by Kiera Jayne
Dave screwed his face up. “I’m no good with those things . . ..”
“You don’t have to be. I’ll help you and I’ll train your employees on it,” Vaughn replied.
“How can you train them if you’re not around? I thought you up and left town. I’ve been worried about you, son. I worried that maybe your demons had caught up with you.”
Vaughn reeled from the hurt reflected in his father’s voice. He moved across to the older man and rested a hand on his shoulder. “No, Dad. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disappear on you. I’ve had a lot going on. Nothing to do with my demons, though. They’re firmly in check, I promise.”
Dave’s eyes travelled the room, from Perie to Flynn, before settling on Vaughn again. “Are you three at it again?”
Perie stiffened. “I’m sorry?”
“I know what happens when you three spend time together. How you hurt each other . . ..”
Vaughn dropped his hand away. “It’s not like that, Dad. Not this time.”
“What’s it like then?”
“Uh . . ." Flynn faltered.
“It’s . . ..” Vaughn wasn’t sure how to phrase it, either.
“We’re in love.”
All three blokes turned to Perie, mouths agape.
“I love Vaughn, I love Flynn. They love me, and they love each other. We always have, but this time, we admitted it. We’re not hurting each other, Mr. Forester.”
A heavy silence fell upon the room. Vaughn gulped.
“As long as that’s true.”
Flynn turned back to the older man. “What did you say?”
“I said as long as that’s true,” Dave repeated.
“Yeah, I heard you, but— “
“Then why’d you make me repeat myself?” Dave snapped.
“Because I can’t quite believe it. I always thought you were a little bit judgemental, no offence . . .” Flynn said with a shrug.
“Looks like you’re the judgemental one, boy,” Dave retorted.
Vaughn drew his shoulders up. “Does that mean you’re okay with this?”
“I don’t understand it, but it’s none of my business. It’s your life.” Tenderness touched Dave’s hardened features as he studied his son. “All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, son.”
A lump formed in Vaughn’s throat and he nodded once.
“Let me know when you’re all set up. I’ll send Rob in for a quick lesson,” Dave said.
One corner of Vaughn’s mouth lifted. “Will do, old man.”
Dave sniggered and headed back out into the workshop.
FLYNN YAWNED AS HE wandered into the kitchen the next morning at the crack of dawn. Rubbing his eyes, he staggered over to the bench to see Perie cooking up a storm. A fantastic, aromatic smell was emanating from the new stainless-steel oven. Scattered across the new benches were ingredients for salads and desserts, bowls and utensils were in various states of use.
“Morning,” Flynn said around a yawn.
Perie looked up from where she was cutting out Christmas shapes from cookie dough. “Good morning!”
“How long have you been up?”
Perie shrugged. “I’m not sure, exactly. Pretty early. I’ve had lots to get done.” The smile she sent him was devious, devilish, and oh-so sexy. Abandoning her baking, she tiptoed over to him.
Flynn narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you up to?”
“You haven’t noticed anything, have you? The tinsel down the hallway? The figurines I’ve set on all the windowsills? The Christmas tree behind you?”
Flynn turned. Low and behold, the tackiest, cheapest, plastic tree sat in the corner and was adorned with all kinds of baubles and glittery string and a star on the top.
Flynn felt Perie’s arms wrap around his waist from behind. “Merry Christmas,” she whispered.
Flynn turned to her. He cupped her face between his rough hands and peered into the kind, familiar eyes of his lifelong friend, his life partner, his soulmate. “This is the best Christmas ever.”
“Why?”
“Because I get to tell the woman of my dreams how much I love her. Finally.” His usual playfulness was absent, replaced by a tenderness he knew Perie had never seen before. This was pure, unadulterated love, Flynn-style. He was putting himself out on a limb.
Her response was spot on, better than spot on.
“I love you so much, Flynn.” Her eyes glazed over. In the corner of her eye nestled a tear, which she attempted to blink away. Flynn pulled her into a slow, deep kiss, savoured the taste of her mouth and tongue, the feel of her body against his, her soft hair and supple skin beneath his fingers.
When she broke the kiss off, she did so reluctantly. “You’ve never kissed me like that before . . ..”
“I’ve never let myself feel so much before,” Flynn replied.
“Promise me you will from now on?”
“I promise, hotness.” He pecked her lips once more. “Where’s Vaughn?”
“He went for a jog.” Perie glanced at her baking. “I need to finish my cookies.”
“Righto. I’ll make us some coffee.”
***
Once she had changed into a festive green, off-the-shoulder peasant top and trousers, and put on a pair of tiny Swarovski Christmas tree earrings and a glass snowman necklace, Perie set three places at the small card table. A red tablecloth with silver reindeer covered the table. Plastic snowman-motif placemats sat under paper plates printed with Christmas wreaths, beside each place was a Christmas bon-bon, and in the middle of the table was an arrangement of plastic Christmas plants. The only real parts of the display were the crystal punch cups and the silver cutlery. It was tacky, but beautiful, as only Perie could make it look.
Perie stepped out onto the back verandah and went in search of the guys, whom she hadn’t seen in hours. She spotted them down the back near the shed. “Lunch is—” she began to shout, but then the words died in her throat when she saw the shed was now painted in that beautiful shade of rustic blue she had picked out.
Her mouth dropped open as Vaughn looked up at her, paint brush in hand. His bare chest glistened with a fine sheen of sweat. “G’day, Perie-Berry. What do you think?”
“It looks beautiful!” Perie shouted.
“What are you waiting for? Get on down here and have a closer look,” Vaughn ordered.
With a laugh, Perie slipped into her ballet flats and made her way down to the back of the yard. She paused a few steps away to inspect their handiwork. The black old-fashioned hinges and slate grey roof offset the blue perfectly. Perie turned her attention to the windows. “Did you make me window boxes?”
“Yep,” Flynn replied. “You can plant whatever you want there—herbs, flowers, whatever.”
“We still have to lay the stone pavers and we thought we could create a little garden under each window as well,” Vaughn said.
“It should be where we put Terry and Denise’s remembrance garden,” Perie decided. “Don’t you think that would be nice?”
Vaughn set his paint brush aside and stepped over to Perie. “It would be a great spot.”
“Who’s Terry?” Flynn asked.
The other two looked at him and then at each other.
Vaughn squeezed Flynn’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you the story later. But first of all, Perie-Berry . . ..” He opened the shed door with some pomp and circumstance. “Ladies first.”
Perie stepped inside and took in the room with a gasp. There was a workbench along one wall, old pallets repurposed into storage for garden tools, floating shelves, a pegboard with hooks for smaller hand tools, and finally, a few old doorknobs stuck to the wall. Perie touched the doorknobs and glanced at the guys with a confused frown.
“For drying things like herbs. I saw it on Pinterest,” Vaughn said.
“You looked at Pinterest? I love that website!” Perie was impressed.
“We know,” Flynn said.
“This is . . . it’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful. Guys . . . you’
ve outdone yourselves,” Perie gushed.
Vaughn leaned his well-muscled arm on the top of the doorframe. “We’re glad you like it.”
Perie was going to be bummed about leaving this sitting idle when she returned to Brisbane in a month. The closer the house came to being finished, the more she felt sad about it becoming a weekender.
She pushed those thoughts aside. It was Christmas and she wanted it to be a happy affair. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she reached out and took Vaughn and Flynn’s hands. “I want to give you both your gifts. They’re not as wonderful as this, though.”
“They don’t have to be,” Vaughn said.
Flynn chuckled. “It’s not a competition, Per.”
“I know,” she said with cheekiness in her voice. “Come on! Present and food time. Come on, come on!” Perie tugged on their hands.
The guys laughed. Vaughn snatched up his shirt and tugged it back on as he and Flynn followed her back to the house.
“Aww, Per, this all looks amazing!” Flynn’s eyes bugged at the leg of ham and salads displayed along the breakfast bar and the festive table set up beside the tree.
“Help yourselves to the food and punch.”
Vaughn picked up the spoon sitting in the pasta salad. “All this food will feed an army.”
“He would know,” Flynn joked.
Perie lifted her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “It’s Christmas. There’s supposed to be too much food.”
As soon as Flynn and Vaughn were seated with their meals, Perie accosted them with gifts. “These are from me. They’re not much . . ..”
Vaughn saw her struggling with one and grabbed it from her. Looking at the tag, he realised it was his.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
Perie sipped her punch as she anxiously watched them tear open the paper.
“Aw, this is great!” Flynn lifted up his new Bose Bluetooth speaker. “Now we can party hard!”
Perie giggled. “No more tinny music.” She looked across at Vaughn. “Are they okay? I’m not sure what constitutes good dumbbell weights.”
“These are excellent, baby. Thank you.” Vaughn leaned across and kissed her.
“Me next.” Flynn got to his feet and picked up a large gift, which he set in Perie’s lap. While she was gawking, he went across to the fridge and dug out another gift from the back of the bottom shelf. He carried it over to Vaughn. He kissed Vaughn’s lips before settling back into his chair.
“Oh my God, where did you find all of this stuff?” Perie demanded as she peered into the hamper she unwrapped. It was packed full with top of the line beauty products.
“The local chemist is surprisingly well-stocked.”
Vaughn cracked open the bottle of One Fifty Lashes from the craft beer sampler pack and had a drink. “God, I love craft beers. Thanks, Flynn. You know your way to a man’s heart.” He set the bottle down on the table and got to his feet. “Lucky last.”
Vaughn’s gifts were the smallest of the lot. But Perie knew that the best things often came in the smallest packages.
“I thought that might make you smell sexy. Well, sexier than you do already,” Vaughn told Flynn when he had unwrapped the expensive cologne he’d bought him.
“You’re so lucky you backtracked.” Flynn jabbed his finger in Vaughn’s direction.
Vaughn chuckled.
Perie stared at the open box in her hand. “Oh my gosh. Vaughn, you’re too much!”
Vaughn flashed a half-smile. “You like it, then?”
Perie looked at him in awe. “You’re spoiling me.”
“That’s the idea. Do you like it?”
“I love it,” she whispered.
Vaughn lifted the bracelet from its box and clasped it around her wrist. The fine hairs stood up as the tips of Vaughn’s fingers brushed her skin. Vaughn took her hand and lifted it up off the table to kiss her knuckles. Desire burned in his dark eyes, giving flight to the butterflies in Perie’s belly.
Perie cleared her throat and glanced down at her plate full of lovely food. “Well, let’s dig in. We can’t let this food go to waste. But don’t fill up too much because I have some fantastic dessert.”
“What’s for dessert?” Flynn asked.
“Christmas cookies and plum pudding with custard.”
Flynn’s eyes bugged out of his skull. “I might skip the main and go straight for the sweets.”
“If, by the sweets, you mean me, then shucks.” Perie preened and pushed her breasts out.
The guys cracked up.
“You definitely taste sweeter than plum pudding,” Vaughn said with a wink.
“Oh, that pussy . . ..” Flynn sighed, making Perie go beet red.
***
The best day of their lives ended with the three of them relaxing together on the floor in front of the Christmas tree, drinks in hand. Perie stared at the pretty fairy lights until they were blurry. She felt so comfortable snuggled up to Vaughn’s muscular chest, his arm draped over her shoulders. Flynn’s head rested on Vaughn’s opposite shoulder; his leg entangled with Vaughn’s.
“I don’t ever want to move from this spot,” Perie murmured.
Vaughn pressed his lips to the top of her head.
Perie reached her foot across to join her mens’ in a game of footsies.
“It’s a pretty good spot.” Flynn drained his beer and set the bottle aside.
“I’m stuffed full. Perie, your cooking skills are altogether way too good.”
“Thanks. I think . . ..”
Flynn laughed.
“We’re going to be eating those leftovers for weeks. Lucky the kitchen appliances arrived the other day,” Vaughn observed.
“We’re going to be rolling our way back down the range by the end of January,” Flynn joked.
Vaughn frowned at Flynn. “What do you mean by that?”
“You know, when we go back to Brisbane,” Flynn said carelessly.
“You what!” Vaughn exclaimed.
Flynn sent him a clueless look. “What?”
Vaughn pulled away from Flynn. “You’re still planning to go back to Brisbane?”
“That’s where my flat is and my business . . ..”
“And mine.” Perie slowly sat up.
Vaughn gritted his teeth.
“Vaughn?” she questioned.
“Are you planning to leave, too?” Vaughn pinned Perie with an accusatory glare.
“My office is there . . .” Perie said.
“After everything that’s happened between all of us, you won’t think twice about ending it all?”
Perie blanched. “Ending it? No way! Vaughn, I love you!”
“As long as I fit into your busy schedule, right?”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Flynn asked. “You’d love it in Brisbane.”
“I hate Brisbane. I can’t be in a big crowded city. I can’t be around large crowds of people with my PTSD; I’d end up having a panic attack. I’d be on edge all the time,” Vaughn chided.
Perie’s eyes grew wide with concern. “Why?”
“War fucks you up, Perie,” Vaughn snapped.
She flinched and lowered her gaze as guilt flowed through her.
Vaughn launched himself to his feet. “If you two want to throw away what we’ve begun to build here, then that’s your prerogative. I won’t stop you.”
He stormed across to one of the spare bedrooms and slammed the door behind him. Perie blinked back tears as Flynn pegged his beer cap across the room where it hit the wall with a satisfying clink.
Well, shit. This was an unexpected fuck up.
PERIE DIPPED HER TOE into the water in the brand-new bathtub before she sunk into it. She sighed as the warmth enveloped her body and the scent of the lavender bath oil touched her senses. Perie closed her eyes in an attempt to push away the negative feelings she was experiencing—thoughts of Vaughn, of leaving Granite Ridge and going on with her life as normal. Could Perie honestly do that now? How could she t
ell Vaughn she loved him, then go on back to Brisbane as if nothing had happened between them and Flynn over the past two months? She and Flynn had been way too career-focused for too long. They seemed to have forgotten there was more to life.
“Perie.”
Flynn’s quiet voice broke through Perie’s thoughts and she jumped.
Flynn made his way across from the door to the bath. He rested his hand on her wrist. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s alright.” Perie relaxed again and took his hand.
“You look worried, Per,” he pointed out as he balanced his bum on the edge of the tub.
“Aren’t you?” Perie pinned him with a glare. “We’re treating Vaughn like shit, Flynn. We opened him up to the possibility of us, and we’re going to just throw it away?”
“That’s not what I want, Perie, and you know it. What are we supposed to do? Our lives are in Brisbane—our jobs, everything we’ve spent our lives building. You really want to throw that all away?”
“No, but . . .. Can’t we modify it?”
“How?”
A tear slipped down Perie’s face. “I love him, Flynn. I love him just as much as I love you. Maybe he hasn’t been a part of my life for as long as you have, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less a part of it now.”
Flynn cupped the back of Perie’s head and pulled her close. Perie traced the tip of one of the tattoos that peeked from the top of his shirt, trying to distract herself by falling into the beautiful artwork that adorned Flynn’s skin.
“I understand what you’re saying. I agree with you. I feel it, too. If you have a solution, I’m open to it. But we need to think seriously about what we can do, Perie, without it ruining everything we’ve worked for.”
Perie sighed. She gripped Flynn’s wrist. “I know you’re right.”
“I promise whatever we decide, Vaughn will be the most important part of the equation.” Flynn kissed the top of her head, then got to his feet. “Enjoy your bath, Per.”
***
Vaughn awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath and fighting for his heartbeat to steady itself. It took a moment for him to gain his bearings enough to realise he was on the hard floor in one of the spare bedrooms, with only a doona underneath him. At least, that’s where it had started. Now, it was tangled around him like a snake coiling its way around its prey. The nightmares were back. Fuck, wouldn’t he ever get rid of them? He honestly didn’t need this. Things were good now. Well, at least, they had been until tonight.