AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But it was more than that. He didn’t just fuck and run. As corny as it sounds, he made love to me. He showed me how much I mean to him, and through the whole thing, he told me how much both of you loved me. It was special, and they took that away from me.”
“Oh, Cole.” Ava hugged him close. “They didn’t take it away. You still have that memory. You still have the knowledge that we will always love you as much as we did that day.”
He shrugged, but Ava could see that he was trying to downplay his feelings, that the whole episode had cut him deep. “It’s stupid, but the way they described me—as some random who Bryce was screwing—hurt, you know? I was worthless. I was just a hole for Bryce to get his dick wet in.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. She had no idea how to fix what they’d broken, but she had to try. “You mean everything to Bryce and me. You’re so strong and brave. You’d literally stand in front of a bus to protect us. You’re our counterbalance. You think things through way more than Bryce and I ever do—”
“You mean overthink.”
“Eh, to-mah-toe, to-may-toe.” Ava grinned at him, her smile cheeky as she pinched his nipple. “You make sure you’ve considered all the angles before you jump in, but when you do, you’re all in. I love that you’re a grumpy cat and all moody and broody with everyone except us.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “I don’t like people.”
“They’re arseholes most of the time,” Ava agreed. “But you’re safe with us, Cole. You’re so loved, so special to us. Bryce may be our sunshine, but you’re our strength. You’re the one who holds us together.” Ava huffed out a laugh. “Sometimes I wonder if the two of you should be together without me.”
“You’re our spitfire. Our go-getter. We wouldn’t be half of what we are without you.”
“See? Even when I’m trying to make you feel better, you’ll take over and care for us. It’s who you are, Cole, and we love you for it. You’re so much more than what they saw. But that’s good, because you’re protected from them. That’s how Bryce and I wanted it to be.”
“I love you,” he whispered, tugging her down so her head was on his chest. His sigh was loud in her ear, and Ava’s heart broke for the stoic man in her arms. He had a heart of gold that had been battered and bruised before he’d met them, and Ava would do anything to protect him from more of that. “I miss him already.”
“Me too.” Ava ran her fingers through the hair on his chest and bit her lip, unsure of how to broach the question.
“So how do we wrap things up here?” he asked. “I mean, do we just power through the houses we’ve already started? We can drop any renovations that aren’t essential and sell off the other ones with just a quick clean up.”
“I think that’s perfect.” Ava popped her head up, her smile stretching wide across her lips. “Are we really going to do this? Move to be with Bryce?”
“To see that smile on your face?” He cupped her cheek, his callused palm rough against her skin. Ava leaned into his touch, loving the warm flutters that awoke in her belly when he looked at her with such adoration in his gaze. “I’d do anything. Absolutely. And I’m being selfish too—I want to be with him just as much as you do.”
“Let’s take a closer look at what we have.” Ava pulled back, anticipation pulsing in her veins. She loved Triple Threat, loved the work they did and the way they were rescuing old houses. She loved working with Cole and Bryce, creating something from the ground up. But they could easily do the same work on the Gold Coast, and the city had one thing that Sydney no longer had—Bryce.
Cole sat up too, kicking off the sheet as he eased himself off the bed. His movements were graceful, and Ava enjoyed the view of his naked body as she followed him to their shared desk, excitement building as he collected the folders for each of their properties and she grabbed the laptop. With everything back in their bed, they worked at cutting back their projects to the barest minimum, repricing them and rechecking what sort of sales prices they could get. If they could break even on the three houses, all at different stages of renovation, they’d have a decent nest egg to start investing on the Gold Coast when they got there.
“We can always speak to the Lightning’s lawyer. See if he wants to pick up any of them?” Cole suggested. Ava had already sent him an email and she smiled, turning the laptop to show him. Cole laughed, rolling his eyes at her blush, and leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead as she cuddled into his shoulder.
*****
Ava grinned happily as Cole’s peel of laughter and Bryce’s soft chuckle filled the small space. Liam hadn’t been kidding when he said that he had the perfect spot for Bryce to rent. It was a one-bedroom apartment on top of a garage, but its location was second to none. Two streets back from the beach in a quiet little enclave of old Queenslanders, nestled among the strip of high-rises that lined the main road.
“Come on, that’s them.” Bryce bounced excitedly on his toes as the creak of the garage door signalled it closing below them. He was out the door in a flash, Ava hot on his heels.
“Hi, Bryce,” the woman with flowing blonde hair greeted him.
He relieved her of the grocery bags she was holding, and Ava got a good look at her. Bryce had mentioned her before—Cassie, his landlord. She was beautiful, glamorous in a classic kind of understated way, but dressed super casually in a pair of denim shorts, white bikini top, and flowing white linen shirt.
“Ava, Cole—” He looked around and Ava followed his gaze, spying Cole at the top of the steps. “Babe, come down here.” Cole did, giving them a tight smile as he reached them.
Ava held out her hand for Cassie and they shook. “It’s nice to meet you. Bryce has said so many good things about you.”
“You too. I feel like I know you already.” Cassie shook Cole’s hand too and motioned over her shoulder to the men she was with. One looked like he’d wandered straight off the beach with his blond man-bun, board shorts, and lack of tan lines. The other was the complete opposite—dark features and buttoned up in a way that reminded Ava of a man who was used to suits but had dressed down once or twice and was completely out of his element. Even his polo shirt had the top button done up. “These are my husbands, Jake and Phoenix.”
Ava flicked her gaze to Bryce, and he nodded, his grin like a kid at Christmas. He hadn’t told her that he’d met another trio apart from his cousin and Liam, but he was clearly excited.
“This is my girlfriend, Ava, and boyfriend, Cole.”
“Bryce said you’d be home tonight, so we organized an impromptu party to welcome you all here. Bring your swimmers. It’ll still be warm enough,” Cassie said, her smile open and welcoming.
Ava was blown away. Cassie was far more than Bryce’s landlord. She reminded her of a mother hen, making sure everyone was welcome and looked after. “Can we help set up, or bring anything?”
