Page 125 of Forgotten Promise

Kailani frowned. “It does matter. I want us together. I want us, this, as my trinity. We…I, made so many mistakes, but I’m hoping that together, we can deal with the reinstatement of our trinity.”

Benjamin shrugged. “I can fix it.”

John rolled his eyes. “You don’t seriously think this is another one of those problems you can just throw money at and make it all go away?”

“I absolutely can throw money at it. Because Selene doesn’t have any of the official record books, so all she has is a verbal declaration.”

John frowned. “She’s the Grand Master. That’s enough.”

“Not if no one heard it.”

“What?” John asked.

Kailani blinked, then laughed.

“What?” John demanded again.

“He’s going to pay off everyone who was in that room. Pay them to pretend they didn’t hear Selene dissolve our trinity.”

“That’s bribery,” John said slowly. “And it’s a crime.”

Benjamin shrugged. “If that doesn’t work, there’s always blackmail.”

John covered his face with his hands. “I’m pretty sure we’ve gone over this before, but let me remind you again, also a crime.”

“I guess you’ll just have to stay with us to turn Benjamin away from his life of crime,” Kailani said sweetly.

“You’ve only seen us at our absolute worst,” Benjamin said. “Will you give us a chance to prove to you that we can do better, be better?”

“How? By buying expensive cars? Jetting us off to Italy? Switzerland? Dropping thousands in a casino?” John waved his hand at the view. “None of that is real.”

Benjamin shrugged. “Actually, it is real. In my world, it’s very real. And I want you and Kailani to be my world.”

“One month,” Kailani whispered.

“What?” John asked.

“Give us one month. The month we should have had after our binding ceremony before I fucked it all up and walked away. We’ll take the time to get to know each other.”

Benjamin smiled. “I like that idea.” He reached out and gripped John’s shoulder. “Don’t go home yet. Give us another day.”

John knew there was a smart answer to their request. It was the one the old John would have given them. People in his life didn’t get two chances to hurt him. One and done. It had been his motto since he was just a kid.

If he walked away now, there’d be another trinity. The Grand Master, when they returned, would assign him to a new trio…and those strangers wouldn’t, couldn’t, make him feel the way Kailani and Benjamin did.

So he was going to give the un-smart answer, going to open his heart, going to give them his trust. And then he was going to pray that this time…everything would turn out differently.

“We need a do-over,” Kailani said, pulling her legs from the water to stand.

Benjamin followed suit, clearly curious about what she had in mind.

“Didn’t we try that last night? Pretend we were meeting for the first time?” John asked.

“That was just playing. I mean this, a true second try.”

John stood as well, the three of them in a small circle that reminded him of the first time he’d met them at their binding ceremony.

It was apparent that was what Kailani meant by starting over. “I know we’re not wearing robes, but we don’t need that pomp and circumstance.”

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