He was standing at the water’s edge, and as she stood a hundred yards away, frozen, he whipped something hard at the water. “You think that broke me, you fucker?” he yelled. His words were cut off by the crashing waves, the roaring wind, but she caught enough. “You want me? Fuck off, then.” It didn’t make sense at first. She didn’t know what she was watching. She knew the anger, of course. Felt it viscerally. He waded into the crashing, storming waves and her heart lodged in her throat. “Do your worst!”
Jess dashed across the rain-slicked lawn. Beside her, Brent cursed, then turned on the speed and sprinted past, flying into the water.
She skidded to a stop at the water’s edge, watching in horror as her husband caught her lover, as they fought—Evan pushing Brent, then Brent grabbing Evan’s arm, twisting him around. For a heart-stopping second, she was sure they were both going under the water, but then Brent turned around and shoved Evan in her direction.
He wasn’t just her lover. He was theirs. Their friend, their confidant, their heart.
And they’d broken his.
She was sobbing now, and her legs threatened to give out. Still he didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at her, as rain pelted all three of them.
And then, while they were transfixed, Brent charged from behind, catching Evan by surprise and lifting him—clumsily, but successfully—up and around his shoulders.
He staggered back to shore and dumped the larger man at her first. “First of all,” he gasped. “I would like it noted for the record that I could take him after all. And second of all, I love the both of you and we’re all fucking insane.”
She dropped to her knees and clutched at Evan’s shirt. “Did you hear that?” she whispered. “He loves you.”
Evan grimaced and reached for her, pulling her in for a kiss.
“I’m sorry,” she said against his mouth. “I’m so, so sorry. We’re here. We’re not going anywhere.”
In the distance, thunder rumbled.
Brent hauled them both up and wrapped his arms around them, urging them toward the house. Evan jimmied the back door and they stepped into the cool darkness.
“I—” Evan looked around helplessly.
Jess felt a surge of protectiveness. “I’ll get towels.”
When she got back, they were hugging. Evan was holding on to Brent for dear life, even as he was gruffly telling him off. “You didn’t need to drop me like that. Or tackle me.”
“You weren’t fucking moving and I’m not prepared to lose you to a lightning strike on the lake.” As if to punctuate his point, the sky lit up with a sharp crack.
“I couldn’t move,” Evan said gruffly. “I wasn’t sure I wasn’t seeing things.”
“Even after I grabbed you?”
“You…no, I knew you were real. It was…”
Brent nodded. “I get it.”
“She loves fiercely, but she doesn’t forgive easy, you know?”
She.They were talking about her. Her voice cracked. “You didn’t think I would come find you?”
They turned around and, hands shaking, she gave them each one of Evan’s oversized bath sheets. Evan took it, but it fell to his side. “I didn’t give you any reason to.”
“You silly man. You—” She lost all words for a moment, overcome by emotion. But it wasn’t him that was silly. If he didn’t know, it was because she hadn’t shown him. “I love you so much. I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth if you hide from me.”
“I got jealous,” he said roughly. “I was supposed to be the agent that brought you back together. I wasn’t supposed to be jealous of your love.”
“Oh, baby,” Jess whispered, wrapping herself around him. “We love you, too.”
Evan jerked in her arms.
“Is that so hard to hear?”
“It’s hard to believe.”
