I brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and feathered my fingers over the pulse point jumping in her throat. Her heart was racing, and she was trembling.
“I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself, Keels,” I murmured as I ran my fingers through her thick hair, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That was so brave.”
She wiped her eyes and ground out, “I hate him. I can’t believe I married that asshole.”
“He was way outta line,” Bray agreed, gently rubbing her arm.
“Should you block his number?” I asked.
She nodded, and Bray passed her cell phone over. His alarm went off, and he silenced it as I watched Keeley block Simon’s number. She set her cell phone down, sighed, and clung tighter to me.
“I’m sorry for ruining this morning. Last night was so amazing and now this.”
“Hey, you didn’t ruin anything, babe,” I countered. “You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.”
“I wish it was all over. The divorce feels like forever away even though it’s only, like, a month. It’s a black cloud hanging over my head that I can’t get rid of. I just want Hannah and me to be free of him.”
“The Bay gets lots of sharks. We could feed him to the fishes,” Bray suggested with a bad Italian accent.
“Or we could take him skydiving—without the chute,” I proposed. Every suggestion we made next was more ludicrous, and we had Keeley giggling before long.
Breathlessly, she warned, “Don’t tempt me.”
Bray slipped out of bed and dressed while Keels and I lay wrapped in each other for another minute. Bray tapped his wrist and gestured to the door with his chin. I nodded and said, “Keels, we have to get Bray back in time for his skate.”
“Yeah, let’s go.” She eased out of bed and asked, “Do I have time for a two-minute shower?”
Brayden agreed, and while she dashed into the bathroom to shower, I threw on some clothes and packed my things into my overnight bag. She was out a moment later and dressed for work a few minutes after that.
We checked out and stepped into the elevator to the parking lot.
Keeley sighed as she scrolled on her cell phone and said, “I miss our bubble already. Social media is the cesspit of humanity sometimes.” She stopped walking for a moment and looked up at us with a growing smile. “I take every word back. Look at this.” She showed us countless comments of support. Hashtags of Bray’s and my names were trending, as were #curvygirl, #throuple, and #hottrio. There were literally thousands of mentions of us being in love and happy. It was as if the whole rainbow community had come out in support of us, drowning out the trolls.
“Wow, it’s a little overwhelming,” she breathed, her eyes wide as her cell phone started pinging.
“What’s that?” Bray asked.
“I’m getting tagged in posts. The fandom have figured out who I am.”
“I’m sorry for kissing you last night,” I apologized. “I shouldn’t have invited you up on stage. I exposed you, and that wasn’t fair.”
“No, don’t do that, Spencer,” she soothed, then interlaced her fingers with mine and squeezed. “It was just as much me. I could have said no. I could have pretended I was just a fan.” Sheshrugged, and although I knew she was genuine, I hated that in my attempt to be romantic, I’d failed to factor in a jealous ex-husband and millions of fans who collectively could solve any mystery they set their minds to. I should have.
“I couldn’t have refused your kiss, but that’s a me issue, not a you problem.” She grinned and bumped her hip into mine. “And don’t worry about this.” She held up her cell phone and continued, “My personal profile is entirely private, and I don’t have anything about Hannah online. I’m well equipped to deal with craziness.”
I smiled but I wasn’t worried about the online comments. My mind was working overtime trying to figure out how we would get Keeley’s ex out of her life—without the need for sharks, an airplane, our local friendly serial killer, a deserted island, or Antarctica.
We’d make it right for her.
For her, we’d do anything.
twenty-one
Keeley
One month later
Brayden and Spencer closed on their new house a couple of days ago, and I hadn’t had a chance to breathe since. Ironic, considering I wasn’t the one relocating. But once they knew the date they were moving in, Brayden had put the word out to the Seals. A combined housewarming and birthday party for Hannah was organized within a matter of hours. They hadn’t finished unpacking yet—their clothes were still in suitcases and boxes—but the Seals had come through, supplying everything needed for a party.
