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ChapterTwenty-Eight
There was a lot to be said for hard work, and Beth had been working twelve, sometimes even fourteen-hour days to make sure she did a thorough and competent job on Mr. King’s accounts.
Hard work meant there was less time to dwell on the fact that she hadn’t heard back from Elysium about any job vacancies. Although with the successful completion and filing of Ansley’s father’s accounts, she didn’t need to worry about cash flow for a while. That gave her the necessary breathing space to find something else in her own time, rather than rushing into the first position that came along.
Hard work gave her less time to be sad that aside from a flurry of emails brimming with gratitude from Mitch, Jed, and Sawyer, there was nothing more personal from them.
Hard work meant she fell into an exhausted sleep each night, instead of tossing and turning because the bed was too big, and Beth was lonelier than ever. And it left her less time to dwell on how much she missed her three guys, because they were still hers in her head, even if the reality was somewhat different.
She was afraid they would always be her guys. She’d even been kicking the L-word around in her mind, in those unguarded moments when it snuck up on her, although she hadn’t admitted such a thing to herself yet. Because she didn’t want to be the idiot who fell for not one, not two, but three inaccessible guys. How pathetic was that?
But the tax deadlines had come and gone. Mr. King’s accounts had been filed and the check deposited safely in her bank - she had refused to do it beforehand. And now there was no more hard work to distract her from her lonely thoughts and the threat of deeper heartache.
Even the thought of the sizable nest egg she now had in her savings, which was enough for her to buy a house, outright, wasn’t enough to cheer her up. Neither was the news on the grapevine that Lisa, her cohort, and a lot of other Premier Finance employees had been made redundant when the company was forced to ‘streamline’ or face going under. Perhaps they’d learn their lesson and take better care of their employees in the future.
And when the knock on her door came, later that afternoon, she refused to answer it because her eyes were red, and her face was blotchy, and she was too busy feeling sorry for herself to tolerate company.
Not that she was expecting any. Nor was she expecting any deliveries, and she didn’t want double glazing or a sermon from some enthusiastic soul, telling her how to live her life.
But the knocking continued, despite her resolve to ignore it. In fact, it just got louder and more persistent. Jeez! Didn’t people have anything better to do these days?
Beth grabbed a tissue and blew her nose, annoyed now. Then she marched to the door and flung it open, ready to give the caller a piece of her mind.
“What?” she bellowed rudely, leveling a killer glare at the unwanted interloper before her mouth dropped open in surprise.
On the other side of the threshold three familiar pairs of eyes widened at her outburst and the onslaught of shock, mortification, gratitude, and uncertainty all wrapped up in her previous melancholy was just too much.
Beth covered her face with her hands and burst into tears all over again.
Unfazed by her ugly sobbing, Mitch, Jed, and Sawyer stepped inside the house, and Jed and Sawyer led Beth to the couch and sat down on either side of her, folding comforting arms around her, while Mitch went to find her some water.
When he returned, he passed her the glass before dropping down in front of her and rubbing his hands along her thighs.
The way they surrounded her with their presence made Beth feel cared for and protected, their familiar scents calmed her frazzled nerves in a way she hadn’t believed was possible.
She took a few sips from the water to settle her and ease her throat, then grabbed another tissue to wipe her eyes.
When she was done, she turned to them, taking in their handsome faces and indulgent smiles, and trying not to label how her heart felt like it was suddenly complete.
“You’re here!” she exclaimed, then cringed at the absurdity of the statement. Of course they were here. She was pretty sure they knew that.
“I just wish we could have got here sooner,” Mitch replied, tenderly pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“But work has been manic,” Jed continued. “Transitioning to our new jobs and covering the old ones so we didn’t leave anyone in the lurch has been pretty time intensive.”
“And then we had the headache of trying to sync our schedules so we could all be here together,” Sawyer added, squeezing her shoulder.
“But what are you doing here?” she asked, looking from one to the other, but not trusting that she wasn’t reading more into this visit than there really was.
“Bethy, there is only one place we’d rather be than here with you,” Sawyer said, his dark eyes piercing her with their intensity. “And that’s back on Elysium with you.”
The other two murmured their agreement and Beth’s heart stuttered in her chest before taking wings and soaring with happiness.
“Really?” she whispered just in case she’d heard wrong. But Sawyer’s lips claiming hers left her in no doubt of his intention.
When he lifted his head, Mitch leaned forward and claimed his own urgent kiss before Jed did the same.
“Of course really,” Mitch assured her.
