Page 147 of Light My Fire Three Times
“Are they all together?”
“What’s going on there?”
“Have you heard?”
I catch Ivy’s eye across the fire, and she’s grinning, a knowing smirk on her face. She’s always been good at reading the room, and right now, she knows exactly what’s happening.
People are starting to put two and two together, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place. But this time, there’s no running from it. No more pretending.
I feel Olivia shift next to me, her posture a little more tense than usual. I glance at her, and she’s watching the crowd, her lips pressed together in a soft line. She knows.
Jesse is the first to speak up, his hand sliding into Olivia’s and pulling her closer to him. “Yeah. We’re all in this together. All of us. She’s not just mine or Karl’s or Leo’s. We’re all in this together.”
Leo smiles, stepping closer and brushing a lock of Olivia’s hair behind her ear. “We’ve all been a part of each other’s lives for a while now. And it’s not about hiding it anymore. We’re not ashamed of what we feel.”
Karl steps forward, placing a hand on Olivia’s shoulder and meeting her eyes with a steady gaze. “We love you, Liv. All of us. And we’re not holding back.”
There’s a hush in the crowd for a moment as people process what’s being said. It’s a moment of truth, one that shifts everything, makes everything feel real in a way that nothing else has before.
Olivia’s breath catches, but she looks at all three of us with a mixture of awe and affection. “I love you, too. I’ve never felt so sure of anything in my life.”
The crowd erupts into applause, but all I can do is focus on her, on the way her eyes shine in the firelight. The fireworks above us are a mirror of the way my chest feels. Full of hope, of love, of possibility.
As the countdown eventually begins, the energy of the crowd intensifies, and as the seconds tick down, I pull Olivia closer, wrapping my arm around her waist.
And then, at the stroke of midnight, we all share a kiss in turn. Gentle at first, then deep and full of everything we’ve fought for, everything we’re about to embrace.
The fireworks explode in the sky above, bursting in colors as bright as the future we’re stepping into together.
It’s official. The past is behind us, and this is only the beginning.
“Happy New Year,” I whisper, pulling her close, feeling the warmth of her in my arms. “Here’s to everything that’s to come.”
Epilogue
OLIVIA
JUNE 6TH
I’m standingon the porch of Jesse’s cabin, my feet pressed into the warm wooden boards, my heart pounding in a way that’s not entirely natural.
It’s a strange, wobbly sensation that I can’t quite put into words as I look down at the three velvet boxes before me.
This, this moment, feels like something out of a dream, except I’m wide awake, and my pulse is a constant thrum, reminding me that this is real.
I never imagined life would bring me here, to this point. In fact, when I moved to Coyote Glen a few months ago, I thought I was signing up for a quiet, albeit chaotic, existence. Managing a coffee truck, bumping into the occasional fireman, and finding a little peace among the chaos.
What I didn’t expect was to fall for three men who are everything I never knew I needed.
Not just in love, but in life, in breath, in every little moment. And now… well, now they’re telling me that they can’t live without me. This is more than I could have imagined.
It’s official. They’re asking me to make them a forever.
Jesse’s standing in front of me, all intense and serious, his eyes fixed on mine like he’s trying to read every flicker of doubt. But there’s none. Not anymore.
He’s holding a box, but it’s not what I was expecting. It’s not just one box. It’s three. Three velvet cases, one for each of them, each ring glistening with a promise I can’t even fathom.
Leo’s a little to the side, watching with that mischievous grin of his, the dangerous kind because I know he’s about to set something off.
