Big Three: MFMM Contemporary Romance

by Demi Donovan

  He has an infectious smile, the rare times that he uses it.

  “You did this all… for me?” I ask, looking at the set table and the candles lit on it.

  It’s beautiful, put together perfectly. Four seats at the table at each edge, designating a place for each of us.

  “We did,” Austin says. “Though truth be told, Troy did most of the cooking.”

  “You did?” I ask, surprised.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about us,” Troy says with a chuckle, and I nod.

  Apparently there is.

  To say I’m surprised would be putting it lightly. Austin puts his arm around my shoulders gently and leads me to the table, where Callum pulls out a chair for me and Troy pops open a bottle of Dom Perignon. He pours us all a glass as the men take their seats, with Austin across from me and a twin to either side of me, and then hands me a flute.

  I accept it with a hand that’s just as shaky as it was when I opened the door.

  “Are you surprised?” Callum asks with a chuckle.

  “Do I look anything but surprised?” I ask, arching my brows.

  “Positively, I hope,” he prods, giving me a wink.

  I smile and Troy clears his voice, turning our attention to him.

  “I didn’t expect things to go as they have. I think that’s true for all of us. But Lily, you’ve been on all our minds and we’ve come to realize that we don’t want to be without you. Whatever it takes to show you that we’re serious about that, including tackling all of the challenges that might arise, we’re there for you.

  “May this be the first night of many. A night where we can get to know each other like we deserve to, and grow together.”

  We clink our glasses together and I bite down on my lower lip a little, trying to contain the swell of emotions within me.

  I’m overwhelmed to say the least, but also overjoyed. They’re going to such lengths to show me how much they care, and I wish I could enjoy it to the fullest. Yet at the back of my mind, the bell still tolls… the one that keeps reminding me that I’m hiding something from them. Something that has the strength to ruin lives and to break up their family.

  And that it’s not fair to keep it from them… But if I don’t, my career could just as well be over.

  This can’t last, a bitter voice within me tells me, one that I seek to ignore completely. Just like last time, this is just a daydream that will disappear.

  I push that deep within myself, refusing to give it any more attention. I want to stay in the moment, with Austin, Callum and Troy. I want to enjoy the time we have. And I want to thank them for everything they’re doing for me.

  Now how can I do all of that while still remaining true to my principles?

  Twenty-Eight

  Troy

  I love seeing Lily like this.

  She’s practically glowing. A rational man would say that it’s the candlelight playing tricks on my eyes, but I know what it actually is. It’s her being happy.

  We eat, and the food’s good. Of course it is, because I fucking cooked it.

  Imagining a future where I get to cook for our kids comes way too fucking easily to me. A future where we’re together, and Lily’s always happy.

  Despite that, I notice moments where she seems to be a little more guarded than I’d like. She’s a tiny bit tense, which I guess is to be understood, considering how we sprung this on her. I’ll tell you, planning a surprise like this in a resort staffed by gossips and currently overrun by your own family is no small feat.

  We’re taking a lot of chances here, playing on the fact that it’s too late in the evening for anyone to come looking for Austin or Lily as whoever would come searching for Austin would definitely hear our voices and notice the rose petals outside. Getting all the food was a hassle as well and I’ve been cooped up in the kitchen cooking all day. Hell, even Callum helped, which has never happened before.

  But it feels right. Going through all of this effort to show her that we care, I think we did the right thing. It’s completely understandable that she has her doubts – we all do – but I think together, we can figure them out. For her sake. And for the sake of us all at the same time.

  We’re almost through dessert and it’s getting really late. We promised each other that we wouldn’t try anything with Lily tonight and I’m beginning to feel like my brothers are starting to regret that agreement.

  I know I am.

  “How’s the pie?” I ask, getting mumbled praise from around the table from Callum and Austin.

  Lily laughs, shaking her head and sipping on her champagne. We’re on our fourth bottle now and she’s pink in the cheeks, her eyes glittering. She’s been letting go of whatever was bothering her as the evening has progressed, and it’s almost completely gone now.

  “I would have never pegged you for a cherry pie kinda guy, Troy,” she says, and I huff.

  “I’ll have you know that my apple pie is even better but apples aren’t in season yet.”

  Callum immediately rolls his eyes.

  “Don’t get him started on that. He’ll tell you the life and times of apple orchards in the whole country and which apples are best for pies and which are best for jams and so on. It’s like a two-hour production if you get him going.”

  “I think I’d like to hear it, some day,” she tells me, and I wink at her.

  “Well, if everything goes our way, we’ll have all the time in the world to talk about the fascinating world of growing apples.”

  My brothers groan and Lily laughs louder, shaking her head.

  “You three are…”

  “What?” Austin asks, feigning ignorance. “Wonderful?”

  “Amazing?” Callum offers, continuing our usual shtick.

  “Breathtaking?” I finish.

  “All that, yes,” she giggles.

  God, she sounds to fucking sexy when she does that. When she lets her guard down, it’s the most attractive that I’ve ever seen her, and far sexier than I could conjure up even in my dirtiest fantasies. There’s something about how pure and sweet she is that trumps anything else that my mind could throw out.

  “It’s getting late,” Austin says with a note of sadness as the clock strikes midnight.

  We’re done with the food and we’ve been avoiding calling the evening to an end for the last half an hour or so, but it’s time.

  “It is,” Lily agrees. “I have an early meeting tomorrow.”

  She doesn’t give us any details, but we know what she’s talking about. More arguments between dad and Milan – exactly what we need. More drama. Because we don’t have enough of that shit in this family.

  I keep my tongue behind my teeth as we start getting up from the table.

  “I’ve arranged for the service staff to come take care of this tomorrow when you’re out. So you don’t have to worry about anything,” I tell Lily.

  She nods thankfully as we converge in front of the front door. There’s energy in the air that the last time I felt, led us to Lily being on her knees with a blindfold over her eyes. I can feel my cock straining in my pants and I discreetly roll one hand into a fist behind my back, trying to force the fucking erection down.

  I get a feeling that I’m not the only man in the room doing that.

  “Thank you so much,” she says, looking at each of us in turn. “This evening was… well, exactly what I needed, I think.”

  Her voice is soft and I ache with the desire to reach out and brush that one auburn strand of hair out of her face and to tilt her chin up to gaze into her eyes. Again, I can bet good money on the fact that I’m not the only guy here with those desires.

  “Any time, baby girl,” Austin says, his voice getting huskier.

  She gasps slightly, hearing that pet name spoken out loud again. I don’t think any of us have used it since that day that we’re all supposed to forget, and definitely never fucking will. She bites down on her lower lip, her teeth grazing the skin, and it’s at that moment that I can�
�t take it anymore.

  I step up to her and pull her into my arms. I kiss her ravenously, my arms looping around her waist and pulling her into me. She throws one arm around my neck, getting up on her tiptoes to kiss me harder, while the other grabs for the first man she can reach.

  It’s Austin, and when I give her a moment to breathe, his lips find hers. Callum’s standing behind her now, his hands running down the curve of her ass and caressing her hips, while he kisses her neck.

  She purrs in our arms and turns from Austin to Callum, while I continue kissing her neck. Austin takes the other side of her neck and she’s practically hidden between our massive bodies when everything gets shot to hell in a matter of seconds.

  The door is thrown open behind us and I don’t think any of us notices for the first couple of seconds. I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up from a slight breeze that wafts in just as I’m nibbling on Lily’s earlobe, making her groan as she sucks on Callum’s tongue and Austin’s hands have slipped up the front of her body, cupping her breasts.

  I look up, dazed, searching for the source of the breeze, and my eyes lock with Milan’s.

  “Shit,” I mutter.

  It rouses Austin first and then Callum snaps into the moment.

  Milan is standing at the doorway, clutching a heavy binder to her chest, looking like she just walked in on a triple homicide. Her eyes are so wide that you can see the spots where she’s had her wrinkles taken in straining a little. Her eyebrows are up to her hairline and her mouth is gaped open in horror and shock.

  That expression burns into my mind. The exact reaction that Lily’s been so fucking terrified of all along. The reaction of someone who doesn’t understand what we feel for each other, the reaction of someone who she wants to respect her… And now there’s nothing but disgust on Milan’s face.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” she asks, practically spitting the words out as she stands, shaking in her spot.

  That’s when Lily finally realizes something’s wrong. She whips around, coming face to face with Milan. Lily lets out a little shriek and I immediately step in front of her, blocking her from Milan’s view. Lily’s perfectly covered – in fact we all are – but that doesn’t matter. Milan could have walked in on us triple-timing her and it wouldn’t have made a fucking difference.

  The implications are far too fucking clear one way or another.

  “You… you fucking whore,” Milan screeches, dropping the binder.

  “Milan, shut the fuck up,” Austin growls, stepping up to her right next to me. “Watch what the fuck you’re saying.”

  “What the fuck I’m saying!?” Milan repeats, her expression a picture of revulsion. “You think there’s anything I could say about what’s going on here that would make it any less disgusting? If you think that, you’re fucking wrong. She’s a slut and you three… Jesus Christ, what would your father think!”

  Callum has grabbed Lily into his arms, pressing her against his chest, even though she tried to slip past him and disappear deeper into the bungalow. My blood’s boiling and this is the first time I’ve wanted to punch a woman. Milan has no right to make Lily feel bad for what she’s doing.

  “Milan, you get the fuck out of here if you know what’s good for you,” I tell her, my muscles clenching in rage.

  She’s having none of it.

  “No,” she says icily. “I think you’re the ones who need to leave. I need to talk to my lawyer.”

  Her face twists again as she says that and I can practically see the gears turning in that evil little head of hers. Her eyes narrow suddenly and she pushes past me and Austin, wiggling through the gap between us to come face to face with Lily, who is still hidden away in Callum’s arms.

  “It’s gonna be fine,” Callum’s telling Lily, but I don’t entirely believe his tone.

  It’s one thing to think that you’re prepared for something like this. It’s a whole other matter actually coming face to face with it. Being pitted against what it looks like and what it feels like to be judged for something that feels so right but society thinks is so wrong.

  “I swear, Lily, if you’ve told them a word,” Milan starts, a threat ringing in her voice.

  Lily immediately turns towards Milan and I can see that her eyes are red and her complexion is ashen. She’s shuddering all over.

  “No,” she says, shaking her head quickly. “I haven’t said anything.”

  “Told us about what?” Austin pipes in, grabbing Milan’s attention. “What shouldn’t she have told us?”

  “Nothing,” Milan snaps, grabbing Lily’s arm. “You’re coming with me. You, me and your boss need to have a fucking word. Right. The fuck. Now.”

  “You’re not taking her anywhere,” Callum growls, not letting go of Lily.

  “No, it’s okay,” Lily says sharply, looking from Callum, to me, to Austin. “Milan’s right, we need to… we need to talk about the case. I need to go. I’ll see you guys later.”

  I don’t believe a word she’s saying.

  “Lily, you don’t have to do this,” I tell her, stepping in the path of her and Milan. “We can figure everything out.”

  I might be pleading with her at this point. I know I need this to make sense as much as she does and I get the feeling that if I let her walk out now, everything’s going to go to hell.

  Austin’s still wearing a look of sullen doubt on his face, clearly rolling the thought of Lily hiding something from us in his head. Callum looks shellshocked. And I’m… I’m not sure what I am.

  Lily shakes her head violently, looking down at her feet.

  “No, I need to go. I need to do this,” she insists, and Milan snorts.

  She grabs Lily’s arm harder and tugs her along, rounding past me. On her way out, she grabs the binder that had fallen to the floor and clutches it under one arm. Milan looks back at us once, Austin, Callum and I standing in the middle of the wreckage that used to be our perfect fucking evening, and there’s nothing but disdain on her face.

  Lily doesn’t look back at all.

  I feel like a piece of us has been ripped away from us.

  Twenty-Nine

  Lily

  I thought I was out of tears, but I wasn’t. After having Milan and Mallory scream at me for two hours straight, I discovered right after getting out of there that I still had plenty of tears to cry. Not only did I get fired, but everything that I was afraid of actually came fucking true.

  I stumble out of Milan’s and Mallory’s house, practically dry heaving, stumbling to the closest bench that I can find that faces the ocean. I curl up on it, pulling my knees against my chest, and just stare out at the ocean as tears fall down my cheeks.

  I’m humiliated and destroyed.

  “I’ll let every fucking tabloid in the whole fucking world know about what you’ve been doing with those three. I’m going to have you destroyed. I’m going to make you into the tiniest little speck of a human that I can and I will make sure that everyone knows what a fucking whore you are.”

  Milan’s words echo in my ears. The worst of it is the fact that they’re just enforcing all the things I thought would happen if anyone ever found out about me, Austin, Callum and Troy.

  That I’d be ruined. That I’d lose my job. That everything I thought I had control over in my life would be torn out of my hands and I’d be left with nothing.

  And that’s exactly what’s happened.

  Mallory argued with Milan over whether it would be worth it to actually go through with any of what she was threatening to do, but it doesn’t even matter to me. Whether or not Milan goes public, it shows me exactly what the world and my own community would think if it suddenly came out that I was having a relationship with not one, but three men.

  Three brothers.

  I try to take a few calming breaths and it mostly works. I don’t want to go back to my bungalow out of fear of finding Austin, Callum and Troy still there. I can’t face them. Not after what I’ve done to them.

>   I should have never entertained this thought at all, that there was any sort of a chance for us. I should have stuck to my guns. I should have never kissed them.

  And yet I did, and now we’re all in a fucking mess that I can’t even being to start untangling.

  I just need to let go.

  But how do you let go of someone you love?

  I clap my hand over my mouth as that thought crosses my mind, though I didn’t say it out loud. My eyes widen and I forget to breathe for a second.

  Is that what I feel? Love?

  I close my eyes and shake my head. I’m in so much fucking trouble.

  I fish my phone out of my purse, which I managed to grab on my way out of the bungalow with Milan, and look up Christine. I call her over FaceTime and only when it starts ringing do I realize that it’s the middle of the fucking night for her. It’s too late to hang up because she accepts the call.

  “Hey! What’s up?” she asks groggily, putting the light on in her bedroom.

  It’s almost time for her to wake up, I think, now that I do the math. Still, it doesn’t make me feel any better for waking her up just to deal with my fucked up life right now.

  “I need to talk to someone,” I say, forcing my voice calm.

  I’m in pitch darkness so she can barely see the outline of my face. I can see her sitting up straighter immediately though, sensing that something’s off. If the time of day wasn’t a warning, the tone of my shaky voice definitely is.

  “Spill it,” she says, launching straight into damage control mode.

  “I fucked up,” I tell her, and it’s the closest to the truth I can probably get at this point.

  “And?” she asks, cocking a brow at me. “We fuck up. It’s called the human condition. Details, give me details.”

  “Milan Stephenson caught me with her stepsons,” I say, propping my chin on my knees.

  Oh my god, how much more ridiculous could something sound?

  “Oh my god!” Christine gasps, echoing my exact thoughts. “The twins!?”