"Yeah." He chuckled. "She had been bragging you up for years, Luke. I knew all about Luke Barrett and his sexy green eyes. I knew about your little Southern drawl, and she kept going on about cowboys and jeans."
"I fucking hate that I don't remember that day."
"Mm, but she does," Ash said. "And I heard all about it. When she'd have a freak-out before a show, I'd remind her that you might be watching. That woman would lift her head and turn on the sex appeal, and the cameras would flash so much that we were all blind. Thing is, I'd never seen you. Not once. Not even a picture - until you walked around the barn."
"And I was so sure that you two were into some kinky shit and you were using her," I admitted. "Some big-city fucker who thought that a woman like that was put on the face of this earth to make him happy. Yeah, I punched you thinking that I'd convince you to forget all about her and let her find a man who'd treat her right."
Ash rolled onto his belly just to prop his arm on my chest and lift up to look right into my face. "And I knew it," he admitted. "You walked around the corner of the barn, and all I saw was this gorgeous man who was exactly my type, walking with enough swagger to make my dick a little hard, and then you dropped your eyes instead of memorizing every inch of her body. When you got pissed?" He grinned at me. "I couldn't help myself. I had to push. I had to see if some man could really be that good, and all I kept thinking was that I would spend the rest of my life drooling over her boyfriend."
"Or fucking," I added.
"No, fucking wasn't on the table that day," he told me. "Violet and I were just friends. Best friends, and I loved her the way I shouldn't, but she was going to find a man and settle down. You seemed to be that man, so I wanted to make sure you were worth a woman like that."
I traced my finger across his cheek. "Am I? Honestly, Ash, am I good enough for her? For Cy?" I caressed him again. "For you?"
"You were the piece we were missing," he breathed, leaning into my hand. "Luke, you're the keystone that makes all of us work. When I think about how many times we had to have just passed each other in town, on the street, in life?"
"Fucking meant to be," I breathed, leaning up to kiss him gently. "So how are we going to propose, Ash? How are two men going to convince the other half of our insanity that we're not only serious, but that we can make this work in a way that's legal?"
"Rings," Ash decided. "I know a place that will make custom ones. You'll help me get it right. Once we have those, then we'll talk to Faith. We need to make sure she's on board, but you will have to swear her to secrecy."
"She won't have a problem with that," I assured him. "It's Cy and Violet I'm worried about. What the fuck do we do if they say no?"
"They won't," he promised.
"But what if they do?" I asked. "Ash, the last thing I want to do is screw this up by pressuring her. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Cy would love a wedding, but Violet? She doesn't need a husband. She wears the pants in this family, and everyone knows it but her. I don't want her to think that I'm going to claim her, put her in a kitchen - " I paused to laugh at the absurdity of that. " - Or try to teach her 'her place.' I want to make it clear that I'm putting myself in mine."
"Luke, you've already made that clear," he promised. "When you came back?" Ash blew out a heavy breath. "Shit. You told her that you want Faith to grow up and be like her. You didn't even realize what you were saying when it happened, but she did. I'm pretty sure that was when she forgave you, and it was before Faith's birthday. She knows you aren't like most men. She's not worried about that. What she needs is for you to tell her that you love her and you will love her forever."
"I will," I promised. "All of us. I want to see Cy get bald. I can't wait for you to get a pot belly. I want to be buried beside all of you, out in the cemetery next to Vera and Bea. That's the kind of forever I want. All my life, I've been waiting for the right one, and instead I got three."
"What if we do it in New York?" I asked. "Violet and I want to announce that we're in a polyamorous relationship and make this mess of ours public. What if we do it after that?"
"No," I said. "It needs to be here. It has to be at Southwind. Not in town. Not at some pretty park or over a fancy dinner. She'll want it here, with Gran."
Ash sucked in a breath. "By that old truck?"
And I found myself smiling. "Yeah. Just means we have to make sure there's no reason to move it and the rest of the scrap metal back there, but that's perfect."
"After New York, though," he insisted.
"And a long engagement," I added. "She'll need time. We will not slow down that woman's dreams because we want to go from boyfriends to husbands."
"Pretty sure Cy will be on board with that," Ash agreed. "But we're going to do this." Then he stretched to kiss me. "And I'll have a husband, a boyfriend, and a wife."
"Mm, I'll still have two boyfriends," I pointed out.
"Fuck it. Three husbands and a wife." Then he nudged me. "Roll over. I get to be the big spoon."
So I turned, smiling as Ash curled up against my back and wrapped his arms around me. "I love you too, you know," I said softly.
"Trust me, Luke." He kissed the back of my shoulder. "I know. You make me a very happy man. Kinda like I'm living in a dream."
Chapter Fifty-Six
Something was up with Ash and Luke. That pair kept grinning at each other like they had a secret, but they sucked at hiding it. It was cute, though. When Violet saw, she lifted a brow and waited, but they didn't seem ready to share with us yet. I just hoped it was some kind of slam dunk for Southwind, because while everything was moving forward, I wasn't convinced that we'd even get a business license.
Ash seemed sure of it. Luke said to have faith in the people around here. Violet said she wasn't done yet. It was Billy who actually made me feel better. He was adamant that he never failed. As far as I knew, that was the truth. Sure, he might have to pull out some unsavory methods, but I honestly didn't care if it meant we could bring this place back to life.
