“You don’t think he’ll come back?” she asked, her voice rising in fear as she stood up.
“He’ll come back, but I don’t want him to have to come to us,” I said.
“Kayden,” she said, stopping as her eyes caught on a piece of paper in front of Jace’s seat. She pushed it toward me. It was a sketch of a heartbroken in three pieces with one seam stitched together with the letters of my name and the other with Olivia’s name. The wordsNever Alonestretched around the outside of the bottom of the heart. Jace’s art never ceased to impress me, and this looked like a tattoo design.
Olivia picked it up. “It’s beautiful.”
I smiled. “I think I have an idea for how to make sure he knows we’re in this forever, no end in sight.”
“Oh shit.” She sighed. “Does your idea involve needles?”
I chuckled. “Trust me, I don’t love it any more than you do. Three people can’t get married, but they can certainly get matching tattoos.”
She groaned. “Let me go ask one of my cousins to watch Kaylee for us.” She handed me the sketch before taking off across the room and having a quick conversation with one of the other bridesmaids and kissing Kaylee and then her mother goodbye. I picked up an extra piece of paper and pencil off the table and tucked them into my pocket with Jace’s drawing as I started walking for the door.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Jace
I looked up atthe sound of feet hitting the pavement close to where I sat and saw Kayden and Olivia headed straight for me. I hadn’t gone far; I’d needed air more than a walk. I knew Olivia was afraid, and for some reason, instead of being able to support her, my own fear flared up and I’d felt like I was suffocating in that room. I hadn’t loved someone enough to trigger my fear of abandonment in a long time. As if I didn’t already know how much I loved these two, that was a crystal-clear sign.
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking down at the ground and taking a deep breath as they each sat on either side of me. “I shouldn’t have reacted that way. You have a right to question things. I just got so afraid of the look in your eyes, Liv. I really will break my own heart to see you both happy, but that’s not even remotely what I want for us. I’m terrified that I’ll lose you because I know if I lose one of you, I’ll lose you all. And I really don’t want to be alone again, not after feeling what I feel when I’m with you.”
Kayden wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You’re never going to be alone again, Jace. I promise.”
“Me too,” Liv said. “You’re allowed to need something from us too, and right now you need reassurance that when we get scared, we’re going to get through it together, right?”
I nodded and looked between them.
Kayden kissed my cheek and rested his forehead against the side of my head. “Jace, I love you. We both love you. There isn’t an us without you. Do you think we’d even be here right now if it weren’t for you? You’re the anchor that keeps us all together, babe. We don’t just love you; we need you. We’d be incomplete without you.”
Olivia nodded. “He’s right. I’d never be happy if you left us because you thought it was what’s best for us.You’rewhat’s best for us. The three of us together. Maybe it’ll never make sense to everyone else but it makes sense to us and that’s all that matters. Even though Iamscared about how to make this work for Kaylee, I’m not interested in any scenario where the three of us don’t figure outhowto make this work. Always.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I felt the tension slowly release from my body. She lifted her head and Kayden reached into his pocket and handed me the drawing I’d made inside with Kaylee. “Is this a tattoo design?” he asked.
“Yeah, but I doodle hundreds that I never actually ink on my body, so if you’re opposed to your names on my skin, it can just be a doodle,” I said.
“The opposite, actually,” Kayden said as he handed me a pencil. “Can you sketch two more just like it? With your name paired with each of ours?”
I looked between them and Olivia nodded. I smiled and took a blank piece of paper from him, using Liv’s back as a surface to do whathe’d requested. It only took a few minutes, and I handed the paper back to Kayden when I finished. He grinned and showed it to Olivia.
“Kayden said you have a specific tattoo artist you’re friends with,” Olivia said.
“I do. Matt’s used to me showing up with my own designs. Doesn’t even get offended. In fact, I think it pleases him that I trust him with them,” I said.
“Think he could squeeze us all in tonight?” Kayden asked.
I laughed. “I’m sorry, did you swap bodies with other people tonight? Because that might be more plausible than the two of you sitting in front of me telling me that you want to get matching tattoos.”
“Think of this as our marriage proposal to you,” Kayden said. “I want to spend my life with both of you. Always. By getting this tattooed on my body, I promise to never let either of you question that commitment.”
I smirked at him, joy filling my heart at the gesture and the promise. “Kayd, you can’t ask fifty questions about his sterilization process without offending him.”
“I know,” he said, clearly fighting his natural instinct to do just that. “I really think a ring would be a lot easier, but that can be taken off. This can’t. I belong to the two of you forever, and if that means I die of an infection in three weeks, at least you’ll know I was serious.”
I laughed and turned to Olivia. “And what about you, sweetheart?”
“I will probably pass out,” she said confidently. “But I also never want you to think I’m not committed to the three of us. The two of you are the best things that have ever happened to me. Kayden gave me Kaylee, you gave me everything for years, and you’ve both made me feel more loved than I ever thought possible. I’m in this forever and nothing will prove that more than being stuck with a thousand needles for you.”
