Page 39

SARA

I ’m barefoot in the sand, re-rolling my mat after a sweaty yoga class with a shirtless instructor who looks like a musclebound Timothée Chalamet.

When someone shouts my name, I turn to see Logan jogging up the beach.

He’s coming from the direction of the marina and I shield my eyes against the glare of the sun.

“Sara.”

“Hey.” I can’t help admiring his abs as he uses his shirt to swipe sweat from his face.

I haven’t seen Logan naked in days, since we seem to be following the Marshmallow Mandate.

And since Trent’s been out of touch, we couldn’t exactly reach out to discuss Logan and me hooking up. Not that I’d ever be so insensitive.

But still. I want Trent to know we stuck by our agreement. That we’ve followed the Marshmallow Mandate, even when he wasn’t here.

“What’s up?”

“I need you.” Dropping the hem of his shirt, Logan takes my hand .

A thrill ripples through me, but I’m not sure he means it that way. “I need to put away my mat.”

“Dominic has it.” He waves to my instructor and the Timothée Chalamet lookalike waves back and comes over to collect my gear.

I watch Logan’s hand as he bends down and picks up my flip-flops. “What did you do to your finger?”

“This?” He holds up the hand with my shoes, showcasing a bandage on his left middle finger. “Hit it with a hammer.”

“What?” That might be a sex term to add to my notebook. “What kind of enchantment was that ?”

He chuckles and tugs me toward the marina. “You want your shoes on?”

“Where are we going?” I follow him even without knowing, pulled in by his enthusiasm, even without a clue where we’re headed.

“Just down the beach.” He’s practically jogging, pulling me along as waves crash beside us and beach grass rustles on a warm gust. “There’s something you need to see.”

“Is it your penis?” I ask, then blush.

Logan just laughs and keeps tugging me along. “Not this time.”

“Then what?—”

“It still needs to be stained,” he says, like I have any clue what he means. “And some of the letters are a little bit crooked, but I think that’s part of the charm.”

What on Earth is he talking about?

“What needs to be stained? And how did you hurt your—Trent?” I gasp as he steps from the trees by the boat launch. I blink a few times to make sure I’m not seeing things.

My fiancé stands wearing a toolbelt and a smile that’s a little bit sheepish.

“Hi, Sara.”

Holy shit. It’s really him .

“Trent,” I repeat, looking him over to make sure he’s okay. “What are you doing here?” Oh, God, something happened to his mother. “Where’s your mom?”

“She’s fine.” He screws up his face for a second. “She will be fine. She’s going through it right now, but my cousin’s with her and Logan’s mom has been helping. For the first time in years, I have hope she’ll escape that bad marriage.”

Relief rushes through me, but I’m still confused. “You came back.”

“I came back.” Taking my hands, Trent looks in my eyes. “I’m sorry I ran in the first place. I had to take care of my mom, but that’s no excuse for leaving like I did. For going radio silent.”

As much as I appreciate the apology, I need him to know how I feel. “You really hurt me,” I tell him. “It felt like what happened the night of the bachelor party.” Tears clog my throat, but I force the words out past the lump. “I never wanted to feel like that again, but I did and it sucked.”

“And that’s completely on me.” The sorrow in his eyes eases something inside me.

“I developed this habit of removing myself from the situation when it seemed like I was causing you more pain than happiness. I’m sure there’s some link to all those times Mom said we were better off without my father around.

” He screws up his face like he’s worried he’s saying things wrong.

“That’s not an excuse, just an explanation.

But bottom line, I was wrong and I’m sorry.

I really am.” He glances at Logan. “I’ve been offered a chance at doing some therapy for people with military backgrounds, and I—I think I might try it.

I did my first telehealth session in the airport on my way here and—well, it didn’t suck. ”

“Whoa.” That’s huge. Trent’s always thought of therapy a sign of weakness. “I hope it works out for you.”

“So do I.” He squeezes my hands. “You deserve the best version of me, Sar. I know you haven’t been getting that lately, but I want to put in the work.

To be the strong, steady, loving partner you need twenty-four-seven and not just some of the time.

I can be that for you, Sara. I want to be that for you. ”

“I want that, too.” Is he thinking long term?

The Sara I was just two weeks ago would have wondered that question in silence.

The Sara who knows how to get what she wants asks the question out loud. “Are you saying you want to be together? A long-term thing and not just outside the real world?”

I hardly dare to hope for it, but Trent’s nodding before I’m done speaking.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Not only with you, either—I want what you said.

What you and Logan described for the three of us.

When you said it at first, I was so fucking scared, and then everything with my mother—” His voice clogs with emotion, but he takes a few breaths and keeps going.

“It took being back there, watching the dynamic with my parents. Seeing how Beck and Cam are together, and hearing from Logan about Sybil and Kora and their relationship. And you’ve told me how Kit and Eve have this open thing going, and I guess I just started thinking. ”

“Thinking what?” I ask carefully.

“How all of those people don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks.

Anyone who’s not in their relationship, I mean.

And I guess I’d just never opened my eyes to that.

Not until you and Logan helped pull the blinders off.

” He glances at Logan, still holding my hands.

“I never really considered all the different ways of building a life together.”

He's saying the right things, but I’m not sure my heart can believe it. “What about your parents? What you said about having to choose between us and your family?”

“That was fear talking.” Squaring his shoulders, he gets that fierce, Navy SEAL look I’m fond of. “I’m done letting fear lead me. From now on, I choose love.”

“Love.” It sounds so simple when he puts it like that. Glancing at Logan, I nibble my lip. “Is this a two-person love or a secretive, three-person love?”

“Neither one. I’m done with secrets, Sara. My mother knows about the three of us and I told her we’re planning to?—”

“She what ?” This is huge. “You’re kidding me.”

“No, honey.” He laughs at the look on my face. “I’m serious when I say I’m all in. I want all three of us to make this work. I love you so much, and we both love that asshole over there.”

We both look at Logan, who raises his hand with a grin. “Don’t mind me. I’m just here watching Frogman eat crow like he should.”

“Get over here, Jarhead.” Trent lets go of my hands, holding an arm out as Logan steps into our circle. As Trent puts a hand on my waist, I’m pulled into a three-way embrace that feels so right I almost can’t breathe. “This right here,” Trent says softly. “This is what I want.”

Tears fill my vision but I blink them back. “It’s what I want, too.”

“Same.” Logan grins. “I mean, sometimes with less clothing?—”

I laugh and lean into his body. “No objections here.”

“Me either.” Trent smiles, too. “See how easy that is? We’re already making decisions as a throuple.”

Hearing him utter that word so casually hits home. What if this could be our real world? “You’re serious,” I say. “You really feel ready to go down that path. To tell your whole family we’re in a relationship with another man.”

“I am.” Trent can’t stop smiling now. “My mom’s looking forward to having us over for dinner.”

Oh my God, he means it. “I think my mom knows something’s up,” I admit. “The last time we talked on the phone, she told me the only thing that matters is that I’m happy. I think she might actually mean it.”

Logan chuckles. “Funny how that works.”

“What do you say, Sar?” Trent looks at Logan. “You and I talked already, but I want to make sure we’re all on the same page. We want to try being together for the long-haul? For better or worse, in sickness and health?—”

“I do.” Logan laughs and looks at me. “How about you, Sara?”

“Yes.” I laugh, since I just missed my chance to bust out the wedding vow practice. “I do. I want that so much.”

“Same.” Trent squeezes us both, then drops his arms and turns to the thick patch of trees right behind him. “We built something for you.”

Who is he talking to? “Who’s we?”

“Me and Jarhead.”

Logan grins. “That’s Jarhead and me .”

“Fuck off,” he says with affection, pulling a camouflaged tarp off a big, hulking object I’ve just noticed. “We built this together for all of us.”

As Trent drops the tarp, I gasp. He’s just unveiled an oversized rocking chair loveseat. It’s hand carved from maple, just like the one my grandfather made for my grandma.

But this one has three seats, not two. I squint at the back of the middle seat.

“Does it have my name carved into it?” I step forward to trace the letters with a fingertip, then gasp when I see what the other seats say.

“And Logan’s name. And yours !” Tears flood my eyes again, and this time I just let them fall.

This couldn’t be more perfect. “I love it. It’s beautiful, you guys. ”

“We worked on it together.” Logan holds up his bandaged thumb. “Aside from a minor maiming, it turns out we’re a pretty good team.”

“We are.” Trent watches me settle in the center of it. “All three of us make an excellent team.”

“I can’t believe this.” I wrap a palm around the hand-carved curve of one armrest. That’s when I notice the ones in the middle fold down.