Page 45 of Room One Hundred and Nineteen: Watching Her

“Elena.” Rick slowly moved towards her, like he was approaching a wounded animal. He leaned lower so they would be at eye level. I held my breath when he reached for her hand, fully expecting her to swat him away.

But she didn’t.

She held on to his hand like it was the only thing that kept her from floating away.

“Gorgeous, we want to be here. We want to get to know them. We want to be a part of your lives and for you three to be a part of ours. And if we get lucky enough, you need to know our intentions here aren’t for us to be friends. I’m not sure if we made that clear when this started, but it needs to be said now so there is abso-fucking-lutely no doubt or confusion.” He lifted her hand to rest against his chest. Instantly, Josh and I moved closer. My arm slipped over her shoulder while Josh took her free hand.

“We want to be a part of your family.” Rick’s steady, confident voice was clear, but my eyes were glued to Elena’s face.Her eyes welled with unshed tears, overcome by emotion. “We want to be there for the three of you. Today. Tomorrow. Always.”

“Rick,” she whispered, and I pressed my lips to her forehead.

“We know this probably feels really fast,“ I cut in. “Technically, it’s only been three weeks, and even though the kids know us, they haven’t seen us with you this way. We get that. But what you need to know is that we’re grown-ass men. The three of us have your back. Not because of some crush we have on you but because we love you,” I laid out. Josh grunted, raising her hand onto his own chest.

“That being said, there is nothing inside”—his chin lifted and pointed toward her house— “that would ever make us run off. If anything, you should be completely prepared for us to be running in when something important happens.” Truer words couldn’t have been spoken. Rick and I grunted wordlessly, letting her know we were all on the same page.

“You say that now…”

“There is only one way for you to find out,” Rick gently said, and it felt like time held still for a few long seconds. Elena’s tired eyes moved from one man to the other before her shoulders rose and she nodded. “Okay,” she said softly. “But I just… I need you guys to do me a favor.”

“Anything,” we said at the same time.

“If, or when, you realize my life comes with too much… will you tell me first? So, I can let the kids down gently. I don’t want their hearts to break and?—

“Is it their hearts or yours that you’re worried about?” Josh asked, and she shrugged. “Either way, that’s something we can promise you because we’re not going anywhere.”

“You haven’t smelled the house yet. They puked everywhere. And I still stink. Mike threw up on me, and I haven’t showered yet.”

“Okay, then.” Rick stepped back and pulled her hand. “That’s where we’re gonna start. You’re going to go shower in your bathroom, and we got the rest.”

“You… No! You can’t! There is?—“

“Yes,” Josh and I added with a nod.

“Go shower. We got them and the house,” Josh encouraged, and by some damn miracle, maybe something bigger than us out in the universe was feeling generous, our girl nodded.

“Okay. If you’re sure. But if it’s too much?—“

“It won’t be,” I vowed without letting her finish her thought.

I might have been the one saying the words, but I knew the three of us meant them.

17

MILES

Ifelt Mike’s head rest against my shoulder, and my lips quirked up. There was a movie playing on the screen. One I had heard about but had never had the chance to see. Something about a villain who accidentally adopts three little girls and for some reason has a basement full of yellow things the kids called minions.

Turned out the villain wasn’t such a terrible villain and was trying to put the moon he had stolen back, and the other bad guy was making it harder on him. But it wasn’t the movie or the shenanigans that were happening that made me smile.

It was the fact that Mike was resting on me. His eyes heavy with exhaustion while he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Elena walked out of her room at that moment. Her body taut, almost like she had talked herself into believing that we would have left.As if.I watched in silence as she relaxed, and when our eyes connected across the room, I winked at her. Rick walked in at that moment with provisions, and her eyes widened.

“Hey.” Rick chin-nodded me and then walked over to Elena, who was wearing skintight black yoga pants and a lavender tanktop. He stopped right in front of her and tipped her head up to kiss her forehead. “Shower go okay?”

“Yes. Umm…” Her wide eyes were trying to ask him what he was up to, but he didn’t take the bait.

“Go sit with Miles and the kids, baby. I’ll have dinner ready in a little bit,” he instructed, and my lips twitched.

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