My mother sighed heavily down the line. “Oh, thank the gods.”
I collapsed back against my car in relief, my eyes drifting shut as I tried to stop tears from falling.
“Baby girl,” my father said softly. “We love you. And we’ll love whoever you love. We made a mistake years ago and drove off men who were deserving of you. Men we know you loved. You’ve never been happy without them, Blue. And for that, we’re sorry.”
“So sorry,” my mum whispered, her breath hitching. “Oh, darling. I’m so glad they’re back in your life. You deserve nothing but happiness.”
We spoke for a few minutes longer then hung up.
“See?” Honey said, brushing hair from my cheek. “They love you.”
I nodded, unable to find speak.
“Now that’s done.” She stepped back, holding her arms out wide. “Can we work on finding Collins and me a man or three? I could do with my own personal bordello. They’ll have to put up with decorations and my psychotic family but it’s a small price to pay for the glory of me.”
“You should definitely put that in your dating profile,” Anika said with a laugh. She glanced at me. “You good?”
A genuine smile pulled at my lips, lighting my face. “I’m perfect.”
“Good.” She clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get to the bar. We all need a beer, and I am dying to talk about that scene with the rope. Did you read that with one hand? I did. I thenimmediately made Mac go out and buy rope. He said the guy at the warehouse looked at him funny for testing the softness. That author must have done her research because phwoar!”
Chuckling, I tugged open the door to my car and slid in, grateful once again for my incredible life.
9
Drake
I'd never been this nervous in my life. Sweat trickled down my back, and my overly starched collar scratched at my neck.
"Breathe," Dane whispered to me.
The house sat in darkness, waiting for Blue to arrive home. We could hear her come through the door, muttering something about deadlines and dinner reservations. We'd told her to come home early, that we had a birthday surprise waiting.
I suspected she wasn't expecting this.
She opened the door, clicking on the light in the hall. "Drake? Dane? Where are you guys? Why are the lights off—oh."
She must have seen the rose petals we'd laid out on the floor. There was a shuffle, the sound of something scratching against the floor, then her soft footsteps as she followed the roses.
I glanced at Dane, my heart now thumping through my chest. He looked cool as a cucumber, his gaze fixed on the entrance to our bedroom.
We heard her quick gasp, her steps faltering.
She'd moved in a week ago, finally giving in to the inevitable. The damage to Blue's house had been more substantial than initially anticipated, and she'd spent a month in our bed.
When she'd finally returned home, she’d done so despite our wishes, protesting that we needed space and were rushing things.
Instead, we'd moved into her house, sleeping there every night she wasn't at ours. After a month of that fucking nonsense, she'd finally agreed to move in here.
It was step one in our new plan. Tonight, we implemented step two.
I'd spent the day reorganising the house, creating spaces for her things. We wanted Blue to see how easy our integration could be.
The hall she walked down I'd filled with photographs and artwork. I'd removed some of our items, replacing them with hers. We didn't have many shared memories just yet, but we would. If tonight went to plan.
She neared, and Dane's hand came down on my shoulder, squeezing.
"We got this, babe,” he whispered to me, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.
