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I finally checked my phone and saw texts from all three of them. Tyler sent me a sweet wake-up message along with a dozen rose emojis, along with a promise that the real ones would be coming later. Jay sent a waving hand emoji next to a peach, which was supposed to represent my soon-to-be-spanked ass. Luca sent no emojis at all, just an adorable thank you message for an amazing evening, both before and after we went upstairs.
Beaming, I spent time writing all three of them back individually. Then, in our group message, I sent a honey pot emoji, surrounded by three eggplants. We all knew whatthatmeant, because I’d invented it one night when I was extremely horny and needed them all at once.
My phone dinged, dinged, then dinged again, with enthusiastic drooling emojis and promises to take care of me later. I felt the heat inside me rising, knowing what I was in for, even as I laughed inwardly at all the activity on screen. Because yeah, having three simultaneous boyfriends definitely tended to up your phone usage.
I finished my coffee, washed out the mug, then locked the door with the key I’d been presented with. It felt strange at first, staying with the guys at the house so often. But in contrast to my cold, empty apartment, it quickly felt like home.
A cold wind blew fresh powder as I brushed off my windshield and windows. It was mindless work, which gave me the opportunity to think back upon last night. It felt so good to be needed. So humbling to be entrusted with everything Luca had told me. Sleeping naked with him had been especially amazing, too. We’d shared an all-new emotional closeness, a bond which—
“Hey… Could I borrow that when you’re done?”
I whirled, wondering if the voice had been carried over from some other house by the wind. But it hadn’t. There was a man waiting behind me, right in the driveway, not six feet away. He stood there blowing into his bare hands.
When I saw who it was, I dropped the snow brush in complete shock.
“E—Elijah!?
He stepped forward and picked up the dropped tool. Turning it over in his hands a few times, he shook the snow from it.
“I guess I need to get one of these,” he laughed. “They don’t have ‘em in Texas, obviously.”
“B—But—”
“There’s so many things you don’t realize you need when you live in the cold,” he went on. “This jacket for instance. It’s too thin.” He pulled at the fabric above his shoulder. “I really should get a parka, and some gloves, and maybe a hat or—”
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” I shouted at him.
Anyone else would’ve taken a step backward. But not Elijah. No, he took a step forward.
“I’m trying to clean off my car,” he said simply. “I saw you brushing yours, and I—”
“You know what I mean!” I screeched. “Why are you in my driveway? Why are you even in this neighborhood?”
“Because I live here now,” he replied, and his smile had the deepest of all possible satisfactions. “Right there in fact.”
He pointed to a driveway across the street and two houses over. There was a brand new Range Rover sitting there, all lit up and idling quietly.
“Jeeze, Angel,” Elijah whistled. “You’d think you might welcome me or something.”
I was confused. Distraught. Totally bewildered.
“W—Welcome you?”
“Sure!” he said cheerily, tucking my snow brush beneath his arm. “I mean after all, I’m your new neighbor.”
Thirty-Four
JENNA
The shock didn’t wear off right away. It soaked in and paralyzed me for a good minute or two, long enough for Elijah to explain the terrifying steps he’d taken to insert himself back into my life again.
“You’d be surprised at how many people love this place,” he explained, as if I would be surprised at all. “Nobody wants to move. No one wants to sell.”
I stood stunned and speechless, staring at him blankly in the morning sun. Elijah on the other hand was animated and happy. He went on as if absolutely nothing was wrong.
“So yeah, no one wanted to leave,” he continued, “especially not the neighbors on either side of you.” He pointed back to the house where the Range Rover was parked. “But when I made those finepeople an offer that was more than three times market value?” He laughed spookily. “Trust me, they got out of thererealfast.”
It was unbelievable. Unreal.
