Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Our wife. Kai gives me a very significant look.
My mind is reeling. These men are just as public as mine, and they’re both with the same woman, and somehow succeeding? I want to ask how they handle the attention, if they get any negative publicity, if other women are jealous … but the men are here to get their tattoos done, not to answer my questions.
“Here she is now,” Brock says. Ember’s approaching, along with a beautiful woman with gorgeous red curls.
“Everything okay?” Cody asks. “I thought you were only going for coffee.”
The obviously beloved Megan holds up a shopping bag. “We passed the cutest kids’ store. I had to get souvenirs for the boys.” Giving me a smile, she explains, “Our boys wanted to come with us to Vegas, but sometimes Mommy and Daddies need a vacation by ourselves.”
And they have kids. Plural. Kai and Gage are both looking at me now, their eyes full of ideas.
On the way to the mall, Ava and I catch up with Ember, talking about movies we’ve seen, shows we’ve watched, and how our jobs and Ember’s studies are going.
I’m still in my wedding-planner position at Belle Epoque. Despite my resignation email to Clare, she hadn’t hired a replacement for me. “January is a pretty slow month for weddings,” she said, “and besides, I had a feeling you might be back.”
I’m continuing to help out the rest of the team while wedding season gears back up. I’ve got a lot of new potential clients contacting me, though, thanks to Kai.
It took all of his persuasive powers, given my dislike of the spotlight, but he convinced me in the end that we should go public about our relationship. First, there was a message that all three men posted on their social media accounts simultaneously, announcing that they were each, and all, in a committed relationship with me. And then, thanks to a friend of Gage’s who works for a local tv station, we did a brief interview for a segment that aired on a weekend show.
I was afraid it would bring out the haters, and we did get some negative feedback, especially from people who wanted to lecture us about the immorality of our behavior. But mostly, to my surprise, the response has been muted or positive—and, to my immense relief, the groupies have gone silent.
The people who haven’t been silent are the ones who are also in poly relationships. Quite a few of them want me to plan commitment ceremonies for them, and instead of being concerned about my private life interfering with my professional life, Clare is pleased that my new niche is drawing in more clients and visitors. Several of the couples who’ve contacted me have also made favorable comments.
I’m relieved that the outcome has been largely beneficial. Kai, of course, now teases me whenever there’s a decision to be made, saying that I should trust his judgment because obviously it’s impeccable. I tease him back, but the truth is that his instincts about me have always been pretty solid.
“Have the guys heard anything more about their new show?” Ava asks.
“Things are moving along. Nothing’s final yet, but it’s close.” And no, it’s not the Tattooed Bachelor. After one extremely heated call that I only heard about after the fact, Kai, Gage, and Thorn severed ties with Art Gilchrist, to put it mildly.
I was afraid that this was a missed opportunity for them, because even though they weren’t interested in dating other women, the reality show would have been a huge boost to their careers. However, another development person reached out to them shortly after, this time for a tattoo competition series, in which Kai and Gage will serve as judges. No dating whatsoever, nothing about their personal lives, and no filming at their shop, unless they want cameras there for publicity purposes.
Their time commitment will only be about six weeks to film an entire season, and they should get a lot of exposure from it, so my fingers are crossed.
Thorn wouldn’t be involved with the show, but he’s perfectly okay with that. All he needs to do is post a new cooking video to get plenty of exposure, and the increasing business at Belle Epoque is keeping him busier than ever.
Overall, everything is going wonderfully … with one exception. The one cloud in our bright blue sky is how Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez have reacted to the news of our relationship. There have been no recriminations, no anger, but no words of acceptance or understanding, either.
I know the tension there is not entirely their fault; part of me feels guilty, like my inner twelve-year-old is just waiting for the backlash.
I need to put on my big girl panties and talk to them about it. My birthday is coming up, which is why I’ve asked Ava and Ember to go dress shopping with me, and the least I can do is start acting like the adult I surely am.