Page 76 of Delicious (Delicious #1)

Chapter Four

Des

I t’s nearly midnight when the text comes through on Marco’s phone. He looks up from his position on the sofa.

“He’s almost here.”

I nod, wringing my hands and blowing out a breath. “This is really happening.”

Marco nods. “It is. Why don’t you sit, lover? I’ll answer the door.”

“Yeah. Okay.” I force myself into the armchair. It’s the one Liam used to sit in to warm his feet by the fireplace. I can’t remember how many times I knelt between his legs while he sat in this exact spot, sucking him off like I needed his cum to live. My cock twitches at the memory.

Just a few minutes later, there’s a tentative knock at the door and Marco is on his feet. I straighten my shoulders and try to appear relaxed, but nothing could be further from my reality. Liam is here.

I hear their voices getting closer, and then he’s there, smiling as he enters the living room of our old craftsman bungalow. I swear his eyes heat as soon as he sees me in his favorite spot. It’s too warm outside for a fire, but I kind of wish we had one anyway.

His hair is damp as if he’s just showered, and instead of his chef’s coat, he’s wearing jeans and a white T-shirt that clings to his chest like a second skin. I focus for just a second on his pebbled nipples pressing against the material—a dead giveaway that he’s excited. His body was always so responsive.

“Hi, Des.”

“Hi.” I stand and walk over to him, pausing for a second before indulging myself and wrapping my arms around him.

Liam sinks into me, holding me tightly as he buries his face in the crook of my neck. He inhales and makes a happy humming sound. “I missed this so much.”

“Me too.”

Marco joins the embrace, draping himself over Liam from behind. The three of us stand like that for several minutes, just holding each other, and honestly, I don’t know if a hug has ever been better.

I force myself to release Liam and step back enough to see his face. “Do you need a drink or something?”

He shakes his head, dragging a hand through his damp locks. “I’m good. Sorry I took so long. I went to my place to shower and change first.”

“Worth the wait,” Marco says. “Want to sit?”

“Yeah.”

Marco leads the way to our large sectional couch, and once again, a flood of memories rushes back. Nights cuddled on this couch watching horror movies that Liam endured even though he was scared out of his mind. He’d wrap himself around Marco like an octopus, but always keep one hand entwined with mine.

Then there were the lazy Sundays we spent, sometimes watching football and other times watching cooking shows, eventually ending up in a tangled, hot mess of naked bodies.

Liam’s cheeks flush and I know he remembers too. Those were the best days, and I never thought they’d end.

“Thanks for having me over,” Liam says before turning to Marco. “I can’t believe I’m really here.”

“I tried to follow your career,” Marco says. “I knew about London but not California.”

Liam nods, reaching for Marco’s hand and mine with his other. “I didn’t always update my employment. It was embarrassing after a while, even though it’s pretty normal in this industry to hop around.”

“Then why was it embarrassing?” I ask.

He shrugs, glancing down at our hands. “I was supposed to be this big shot chef, running his own place in a desirable city, all before the age of forty. There were articles about me in Singapore. I was gunning for that Michelin star until all crumbled thanks to bad financial choices I wasn’t even part of. How could I look everyone in the face and tell them I’d failed?”

Marco’s brow creases, but he doesn’t say anything.

I rub his hand. “Your parents? That’s who you were worried about?”

Liam shakes his head. “No, Des. You and Marco. I blew up the best thing I ever had to chase something that wasn’t even real.”

“But you didn’t know that,” Marco says. “You would have regretted not trying. Eventually, you would’ve resented us.”

“Is that why you let me go so easily?”

I scoff at that. “Easily? Liam, babe, nothing about losing you was easy. We’ve clearly not gotten over it. You think we wanted to let you leave?”

He searches my eyes before shaking his head and looking away. I grab his chin, pulling his gaze back to me.

“Talk to me, Li. Please.”

“You guys didn’t even try to get me to stay. I thought…” He shrugs. “I guess I thought maybe you’d had enough. Or you were ready to be a twosome again.”

“Jesus Christ,” Marco mumbles. “Are you serious right now?”

“Am I wrong?”

“So fucking wrong,” Marco says. “It was the hardest thing we’ve ever done to this day. Des could barely eat for two weeks, and it took us months to be able to sleep through the night without you. The first six months we tortured ourselves, looking at every picture posted and wondering if you were happy, or if you found someone else to warm your bed.”

“I had to block you,” I whisper. “I couldn’t take it anymore. It was like stabbing myself every time I saw your face, knowing you wouldn’t be coming home later. That’s why we stopped communicating. I literally couldn’t take it.”

Liam’s face goes blank. “You blocked me? I thought…” He shakes his head. “I blocked you too. I thought I was the one that dropped the communication ball.”

“You blocked us?” Marco asks. “But I was able to look you up.”

He nods. “I don’t remember when it was, but I unblocked you both at some point. Every time I was sad or homesick, I would find myself looking you up. Des never had anything posted, but you did, Marco. I’d see your faces smiling back at me, and it would hurt so much, but not enough to look away. The memories kept me going. I would tell myself that if I could be that happy once, maybe I could be again.”

Marco rubs Liam’s leg. “I wish you had told us you were struggling. We would’ve been there for you.”

“I didn’t know that. Besides, I felt so stupid. I didn’t know what I would even say.”

We’re all quiet for a few moments until I have to ask the one question that’s been bugging me all night.

“Were you ever gonna tell us you were back?”

Liam nods. “Yes. It’s all I’ve thought about since I found out. Not to sound creepy, but I drove by here a couple of times but the house was dark. I rehearsed what I would say a thousand times, and what I would do if you told me to go away.”

“Did you rehearse what you’d say if…” My gaze flickers to Marco and he nods. “What you’d say if we asked you to stay?”

Liam’s breath catches. “Yes. Many times.”

“And?” Marco asks. “What did you come up with?”

“Are you asking?”

Marco stands and moves to my side of the couch so we’re both facing Liam. He puts his hand over mine and Liam’s.

“We let you go to pursue your dream before,” Marco says. “It sucks that it didn’t turn out the way you hoped, but I can’t be upset that it led you back here to us. Where you belong.”

“Belong?” Liam’s eyes well up. “Do you still… Both of you still…”

“Yes,” I say, cupping his cheek. “We still love you. We’ve never stopped, and it doesn’t look like we ever will. Marco asked me earlier tonight, if there was ever a chance to fight for you, to ask you to stay, would we?”

“And you said?”

“I said yes. I would do anything to get back what we lost, and this time it would be even better because we knew the alternative. What do you want for your life, Liam? Do you want to travel the world and cook in the most glamorous cities? Or could you want this again?”

“I’ve asked myself that question a lot since I left, and I always ended up with the same answer, I was just too afraid to pursue it.”

“What answer?” Marco asks.

“The funny thing about failure and struggling is that it can really clarify your goals and desires. When you find yourself humbled by life, it’s amazing how much clarity you gain. I’ve known for at least a year—or at least I accepted the obvious—that I would trade anything I had to be right where I am right now. Careers are fickle, fleeting things, but love, real, deep, authentic love is once in a lifetime. I was lucky enough once to share my life with two incredible men. I’ve known for a long time that if our paths ever crossed again, I would be smart this time, and I would beg for another chance.”

My throat tightens with emotions I’ve held back for too long. “Will it be enough for you? Your career means a lot.”

“It used to. It meant too much. It blinded me. Ambition can be a monster if you let it. A part of me knew coming back to New Onyx would give me a reason to get over my bullshit and finally face the past. To admit my mistake, and hope there was still a sliver of what we used to have intact. As luck would have it, our worlds collided again tonight.”

“It wasn’t luck, Li,” Marco says. “I knew you were there. I made it happen.”

Liam’s bottom lip quivers. “You did?”

“We aren’t complete without you,” Marco says. “Right, lover?”

“Right. We’ve done our best to move on. We only wanted you to be happy and fulfilled, even if it meant letting you go, but there’s no fucking way I’ll let you go again without a fight. There’s way more than a sliver here. There’s a spot that’s been waiting for you. It was always yours.”

Liam smiles even as a tear slides down his cheek. “You still love me?”

“As much as we always did,” Marco says.

“If not even more,” I add.

“Fuck.” Liam wipes his eyes. “I’m so in love with you both. Still. It’s been hell without you.” He squeezes my hand. “You asked me if New Onyx would be enough, and trust me, I’ve thought about it a lot. I’ve thought about what I would do when the chef comes back and what that might look like, even if being with you both wasn’t an option anymore.”

“And?” Marco’s face is filled with nervous anticipation. “What did you decide?”

“Staying in New Onyx knowing the two of you were here but not with me would’ve sucked, but I decided that at least I’d be close again. I’d have hope that maybe…someday…”

“You were gonna stay no matter what?” I ask.

“The city is full of restaurants. I’ll find something, and maybe someday I’ll get my own place, but this is home. I went looking for something I would never find because it was always here. Marco, Des, if you want me to stay, I promise I’ll never leave.”

My chest tightens and I have to blow out a breath to keep from collapsing in tears of relief. I can’t believe this is happening. Three years of pining, missing, hoping, and he’s here. He’s back.

“That’s all we’ve wanted since the day you left,” Marco says. “We want you here, Liam. In our home, in our bed, in our hearts. You’re part of what makes us whole. We won’t ever make you think you’re not again. We let you go too easily before, but that’s in the past. I love you, Liam. You have my heart.”

Liam smiles, turning his pretty gaze to me.

“I love you, Liam. I love you so much. Please stay.”

He nods. “I’ll stay. You’ll never get rid of me now.”

The three of us laugh and fall into an embrace that quickly turns into me finding my way to his soft lips. When our mouths meet, it’s like letting a tiger out of a cage. Heat and desire, wanting and love explode between us, then Marco joins the kiss, stealing Liam’s lips from me until I claim them again.

“Why don’t we take this upstairs, lovers?” Marco whispers. “We have a lot of making up to do.”