He grins. “Awesome, because if it’s okay with you both, I’m cool with calling you my step-parents. Marcus, you too, because you meanmoreto me than just the guy my dad’s with and all…”
Marcus beams. “Thank you, Cameron,” he croaks, emotion weaving its way into his words. “For the record, I think you’re pretty friggin’ special too.”
Cam’s lips tip up, forming a slight smirk. “That’s good, ‘cuz I kiiinda already told them you’re my step-dad too.”
I feel Marcus grow slightly tense below me. “How’d your friends respond to that?” he asks nervously.
Cam casually pops a shoulder. “They asked me how I have so many dads. I told them I was collecting them, hoarding them all for myself.They didn’t make a big deal out of it, if that’s what you’re worried about…”
“Yeah, cuzno one’sgonna talk crap about my family and get away with it,” Brody pipes up, not looking away from his hand. In fact, I think he just snuck a card out of the discard pile while Cam is distracted. Then, he adds, “We’reallies, right Cam?”
Cameron chuckles. “We are, bud.”
“Can I call you my brother?” Brody asks, finally peeking up at him.
Cam grins. “Only if I can call you mine.”
“Cool!” Brody cheers, doing a little shimmy dance. “We’re totally brothers now!” he hoots, garnering attention from others in the lodge, just as Caleb comes back over with three cups of hot cocoa.
I quirk a brow up at him when he hands me mine. He sets the other two down on a side table and signs, “You know I love my chocolate.”
Then, he sits down next to us on the loveseat and plants a kiss on Marcus’ cheek.I take that opportunity to nudge my wool-stockinged feet onto his lap. His still-hot hands capture my toes and he starts rubbing my tootsies to warm them up. I don’t even have to look around the room, I can justfeelthat we’re getting stared at by curious on-lookers at our intimate set up together—the three of us on the loveseat, all appearing smitten with one another.
Marcus can sense it too, because I feel him suck in a breath and hold it. He’s still holding onto some of that residual worry which, I mean, is understandable, since this is something he’s kept secret about himself hisentirelife. I can’t expect that fear will simply vanish, now that he’s just recently told his parents and they seem, eh,relativelyaccepting. But, if we’re going to be more open about ourselves as a throuple, now would be the perfect opportunity to be out and proud.
I lean in and my eyes flit between both my men, a silent invitation. Caleb scoots closer and is the first to capture my lips in his. Marcus isslightly hesitant, but then he releases that pent-up breath, and dives in as well—all of us locked into a three-way kiss.
It’s brief, in no way anything we’ve ever practiced before, and awkward as hell with too many noses and tongues all vying for space, but when we break apart, it wastotallyworth it. A quick glance around the room is evidence enough that we’ve garnered a whole host of different reactions from those who witnessed it.
That’s not shocking at all, but what is, is Marcus’ reaction. He dons a devilish smirk and chuckles under his breath. “Guess we showed them,” he hums, his tone full of amusement.
Caleb signs, “I’m proud of you, Sugar. You have no idea how incredibly brave you’ve been over the past couple of days. I am so, so sorry I ever gave you shit about it. That was never my place, and I promise I will spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.”
“You will?” Marcus asks, waggling his eyebrows. “Like, you’llgrovel?”
Caleb’s Adam’s apple bobs on a silent chuckle. “If I have to, absolutely."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“A-A Ron! My man!” I hoot at the man himself as I stumble in through the door after a day out on the boat.
Lauren and one of the nurse’s aides must have brought him downstairs and set him up to watch a little of the tube.Supernaturalre-runs are on, go figure. Lo’s gotten back into watching that big time, probably on account of C’s resemblance to Dean. She’s fangirling so hard. It’s adorable, really.
I approach Aaron and wipe a little drool off the corner of his lip, then I eye the scene on the screen. I chuckle. “God, way to boost Caleb’s ego. Got all of you in this house slobbering over his lookalike.”
An ever-so-quick, blink-and-you-miss-it grin forms at the corners of his lips.
“Ahh, I caught you, didn’t I?” I continue razzing him.
I’m convinced he’s way more alert than Caleb ever made him out to be. Lo was right, he does respond to outside stimuli. Whatever thecase may be, my plan is to continue treating him as if he is absolutely lucid.
Has it been a huge adjustment having him here? Ab-so-fuckin’-lutely, you bet your ass it has, but it’s been so worth all the hurdles Caleb had to jump through to get to this point. Caleb and Laurenboth, actually. I wish I could have been more involved with all the court stuff myself, but with C having to take time off from work to go to court and whatnot, Gannett and I have had to put in the hustle to keep those lobsters coming in.
March is typically a slower season, according to Cap, but both he and his dad seem to be onto all the sweet spots. We’ve been rolling in hard shells lately. I don’t mind one bit though. Actually, I friggin’ love this job. Who else has the whole Atlantic ocean as their office?
Probably marine biologists, in all honesty, but that’s neither here nor there. Lobster fishing is way more fun. And they say if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.
“Where’s Caleb?” Lauren asks, stepping out of the bathroom, running a towel through her damp hair.
