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The man was fucking delusional.

I placed all the phones back in the drawer and started the coffeemaker.

“Why is there a frown on your face?” Petal asked.

The younger man slipped in front of me as I boxed him in against the counter and kissed him.

“I love you, Petal. So much more than I can ever say.”

His expression softened and in that moment with the morning light, all the white-blond hair mussy and gorgeous with his full pink lips and the peach hue to his skin, thrilled me to my core.

“As much as I love you, handsome.”

Luka stuck his face in between ours, and with a laugh asked, “What about me?”

If you were to see Luka and me before Phoenix came into our lives, it would have been drab grey with the occasional spark. But with this man in our lives, Luka smiled more, and he laughed more. His protective instincts would never change, and neither would mine, but the lightness echoed in each of us. All because of Phoenix.

I kissed Luka and nipped at his lip. “Of course we love you, too.”

Petal nodded with a beaming smile. “Always.”

“Good to know,” Luka nodded. “What were you talking about before I came in?”

“Oh, handsome was frowning, and I wondered why.”

I huffed out, “You won’t like what I found.”

Rather than release my hold on Petal, I reached over and picked up a random phone, holding it up so the both of them could read the screen.

“What the fuck?” Luka said, astonished.

“He can’t let it go. But over two hundred attempts to contact us, that’s… hell, I don’t know, but it’s bordering on obsessive,” Petal said.

“Hale found out our landline number. The answering machine is full.”

Both Luka and I turned to Petal as he processed the information. As I studied him, there wasn’t any stress or anxiety that stiffened his body or marred his face, and I blew out a relieved breath.

He was over his father’s bullshit.

“I’m no longer playing his game. I’m done with him.”

“You wanna us to call the parents and have them come over for lunch?”

There was a knock on the door before Mi called out, “We’re here and we brought breakfast.”

“It’s a good thing I brewed an entire pot of coffee, then,” I mumbled.

Petal gave both of us a kiss, beaming as he skipped to let our parents in the door, giving them a recap of the events of the night before when they demanded to know what happened.

“How did you find out?” Phoenix asked.

“Oh, honey,” my mom said, “When you three made it official, I made Arthur promise to call me if anything happened to you. He texted me after you three left the bakery.”

Phoenix laughed, and I relaxed against the counter.

I glanced up at Luka and asked, “Happy?”

He shrugged and started pouring the coffee in mugs. “With the three of us, yes, no doubt. But you know Hale won’t give up. He thinks he’ll get what he wants.”