Rhythm of Three (Rule of Three) (16 page)

“We don’t need to label it,” Kassidy said. “It’s ours. Labels and social norms and traditions aren’t enough to describe our relationship. It’s not as simple as a word. It’s…love.”

Dag squeezed his eyes closed, his throat clogging. Yeah.

Some people might be depressed over turning thirty. Not him. How could he be depressed when he had so much in his life, more than he ever thought he would? And not only did he have Chris and Kassidy, he had her family—her parents, her fractious sister, who nonetheless had accepted him into their family, and that meant a lot to him. Accepted him as who he was, flaws and all.

And friends. Yeah, some of those people were ones he’d gone to college with, but he hadn’t been one to make the effort to stay in touch when he’d moved away. He’d wanted to leave his life in Chicago behind, but now he saw what he’d lost by doing that.

Thank fuck he’d come back. Thank fuck he’d taken that chance. It hadn’t even remotely turned out like he’d ever dreamed. It had turned out better.

He’d grown up without a lot of love, spent most of his life trying to pretend he didn’t care, and now he had two people who loved him, who’d managed to convince him he was someone worth loving. But being loved wasn’t the only important thing—having someone to love was huge too. Because if you couldn’t give love, how could you receive it?

And now he’d learned that the more love you give, the more love you
have
to give…and the more you get in return.

“This is the one.”

One month later, Kassidy turned in a circle in the middle of the living room, surveying the beautiful architectural details—the crown molding, the deep baseboards, the shiny hardwood floors. The white fireplace was flanked by white built-in bookcases. Sun shone through two large mullioned windows.

“It’s definitely big,” Dag said.

“There’s no pool though,” Chris added.

“True,” Dag agreed. “But the yard is big enough for one. We can put one in.”

“I love it,” Kassidy said softly, hands clasped in front of her. “Do you guys?”

“Yeah.” They both spoke.

“Can we really afford it?”

“Yeah,” Dag said roughly. “We talked about this.”

Warmth expanded in her chest. “Yeah. I know.”

They’d started looking at condos, nice modern lofts in high-rises, then somehow ended up looking at houses. Kassidy had tentatively broached the subject of kids during the house hunt, and even though none of them was ready for that step yet, they all agreed it made sense to move into a family home where they could stay long term.

Between the three of them, it hadn’t been easy to find something they all loved. The guys all had specific things they wanted. Chris wanted to make sure the foundation was strong, the electrical and plumbing were updated. Dag wanted a pool. Kassidy wanted lots of bedrooms and bathrooms, and a big kitchen. They’d found one that had all those things, but the kitchen was old and out of date, and although she’d been willing to remodel the kitchen and that actually would have been fun, the price of the house, along with the cost of a kitchen remodel and the time involved in that, made all of them think twice.

But this one…had it all. Almost all. But like Dag had said, they could put in a pool. The price was good enough that it would be economically feasible, and other than the pool, it was in move-in condition.

With big main-floor rooms, Kassidy could imagine a few kids running through them, playing, then heading out to the parklike backyard. She hadn’t mentioned it to the guys, but she’d made sure the schools nearby were good. She could see herself in this big kitchen with kids sitting at the island.

Not right away. But someday.

In the meantime, they’d all have room to spread out. They’d discovered they all needed their own space and alone time once in a while, and the condo they were in wasn’t that big.

“Okay,” Dag said. He turned to Brian, the realtor they’d been tormenting. “Looks like this is the one.”

Brian grinned. “Thank God. I was starting to think you were never going to agree on something.”

He hadn’t blinked over the fact that three of them were buying the place. What did he care, as long as he got his commission? But he’d been great, patient and understanding of their needs.

“All right, boys,” Kassidy said with a smile, “we’re buying a house.”

The pool party ten months later was to celebrate the installation of the new pool and Chris’s and Dag’s thirty-first birthdays in a combined party. Friends and family were there, just like a year earlier, only this time Jeff and Sarah had a baby, little Jaden.

“How’s business?” Chris asked Hailey.

“Excellent.” She lounged back in a chair, wearing a tiny black bikini, sipping one of the watermelon-basil mojitos she’d whipped up in the kitchen. “I signed two new clients just this week.” She’d gone ahead with her idea of starting her own mixology consulting company. Surprisingly, she’d come to Dag, Chris and Kassidy for business advice on all kinds of things—accounting, finances, marketing and training. They’d all been happy to contribute their individual areas of expertise and help Hailey get started, and it seemed things were going well.

Kassidy appeared, also wearing a tiny bikini, hers pink and semicovered with a sheer white tunic that ended just above her knees. Her skin was tanned from all the time in their yard, as she’d discovered a passion for gardening. Her brown hair hung loose to her shoulders, shiny in the sun, and she held a pink-wrapped bundle in her arms. Jaden.

Chris smiled at her, so beautiful, gazing down at the baby girl in her arms.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Kassidy crooned, touching a finger to one cheek.

“
You’re
gorgeous,” Chris said.

Kassidy met his eyes and they exchanged a smile. “Want to hold her?”

“Uh…no.”

“Oh come on. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I don’t know anything about babies.”

“You better learn.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. Holy fuck. She wasn’t about to tell him she was pregnant, was she?

Then she laughed. “Don’t look so terrified! I’m not pregnant. But if you want to be a father, you better be okay with holding a baby. Both of you,” she added as Dag approached.

Dag too was tanned, even darker than Kass, due to his deeper skin tone and dark hair. His blue board shorts sat low on his hips and Chris took a moment to admire him too.

“I don’t mind babies,” Dag said, moving closer. “But I actually prefer it when they start walking and talking. Kids are fun. But she
is
pretty cute.”

“You guys’ll make good dads,” Hailey said.

“Thanks.” Chris gave her a crooked grin. “My parents don’t share that opinion. They think it will be cruel to bring a child into our ‘arrangement’, as they call it.”

Kassidy’s mouth tightened at the mention of Chris’s parents and their opinions about the three of them. She and Dag were still pissed at them, although the anger had faded. Chris himself had just moved on. He had what he wanted in life…people who loved him. If his parents didn’t want that for him and couldn’t deal with it, it was their loss.

His eyes caught the flash of the enormous diamond on Kassidy’s left hand. His and Dag’s diamond. They’d picked it out for her together and they’d blown her away with it, a unique design with a round solitaire set in a wide swirl of platinum…not an engagement ring, but not just a simple wedding band either. Then the three of them had gone shopping for rings for him and Dag, settling on the same for both of them, also platinum, smooth bands with beveled edges.

The rings were a traditional symbol of their untraditional relationship.

Their lives weren’t perfect. There were still people who couldn’t accept their relationship, although surprisingly few, and there were still people who didn’t know about their relationship. They’d become friends with a few others in poly relationships whom they’d met through a counselor who’d helped them work through some of the issues they faced. They had worries and problems. Kassidy’s dad had had a heart attack a few months ago, but was okay now. They all had problems at work. Jeff and Sarah now had a beautiful baby, but she’d had complications during her pregnancy and ended up in the hospital the last month before Jaden was born, scaring them all. Kassidy had freaked out about Dag wanting to go skydiving, and Chris and Dag rolled their eyes when Kassidy bugged them about putting the empty peanut butter container back in the cupboard and leaving their wet towels on the bathroom floor.

They argued about stuff like Chris working late too many nights when Kassidy wanted to get home, and, yes, they argued about money, not that they lacked it, but there was still a bit of a power struggle between him and Dag over who paid for what. They argued about leaving the toilet seat up and who should vacuum, because they all fucking hated vacuuming, what movies to watch, and the fact that Dag had to eat beef at damn-near every meal.

But everyone argued about crap like that.

Then they made up. They loved each other. They wanted this to work because the alternative was too agonizing to even consider.

That night after everyone had gone home, they turned out the lights, climbed the beautiful oak stairs up to their master suite and got into bed, talking about the party, sharing bits and pieces of it with each other, touching and kissing, legs twined together.

And the three of them moved together, finding their unique rhythm…their rhythm of three.

About the Author

Kelly Jamieson lives in Winnipeg, Canada, and is the best-selling author of over thirty romance novels and novellas. Her writing has been described as “emotionally complex”, “sweet and satisfying” and “blisteringly sexy”. If she can stop herself from reading or writing, she loves to cook. She has shelves of cookbooks that she reads at length. She also enjoys gardening in the summer, and in the winter she likes to read gardening magazines and seed catalogues (there might be a theme here…). She also loves shopping, especially for clothes and shoes. She loves hearing from readers, so please visit her website at
www.kellyjamieson.com
or contact her at
[email protected]
.

Look for these titles by Kelly Jamieson

Now Available:

Love Me

Friends With Benefits

Love Me More

2 Hot 2 Handle

Lost and Found

One Wicked Night

Rule of Three

Sweet Deal

Hot Ride

San Amaro Singles

With Strings Attached

How to Love

Slammed

Coming Soon:

You Really Got Me

Sweet Obsession

He never saw love coming…until it crashed into him.

Slammed

© 2013 Kelly Jamieson

San Amaro Singles, Book 3

Brooke Lowry has a mission: fly to Tahiti, pluck PR nightmare Dylan Schell out of whatever party he’s in, bring him home and clean up his image.
 

It was her idea for Jackson Cole clothing company to sponsor the pro surfer. But the chances of saving this deal—and her career—look pretty slim when she finds the sexy party boy “shooting the curl” with two beach bunnies.

Dylan is finally getting back on track, and the next big event would put him over the top…if it wasn’t being held in San Amaro, where he’d be forced to watch his best friends Matt and Corey tie the knot and move on without him.

He’ll do anything to keep that from happening, including taking shameless advantage of a tropical cyclone—three days cut off from civilization—to distract the lovely Brooke into his bed.

Despite her moment or three of weakness, Brooke won’t be deterred. And suddenly Dylan finds himself facing a lot of things—his hometown, his past, and something he didn’t see coming. Love.

Warning: Check it, dude, this book contains a bad boy surfer who gets slammed by fierce waves but gets back up, a buttoned-up woman who learns to chillax, and some righteous shreddin’ the gnarl.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Slammed:

Brooke hurried outside, retracing her steps through the grounds, past the pool, across the beach and down the wooden dock where the bungalows were. Sixteen…seventeen…eighteen. Yes.

She approached the small structure. The door was closed but unlocked. She gave a rap on it then stepped inside. “Hello!” she called. “Dylan? Dylan Schell?”

She shoved her sunglasses up on top of her head. Even so, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer light inside the bungalow. She blinked a few times, looking around. Her eyes fell on the big four-poster bed and spotted a dark head there, a stark contrast against white pillows. His eyes appeared closed. He was in bed? At this time of the afternoon?