Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Brandon returns from the bedroom and kisses Kade quickly, before putting his arms around the two of us. We stand in the middle of the apartment in a three-way hug for several minutes, basking in the togetherness we’ve missed over the last several days. It feels like breathing comes easier when we’re all in one place.
“Anyone hungry?” Kade asks as we pull away.
“Starved,” Brandon claims.
“Very,” I agree.
“How about some dinner? I’ll cook,” Kade offers. Brandon and I nod our agreement.
“That’s probably best. I don’t know if you’re aware, but I am a terrible cook,” I admit. The men laugh.
“That’s okay,” Brandon says. “Kade and I are both pretty good in the kitchen. You’ll eat well in this house.”
“Mmm, can’t wait,” I say, licking my lips.
As Kade starts gathering ingredients from various cabinets, Brandon and I sit on barstools placed at the island with wine glasses in hand. A dry red is poured into each glass and we sip as we talk. Despite our frequent conversations over the last week, the three of us never seem to run out of things to say to each other.
“I have to ask,” Kade says as he is chopping vegetables, “that story about your first college party – how exaggerated was that?” Kade still chuckles about the tale that Brandon eventually told him, the story drawing an unexpected laugh from his chest when he’d first heard it.
I groan, thinking I had escaped my humiliating past.
“Probably not exaggerated at all. It was so embarrassing.”
“Come on,” Brandon says. “It could have been worse!”
“I got trashed on two drinks, left the party, and ended up hitting on my English professor in a parking lot,” I say dryly. “It’s pretty bad.” Both Brandon and Kade laugh again.
“Yeah, but you didn’t know he was your professor,” Brandon teases.
“Not until I walked into my first class Monday morning and saw the guy I propositioned standing at the front of the room.” They laugh again. “Glad you find me so funny,” I say with a giggle of my own. “That was a long semester, to say the least. It was sooo awkward.”
“Must have been a hell of an English teacher,” Kade says. “He must have been attractive, and he taught a best-selling novelist to boot! Who would have guessed?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, taking a big gulp of my wine. Brandon laughs at my reddening cheeks. “Remind me never to leave either of you alone with Mattie ever again.” Kade and Brandon chuckle in low tones.
When the laughter dies down and my face returns to its natural color, Brandon raises his glass.
“A toast,” he begins. “To us. To the romance convention that brought us together. The laughter that we share. And the future we have in front of us.”
“Cheers!” Kade joins in from across the island, raising his glass with a tilt.
“Cheers,” I clink my glass against Brandon’s, the dark red liquid sloshing about inside. My smile nearly overtakes my face and my whole being feels warm with joy.
This is what pure bliss feels like. My happily ever after is within my grasp for the first time ever, and I have no plans to let it go. I sip from my glass and lean a head onto Brandon’s shoulder, smiling gently at Kade as he flips the salmon. It’s perfect contentment, and I’m so lucky to be with these two men.
After all, true love finally happened for me, the nerdy romance novelist. I used to feel like I was living a lie. I wrote steamy scenes, but had no personal experience with them myself. Now, I’ll never have to lie again when a fan asks me about my inspiration. My handsome alpha males, Kade and Brandon, are all the inspiration I’ll ever need.
Epilogue
Jane
Two years ago, my life changed forever. A romance convention unlike any other led me to meeting my two favorite men, Kade and Brandon. In those two years, I’ve learned more about myself than I ever thought possible. I fell in love with both men equally. Plus, my career completely took off. It’s a level of success I only dreamed about, and I can attribute a lot of it to the support of my guys.
Kade and Brandon have been amazing. I moved from Poughkeepsie and into the loft so that we could be together full time. Going to sleep at night and waking up surrounded by warm, muscled bodies is something I will never tire of. Last year, we decided to go public with our unconventional relationship. It was a little scary, putting ourselves on display, but we were surprised at the level of support we received.
To Kade and Brandon’s shock, the membership at Muscle Nation didn’t care that the owners were bisexual. In fact, the LGBT movement is in full swing and our lifestyle seems to be of no concern to most people. We spent a year hiding in the shadows and all I can say is: never again. We have no intentions of ever burying our feelings in public. It’s liberating to be out in the open with our love, even if occasionally, it gets some odd looks.