by Mia Belle
Craig and Julia hug me so tightly I’m finding it hard to breathe. “Don’t you dare do that again, Caleb Bowman,” Julia warns, her eyes bursting with pain and relief. She lightly whacks the back of my head. “How could you do something so reckless? We love you, Caleb. How could you hurt us like that?”
I swallow as I look from one family member to the other. “I’m sorry. He killed a whole family. I couldn’t let him kill anyone else.”
“Next time, tell the cops,” Craig says. “Never take on something like this yourself.”
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to protect you.”
“We appreciate that,” Julia says. “But never again, you hear me?”
I nod.
They keep fussing over me, no matter how many times I tell them I’m fine. Eventually, the adults leave the room to deal with paperwork and only the guys and Lia remain. She takes my hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
“Sorry,” I tell them. “I never meant to hurt anyone.”
“We get it,” Zane says. “But that was very stupid, man. I told you not to go after him.”
“I know. But I had no other choice. I couldn’t let anyone else die because of me.”
Zane looks like he has more to say, but presses his mouth shut.
Aidan leans forward, resting his hands on his elbows. “What a crazy few days,” he mutters.
Zane puffs his cheeks. “Tell me about it. First our house gets trashed, then Aidan is in the hospital, then Caleb…”
Lia lifts a brow. “Did the cops find out who trashed your house?”
“Craig told us after he came home from work today,” I tell her. “It was Josh and his friends. They sent their cronies. I guess to mess with us.”
Zane grits his teeth. “I’m glad it’s over. Those assholes deserve to rot in jail for the rest of their lives.”
It probably won’t be that long, but I completely agree with him.
Aidan, Zane, Lia, and I talk about happier things for a little bit, before I say, “Guys, can I speak with Lia alone?”
Aidan pats her back and Zane squeezes her arm before they leave the room. I motion for Lia to climb on the bed. I encircle her in my arms, resting my chin on her head. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I was rude to you when you wanted to help out with dinner.”
She draws back. “Were you in contact with him?”
I nod, my lips pulled into a tight line. “I needed to keep my distance from you, which was why I shut you out. I never want to treat you that way again. You’re so special to me, you have no idea.”
She smiles as her fingers play with the tips of my hair. “You’re special to me, too.” She kisses my cheek. I turn my head and our months connect. I kiss her like I’ve never kissed her in my life, as if it’s our last moment together. It sure could have been.
“They told me you were the one who noticed the tracking device. Thanks for that. I thought my dad would for sure see it under my collar, but he didn’t.” I rub my nose with hers. “I’m so glad I get to have a second shot at life with you.”
She kisses me long and sweet. “I’m glad, too. And I’m glad we’re both safe now. No more Josh or his buddies coming after me. No more murderous dads coming after you. We can finally, finally be at peace.”
I kiss her nose. “It’s exactly where I want to be.” Staring into her eyes, I rub the back of my neck. “I want to tell you that I’m crazy in love with you. When my dad pointed that gun at me, all I could think about was you. I thought about not being able tell you how I feel. So I’m telling you now. Amelia Kelly, I’m in love with you.” I kiss her again.
She draws back after a little bit. “Is it okay if I call Zane and Aidan in here? There’s something I need to tell all of you.”
I nod and she slips off my bed. Once the door shuts behind them, Lia takes each of us by the hand. Though she needs to use her arm to touch my hand since there are three of us.
“I’ve felt this for a little while,” she says, her beautiful green eyes flitting to me, to Zane, to Aidan. “And I think I’m ready to admit it.” She smiles, bending to kiss each of us on the cheek. “I love you all. You guys mean so much to me. I can only imagine my life getting better as long as you are part of it.”
“I’ll be with you,” Zane whispers. “Always.
Aidan tweaks her nose. “I’m not going anywhere.” He sweeps his lips against hers. “You’re stuck with me.”
“And me,” I tell her. “I want you to be part of every moment of my life, and for me to be part of yours.”
She looks between us. “But how are you guys so sure we’ll be together forever?”
“We just know,” I tell her.
“Remember those stars we love looking at?” Zane says. “Our future is written in them. And we all know whatever’s written in the stars lasts forever.”
Aidan bends close. “Listen to them—they know what they’re talking about.”
She laughs. “I really love you guys.”
“And I love you,” I say.
“And me,” Aidan adds.
“Me the most,” Zane says.
Aidan and I give him a look.
He chuckles. “Just kidding.” He takes her hand. “Amelia Kelly, thank you for changing our lives.”
Tears flash in her eyes as she gives each of us a sweet smile. “Thank you guys for opening my heart to love again.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Lia
Two and a half years later
“That’s the last of the furniture,” Zane says as he shuts the door to our new apartment. He’s not wearing a shirt and I take my time appreciating every inch of his perfectly muscled chest. A crooked smile forms on his lips. “Like what you see?”
“You know it.”
He makes a move to grab me, but I hide behind the pile of furniture. “Such a tease,” he says.
Caleb enters the living room, also shirtless. He’s grown these past two and a half years and his chest is evident of that fact. He’s more muscular than he was, and I take my time drinking him in. “Dinner should be ready soon,” he says. “You guys okay with getting all this furniture straightened out?”
Zane waves his hand. “We’re good. Where’s Aidan?”
At that moment, Aidan walks into the room, thumbs tapping his phone. “Just texting Craig and Julia that we made it.”
About an hour later, after Aidan, Zane, and I are done with organizing our new apartment and Caleb’s done with dinner, we sit at the kitchen table and dig in.
I smile at each of my guys. It’s hard to imagine only two and a half years have passed since we first met. I couldn’t have imagined myself having a boyfriend again, let alone three of them. I think back to when we told my dad and the Armstrongs about our relationship.
It was after our graduation. We took our parents out for dinner, where they congratulated us and gave us gifts. I wore the beautiful green dress Caleb bought for me at the mall two years ago.
As we finished up our meal, the guys and I exchanged a glance. Zane nodded to me. I bent forward. “Dad, Julia, Craig, there’s something we need to tell you.” My eyes met the others and they also nodded. There’s nothing wrong with our relationship, I knew that. So why was telling my father so difficult?
I took a deep breath, let it out, then took another one. From under the table, I felt Caleb give my hand a squeeze. Earlier, we had decided I was the best candidate to tell our parents the truth because it would calm my dad knowing this was my decision and I wasn’t forced or blinded into it.
“Dad,” I said. “Julia, Craig. The guys and I want to tell you that we’re in a relationship. Aidan’s not my only boyfriend. Zane and Caleb are, too. We’ve been together for over two years.”
The adults didn’t say anything, just sat there, thinking. I raised my eyes to my dad, noting the unreadable expression on his face. I’d been through a lot, especially with Josh, and I knew he would take the news hard. Ever since my mom died, he’d been very overprotective of me.
&nb
sp; “Dad,” I said. “Say something.”
He blinked, eyes zeroed in on mine. Then he exchanged a look with Craig and Julia, who raised their eyebrows. It took a few seconds before Dad finally spoke. “We know, sweetie.”
The guys and I gaped at each other, then at them. “Wait, you knew?” Aidan asked. “For how long?”
Julia tilted her head from right to left. “Around the time Caleb got in contact with his dad. We saw the way you looked at one another, how worried you were over Caleb, Lia. And our suspicions were confirmed as the months went by. We caught the subtle looks and smiles.” She laughed. “I know what it means when a guy looks at a girl that way.”
Zane banged his back against his seat, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you guys knew all this time and didn’t say anything.”
“They wanted us to be the ones to tell,” Caleb said. “Right?”
“Exactly,” Dad said, taking my hand. “Sweetie, boys, we don’t care what kind of relationship you have, as long as you’re happy and treat each other with love and respect.”
I smile as I replay that day in my mind. Zane catches my expression and lifts a brow. “What?” he asks.
“I was just thinking about when we told our parents the truth about us.”
Caleb laughs. “I’ve never been so shocked in my life. But it’s great how accepting they are. I thought we’d have to put up a fight.”
“Our parents love us and want what’s best for us,” Aidan says before eating more grilled chicken.
We finish our meal and separate to our own rooms. I lower myself onto my bed and open my book, when there’s a knock on my door. Caleb peeks in.
I pat my bed and he joins me, taking me in his arms and resting his chin on my head. “Have you made a decision yet?” I ask.
He was accepted into the culinary school half an hour away from here. He also wants to do magic for a living, so he’s torn.
He nods. “I think I have. While my first love is magic, there’s a lot of crap mixed in with it. I told myself I could push through and make a name for myself, but I don’t want to travel to performances, away from you. I want to be with you. I want to provide for us. So I decided to go to culinary school.” He kisses my cheek. “But I’m not giving up magic. I’ll perform for you all the time.”
I kiss his lips. “I love watching you perform.”
He grins. “I know.”
He squeezes me closer to his chest. We spend a few minutes making out before Caleb tells me he needs to clean up the kitchen. Before I even have a chance to ask him if he needs help, he tells me he doesn’t.
I watch him go before slipping off my bed and heading to Aidan’s room. He’s at his computer, reading about the classes he’ll need to take for his nursing degree.
“Busy?” I ask.
“For you? Never. I was just doing some research.”
I sit on his lap and he wraps his arms around me, kissing my neck. His lips send tingles down my spine. “I told you this a million times, but you’re going to be a great nurse. You’ll make the patients happy and comfortable. You’ll care about them.”
He trails kisses from my neck to my ear. “Hmm. How about we play nurse right now?”
I laugh. “Hold on there. We just moved in and I need to prepare my things for tomorrow.”
He smiles. “Ready for your first day of college?”
“I guess.”
My school is a ten-minute walk from the apartment while Aidan’s is an hour by car. I decided I want to be a high school guidance counselor and help kids who are going through difficult times, like I did. I specifically want to help girls dealing with abuse. I feel like I could connect with them, having gone through it myself.
“Hey, Lia!” Zane calls from the room next door. “Tell Aidan he can’t have you all to himself our first night here!”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Sometimes I wonder how the hell I manage all three of you crazy boys.”
Aidan lifts a brow. “Crazy?”
I kiss his nose, then his lips. “In the best way possible.”
“Lia!” Zane calls. “Got some good news to share with you.”
Aidan rolls his eyes. I give him one more kiss before sliding off his lap and heading next door. Zane’s on the floor. Shirtless and doing pushups.
“What’s the good news?” I ask. “Or did you make that up to get me away from Aidan?”
He gets to his feet and slaps his chest innocently. “Me? I’d never do such a thing. I do have good news, though.”
He sweeps his phone off his desk and hands it to me. My eyes bulge as I stare at the words. Then I envelop him in my arms. “You got accepted to art school! That’s amazing.”
He tugs me close and kisses me sweetly. “Never would have sent out that application if not for you.”
I frown. “It’s two hours away.”
He kisses me again. “I’ll make it work. There’s nothing keeping me away from you.”
My hand skims up and down his chest. “And there’s nothing keeping you away from following your dream.” I glance around the room. Zane has hung many drawings of me on the walls.
“So you’re the last thing I see before I go to bed and the first I see when I wake up,” he tells me.
Smiling, I kiss his cheek. He pulls me even closer, so close are bodies almost fuse together. He kisses me slowly, with so much passion. His heart pounds against mine and our breathing has gotten heavy.
We’re interrupted by his phone. Zane reads the text and smiles at me. “Zack’s getting out of rehab next week and wants to see me.”
“Tell him to come over. We all want to see him.”
He nods, smiling like he can’t believe it. “And he says he’s got a job waiting for him.”
I peck his lips. “That’s great. You’ll have a relationship with him again, just like you’ve always wanted.”
His smile widens. He gently yanks me to him and kisses me again. “Thanks for being so patient and understanding with him. He’s been through a lot. We all have. But I’m glad we’re on the path we’re on. Things can only go up from here.”
Later that evening, all four of us get comfy on the sofa and debate what movie to watch.
“X-Men,” Zane says.
“Again?” Caleb and Aidan whine.
Zane gives me a crooked smile. “You choose, gorgeous.”
I reach for a DVD from the stack under the TV and fling it at Zane. He scans the title. “The Notebook?” He laughs as he pops it in.
We snuggle on the sofa and I revel in this feeling, this wonderful feeling that I never want to end. And something tells me it never will. Because the guys and I will be together forever.
Of that I’m certain.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this book, please leave a positive review on Amazon or email me at [email protected]. For updates on new releases, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter @AuthorMiaBelle and click on the “follow” button on my Amazon author page here.
–Mia Belle
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Read on for an excerpt from Rich Boys Poor Girl, available now.
This isn’t a house. It’s a palace.
As I weave through the plethora of guests, balancing a tray on my palm and offering hors d’oeuvres I can’t even pronounce, my gaze roams around the ballroom. My mouth practically reaches the floor, my brain trying to comprehend that people actually live this way.
Chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling, their crystals sparkling across the walls and bouncing off the expensive jewelry on the guests. The marble floor is so polished I can practically see my reflection. The tables are set with crisp white, elegant tablecloths, the dishes and utensils glittering, and the guests are dressed in their finest.
We’ve catered to the wealthy before, but this is a whole other ball game.
And the guest of honor? None other than sixteen-year-old Declan Worthington, the sole heir to the Worthington Empire. His dad is Asher W
orthington, the richest man alive. He owns practically the whole world, no joke. From hotels chains to tech companies, sports team, international enterprises, you name it.
It seems he couldn’t make it to his only son’s birthday party, hence the new entertainment system at the corner of the room, still wrapped in its blue bow.
Declan Worthington is at the center of the ballroom, chatting to a man three times his age. His hands are stuffed into his expensive black slacks, his head twisted to the side like he’d rather run himself over ten times than listen to the older man. His russet-colored hair falls over his face in the perfect bad boy fashion.
“Danica,” a voice hisses from behind me. When I turn around, I spot Andy, my boss and owner of Loew’s Catering, tilting his head toward Declan. “Offer him some food. You’re here to work, not ogle the main attraction.”
Trying not to roll my eyes, I salute before making my way over to Declan and the older man. I hold out the tray, plastering on a smile equal to the value of this palace.
Declan hardly looks my way, choosing to focus on the man standing before him as though he’s the most important person in the world. It’s almost like I’m not worthy enough to be acknowledged, like I’m the scum beneath his expensive shoes. All because I’m part of the working class.
“Something to eat?” I say, sliding the tray a bit closer to him and widening my million-watt smile. Flicking his hair from his face, the guy still doesn’t look my way. I might as well be wallpaper, except my plain pale yellow server uniform would totally ruin the elegant design.
I shift the tray toward the older man. “Sir?”
He offers me a thankful smile, says “Oh, no thank you, dear” before turning back to Declan, who’s now wearing an irritated expression on his face.
“What your father and I discussed…” the older man continues.
His words fly over my head, my focus on the rich guy standing only inches from me. I’ve never really gotten a good look at him, since my nose isn’t buried in the magazines kids at school obsess over. But damn, he’s hot. A thousand degrees. Seriously, you can probably boil an egg on his face—and get some yummy flavor, too. The guy’s got it all: looks, money, and a shit-tone of charisma. It oozes out of him just by standing there and rolling his eyes at the older man. And his tall body dressed in that pressed black suit and slacks only add points in his favor.