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DREAM
One Year Later…
“How’s right there?”
Three pairs of hands were on me.
I was in total heaven.
I opened my eyes just enough to take in the sight. I was seated on the covered rooftop of my place, the sun bright and brilliant overhead. Evan was in front of me, rubbing my feet. Duncan was to the side, massaging my hands and arms. And Jay was behind, taking out the knots on my shoulders.
Outside, the frost of winter was beginning to set in again, the green of the pines topped with white. But the guys had built a cover for the roof a few months back and even installed a few space heaters.
Hell of a way to spend our one-year anniversary if you ask me. And the guys had done more than a four-way massage. They’d treated me to breakfast in bed, followed by a day trip up to San Francisco for shopping and lunch. After that, back home for an evening of relaxing, followed by a home-cooked meal courtesy of Jay.
A beeping sounded, Jay’s hands going stiff on my shoulders.
“Shoot,” he said. “Timer for the food. Let me run in and check on it and I’ll be right back.”
“Make it snappy!” said Evan with a grin.
Jay playfully flicked him off as he rose.
Jay gave my shoulders one last squeeze before running off. I turned to watch as he hurried down the stairs. There’d been something different about Jay these days. After his confrontation with his father his hard attitude had mellowed a bit. He was still his usual self, but there’d been more confidenceto him. It was as if telling his dad how he felt had staunched the bleeding of an emotional wound, letting the healing begin.
And speaking of parents, things had been a hell of a lot better with Mom. The last few months had brought some major success with my traveling painting booth, and between that and my relationship with the guys, which had taken her a bit of time to get used to, she’d come around to my new life. We still had a way to go before we had a picture-perfect mother-daughter relationship. But we were definitely on the right path.
As far as the brothers, we’d all been settling into our new lives together. Evan had become my unofficial partner in art business, helping me manage my books and plan my next year on the market circuit once the winter was over.
Duncan had been leading the discussions over the last few months about their lives now that they were done with the service. Last I heard, they’d been considering opening a private security firm to put their skills to use. But for the time being, I was happy to enjoy their full attention.
“Alright!” shouted Jay from downstairs. “Get your butts down here!”
“He’s got such a way with words, doesn’t he?” asked Evan with a smile as he stood and offered me his hand.
Duncan laughed, the two of them helping me out of my seat. Together, we went down to the first floor.
I was shocked at what I saw.
The guys had been keeping me out of downstairs for the last couple of hours for a reason. The dining area table had been set with four places, a massive, and I mean massive bouquet of roses on each end. There was wine and the scent of lasagna and fresh bread that Jay had been cooking was thick in the air.
“Oh my God!” I said, clasping my hands together with happiness as I took in the sight. “This is incredible!”
“Glad you like it,” said Duncan. “Only the best, right?”
Everything was perfect. But as I glanced over at the guys, I saw that they all wore the same expression of concern.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“Where is she?” asked Evan. “Didn’t she say she’d be here around six?”
“That’s what she said,” replied Jay. “Don’t tell me there’s been a hold-up or something.”
“Alright,” I said. “Tell me what you guys are talking about.”
Before either of them could say anything, a honk sounded out from in front of the house. Then more – honk-honk-hoooonk.
I really wanted to know what was going on.
