, they were surrounded by friends. Andi, Cooper, Reed, and Simon piled on to their four-person embrace.

  Kari glanced at her finger, then at the men she could officially call hers.

  For keeps.

  If you missed out on the 4-Ever series, start with 4-Ever Theirs to find out how Andi hooked up with her three roommates in the first place.

  One woman. Three dudes. No regrets.

  College was supposed to be Andi Miller’s training ground for the real world. Instead, it’s her final Saturday night in her college-grade apartment, and she’s still sheltered as hell. Why? Because of her three adorable roommates—Reed, Cooper and Simon.

  Determined to have one date where the overprotective trio doesn’t scare the guy off, Andi sneaks out for the night. And almost lives to regret it.

  When Reed, Cooper and Simon rescue Andi from a bad situation in the basement of a sex club, they decide it’s time for the kid gloves to come off. Since their early college days, they’ve been not-so-secretly fighting amongst themselves to spark her next smile, her next laugh.

  They’ve already done a lot of surviving together, and now it’s time to thrive. At the risk of ruining a beautiful friendship, the men set out to turn their hands-off live-in arrangement into a weeklong learning experience where they become Andi’s sex education teachers.

  Except none of them realize their new found intimacy will make it impossible to say goodbye on graduation day.