Page 67 of My Brother's Best Friends
Oscar returns without the bottle.
“I thought you were getting the cham—” I freeze when I see what he’s holding.
It’s a jewelry box, long enough to contain a bracelet or maybe a necklace folded over itself.
“What is this?” I ask, instinctively reaching out.
Oscar goes down on one knee before me, nearly causing my heart to leap out of its cage. I know it’s not what I briefly thought this would be, but even so…
“I have a confession to make. We remembered your birthday,” Oscar says, his words cutting straight through to my soul. “We knew it was today.”
“Ah. And here I thought I’d serve you with a surprise, yet you were one step ahead of me, this whole time,” I gasp.
“Kay, I remember every single detail about you,” Oscar says. “Eight years apart or not, I never forgot anything. Especially your birthday.”
“Okay,” I reply. “That’s very sweet of you, but I don’t need a present. Just us… being here is more than enough for me.”
“Open it,” Alex instructs.
I give them each a stern look, hoping to convey the message that their gift goes above and beyond the call of duty. They smile encouragingly, so I open the box. Inside is a charm bracelet with three silver charms. One is a soccer ball, the next is a cufflink and the third is a book. Each charm is intricately carved and hangs from the bracelet on a single loop. I pull it out to examine it in the porch light.
“This is beautiful,” I breathe. “I’m shocked you got it here so fast.”
“We might’ve had some help from Bryan,” Kellan admits. “He helped pick it out and rush the delivery.”
I whisper, awestruck, “I can’t believe the work that went into this—just for me.”
“We’ve known you for so long,” Oscar says. “We simply couldn’t let your birthday pass without giving you something… meaningful. For you. For us, too.”
“Oh, and there’s also this. I found it at the gift shop,” Alex says, pulling out a wrapped present from behind the lounge chair.
Presents, hidden in plain sight. The Anderson triplets sure know how to get a girl’s blood pumping in all the right ways. It seems unreal, and the only thing I can do is accept them graciously as my heart expands to fill my chest.
“Open it,” Kellan insists.
I dig into the wrapping, the sound of paper tearing like music to my ears.
It’s a special edition of The World Atlas of Wine, and by the looks of the hardcover alone, it was handmade and painted to order. “Jancis Robinson,” I manage. “This… This is gorgeous. I have a newer reprint, but this… this is something else. There are probably a few hundred of these in circulation.”
“You deserve this and so much more,” Alex says.
I lean over to kiss Kellan first. He gets excited, pressing a hand to the nape of my neck to deepen the kiss. I have an agenda though; I don’t want to get carried away with any one brother at the moment. I move on to Alex, giving him an equally thoughtful kiss, before sharing the joy with Oscar.
After I’m finally done thanking each of them, I pull the bracelet out of its box and loop it around my wrist. “I’m going to wear this, and only this,” I announce, watching their faces light up in response.
Alex reaches forward to help me secure the clasp. I’m ready to slip into the water—if only this knit dress weren’t still clinging to me. I catch the hem and peel the dress over my head, the cool airskimming across my bare skin. The shock is almost too much; goose bumps race across my skin, spurring me toward the heat.
“Last one in is a loser!” I shout, racing for the hot tub as my men laugh.
I’m still wearing my bra and panties, but I don’t mind getting those wet as I wade into the steaming water in relief.
There are three small steps that lead down to the bottom. Each step I take feels like heaven, surrounding my ankles, then my calves, then my thighs in sweet relief. By the time I’m halfway submerged, the chill vanishes. I’m left staring up at my handsome trio on the deck, still laughing at my sudden display of energy.
“Oh, this feels nice,” I moan softly.
“Give us a second,” Kellan says, kicking off his shoes and undoing his belt.
It seems like he’s going to be the first to join me, but then Alex gets into the race. I clap my hands, watching them disrobe in such fury. Before I know it, they’re completely naked and melting into the tub beside me.
