Page 78 of Her Forbidden Shifters
“You’re not going to tell me what this is about, are you?” he asked.
“Nope,” I said, and left it at that.
Fifteen minutes later, Liam and Jacob arrived at the same time. I welcomed them in, and they all took a seat on the couch, staring at Noah. Each of them had the same puzzled expression on their face.
But once the men were all sitting on my couch, and I stood on the other side of the coffee table, I took a few moments to mentally go over the speech I had rehearsed.
“The suspense is killing us,” Noah said. “Out with it.”
I sighed. “Impatient much?”
“Maybe a teeny-tiny, little bit,” he said, holding up his finger and thumb close together.
I chuckled under my breath. It was time. Ready or not.
I sucked in a deep breath and then said, “Each of you had asked the same thing from me. And if the last few weeks had taught me anything, it was that something was missing in my life. Something I never thought that I could have but was shown differently. I learned a lot about myself and came to some conclusions.”
I met each of the men’s gazes, all filled with hope and a tiny bit of worry. I smiled softly.
“The case that brought us together taught me exactly how badly I want those things. Things I had never considered and so much more. And there is only one way I see this going.”
“You’re killing us with the suspense,” Noah said.
“Die quieter,” Jacob muttered.
“I’ll second that,” Liam said.
“Guys, can you please not do that?” I asked. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation here. I need the three of you to get along.”
Liam nodded and Jacob sighed.
Noah winked.
I giggled to myself.
“Continue,” Liam said. “Please.”
“Liam,” I started, “One of the things I adore about you is that you constantly push me outside of my comfort zone. You motivate me to think outside the box and try different things and challenge me to look at the world in different ways. You have been an incredible boss, and mentor, and I don’t know where I would be right now if it weren’t for your constant guidance.”
Liam nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“Jacob,” I said, shifting my gaze to him. His deep brown eyes took in mine, stealing my breath for a few seconds. I smiled. “One of the things I love about you is you give me a safe place to be myself. You accepted me as I am, and you’ve broken down walls that I never thought could be torn down. I owe you so much gratitude, and I would never ever be able to repay you for all the things you have done for me.”
“You know I would do anything for you,” he said and smiled.
I shook my head, fighting back the smile that tugged at my lips, and then switched my gaze to Noah. It was hard not to get my hopes up. This talk was going a lot better than I expected.
I continued, “Without you, I would never have reached the power I still had untapped. You also bring me a sense of calm and clarity. You were my first at everything. My first guy friend, my first lover…”
“We get it,” Liam said, squeezing his eyes closed.
“Yeah, hold the details,” Noah added.
Noah winked at me.
I forced back the heat flooding my cheeks to finish what I needed to say. “So, you see, each of you brings something to my life that I can no longer live without. And each of you wants me to pick you… then that means, I will choose all of you. Because I can’t choose only one of you. I can’t cut off a part of me and still be whole.”
I stared at them as they gaped at me.
