Page 1 of Throuple Next Door

Chapter One

Austin Reynolds stood in front of the house that was to be his new home. After seeing that everything from the Greenwich Village apartment had been loaded onto the moving truck, he’d made the four-hour drive as quickly as he could, even though their furniture wasn’t going to arrive until Monday afternoon. He leaned against the door of his Mercedes convertible, looking up at the two-story brick house.

The front yard was tiny, the area covered in a deep green vine rather than grass, which he liked, clumps of daffodils popping through for color. The shrubs were well-tended and framed the nicely painted and well-kept porch. He loved that there was a front porch, but the swing at the one end needed to go. Not that there was anything wrong with it. It was nice as swings went, but it wasn’t the style he wanted. Austin pulled out his phone, searched online until he found what he wanted, and placed an order for chairs with plush cushions, ottomans, and a table, for rush delivery. Satisfied, he put the phone in his pocket and used his key to let himself inside.

When Randy told him that he had bought a house on his own, Austin had gone a little cold, but as he let himself into the entrance, he nodded to himself. The paint was fresh, a soft mushroom tone that he liked, and the wood floors gleamed warmly. Opening the inner door, he smiled at the patterned glass. Maybe this wasn’t going to be the disaster he had imagined when he’d seen the pictures on the realtor’s website. They hadn’t been bad, but Austin had learned long ago not to trust such things.

His phone chimed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, answering it.

“Well, what do you think?” Randy asked. “I did good. Didn’t I?”

“Don’t sound so smug. I just got inside, and there’s plenty that I haven’t seen yet.” He grumped it up on purpose just to make Randy pay for not letting him see it first.

“Randy did his best,” Weaver said through Randy’s truck’s Bluetooth system. “At least it isn’t one of those new-construction plastic houses you hate so much. And the market there is tight enough that there weren’t many houses to choose from.”

“Okay.” He stood in the middle of the living room, the mushroom color from the hall extending that far and up the stairs. “It isn’t a disaster so far. Not that it would matter if it was. You’d just expect me to make a silk purse out of whatever sow’s ear you’d found,” Austin groused, but he liked that he was appreciated for his talent, and he knew he was a nester, the one who made a home and ensured that where they lived was comfortable and felt warm and welcoming. “When will you get here?”

“Tomorrow,” Weaver answered. “Randy and I are finishing up contract negotiations today, and we’ll leave Chicago as soon as we can.”

Randy and Weaver had been together for almost six years. Randy owned a small chain of gyms in New York, and Weaver, an attorney by trade, was helping to negotiate the sale to a national chain headquartered in Chicago. Then, Randy, with his PhD in physiology, was taking a position as a professor at Dickinson College. Hence the move from their three-room apartment in the Village to this house.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, babe,” Randy said.

“Yeah. We’ll get there and be ready to get done whatever you have on your list. Shoot—we’ve got to go or we’ll be late. See you tomorrow, Aussie.”

The call dropped, and Austin sighed, smiling to himself before putting away the phone. He continued through the house into the dining room. The previous owners had left the neoclassical sideboard as part of the sale. Austin wasn’t sold on it at first, but as soon as he opened the doors, checking the construction, he smiled. This was a quality piece that would go with the dining room table he’d taken out of storage and had on the truck. The ceiling medallion was gorgeous, as was the original chandelier, which glowed warmly when he flipped the lights on. Still, the windows needed help, and he snapped some pictures before continuing to the kitchen, which was clean and passable. He checked the family room at the back of the house, smiling more at the coziness. This was going to make a great room for the guys to watch sports and hang out.

Austin went upstairs, where two nice-sized bedrooms and a clean, sleek bathroom waited. But it was the master bedroom that surprised him. The room was spacious, with a fireplace against one wall and a large nook off to the side for the bed. He paced it out and grinned; it was enough room for a king-sized bed. He pulled out his phone and sent Randy and Weaver a note. You did good. Now get here as fast as you can.

Austin woke early at his hotel, stretched, and climbed out of bed. He checked his phone, but there were no messages. It was a little early, but he was up, so he went into the bathroom, used the facilities, showered, and dressed before having a quick breakfast and getting ready to leave. He took one of his bags to the car and drove to the house. He had spent most of the evening shopping for some of the things he needed, and he expected some of those deliveries in a few hours. So once he was at the house, he parked in front and hurried inside. He had already made a list of things he wanted to get done before the truck arrived, and he’d drawn up where all the furniture was going to go.

He peeked at the time as a knock sounded on the door. Austin figured it was one of his deliveries, so when he saw Randy and Weaver standing on the porch, he stepped back in surprise. “What are you doing here this early?”

Weaver was the first one through the door and instantly had Austin in a bear hug, lifting him off the floor before kissing the life out of him. “We drove as much as we could last night and got up early this morning for the rest.” He swung Austin around before setting him back on his feet. Then Randy pressed right up behind him, holding the both of them as he nipped at the skin just above his collar.

“We missed you,” Randy said, and Austin leaned back, turning his head so Randy could capture his lips, nearly bruising him with the way he devoured his mouth.

“I missed you both too,” Austin managed after being kissed breathless, his heart racing a mile a minute. He closed his eyes, engulfed in the heat that washed off the men in his life, building even further as Randy kissed Weaver and then him, their lips and tongues becoming a tangle that set Austin on absolute fire.

A buzz that Austin realized was the doorbell startled him out of his haze.

“What is that?”

“Deliveries,” Austin said. “And we don’t need to shock the locals. At least not on the first day.” They broke apart, and Austin went to get the door. “The list of things that I need you to do is on the counter in the kitchen.”

“I have a bed and mattress,” said the delivery man in his early twenties, wearing blue coveralls and carrying a clipboard, barely looking up. Another man stood behind him.

“They go upstairs,” Austin said, leading the men and showing them where he wanted it. Then he got out of the way as they carried everything up and put it together. He already had sheets and bedding in the car, so if nothing else, there would be a place for them to sleep in a new bed rather than the nearly worn out one they’d had in New York. Though Austin hoped none of them were going to get a lot of rest.

“You want us to take down the swing?” Randy asked as he met him at the bottom of the stairs with the list. “I like the swing.” Austin hit him with a stare. “Okay. I can put it in the basement.”

“Perfect,” Austin said, and found Weaver in the kitchen.

“You don’t expect me to remodel the kitchen today, do you?” The gleam in his eyes had Austin smiling.

“No. It’s a comprehensive list. You can hang the holder for the television. I have a diagram for placement. We can then attach it when the monstrosity you require shows up on the truck. There’s the shower curtains that need to be hung. There should also be some more deliveries later today.”

“Your wish is my command,” Weaver said, then went off to do as Austin asked.

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