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“Miley,” Lexi, Mike’s little girl squealed. She’d been quiet until then, resting her head on her father’s lap. She was adorable, long dark hair in pigtails swaying wildly as she snapped up. Lanky and in love with everything netball, Lexi could recite the stats of every player in her favourite teams. She was rarely out of her netball uniform too, the short yellow and green dress part of her daily wear.
“You know this one, hey?” Con grinned at her.
“Every word,” Mike moaned. Katy couldn’t help but laugh. She’d been exactly like that growing up. When she loved a song, she’d learn every word of it, playing it endlessly until the next one piqued her interest and she’d move onto that.
Con sang. The lyrics resonated within her—being free and loving life on a perfect beach was apropos, poignant as they sat there on that cool autumn night, the waves crashing in the distance. She watched the flames dance in the shallow iron pit on the deck while the sun set. Early evening was upon them, and Con’s deeper voice, mixed with Lexi’s sweet alto created a bubble around them, winding romance through the air.
“Sing us a classic, Con,” Maxi asked when he’d strummed the last note. He nodded thoughtfully for a moment and then sung the slow opening of INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart.” Katy loved the song, loved the imagery of a man finding love and no matter what intervened—worlds colliding, a thousand years passing, absolute chaos—he’d never let them be torn apart. Katy was swaying in Levi’s arms, humming along, when Nick stood and held his hand out to Emma, dancing slowly with her in the dying sunlight of the day. Reef and Ford were soon up too, Ford’s front to Reef’s back as they swayed as one, Ford holding Reef tight.
Con followed, standing up and walking around the couples, stepping over outstretched legs and coming before her and Levi again. Holding out his hand, he helped Katy up. “Dance with our man, Cupcake,” he murmured, before pressing a lingering kiss to her lips. Katy sighed, all the happy feels coursing through her veins when Levi took her into his arms, and they watched Con sing the rest of the song. She was enraptured, so damn lucky to have not one, but two men who loved as hard as Levi and Con. They gave everything to her, to each other—all of their hearts.
“D’ya know this one?” Con asked as he bent and fished a pic out of his guitar case. “Stupid question, everyone knows this one.”
Katy was preoccupied, staring at his arse and long, strong legs as he bent.Damn.What a view. Katy giggled at Levi’s rumbling groan and snorted out a laugh when Con stood back up and winked at her.
“You shit,” she playfully chastised him. “You’re torturing the poor guy.”
“Eh, I try.” Connor shrugged, and using the pic, strummed the unforgettable first strains of The Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night.”Cheers went up through the group and with all of them standing and dancing, they shout-sang the lyrics. Wildly out of tune, they were all laughing and jumping around as Con continued to play. It was freeing, the weight of her brother’s vitriol being shaken off all their shoulders. Katy’s heart was light, love and laughter in her soul. Spinning around, Katy raised her arms above her head and belted out the lyrics. They totally described how much she wanted her men—she was insatiable around them. She twirled in Levi’s arms, laughing when he dipped her low. God, she’d needed this, needed to be able to show the world just how much they meant to her.
Only a short song, it ended quickly, but Katy wasn’t disappointed. Con took her hand in his and kissed her fingertips, his other hand wrapping around Levi’s neck and pressing their foreheads together. Breathing hard, Con crushed their lips together. It was quick, but scorching hot, melting Katy’s insides. He grinned wickedly at both of them and strummed down the strings, stopping to adjust the tension on a couple. While he did that, he began singing. He got three words in and she knew it was “Thinking Out Loud”by Ed Sheeran. Katy looked around her. All the couples were cuddled together. Levi’s warmth pressed against her, his strong arms cradling her as she rested her head on his shoulder. Katy smiled at Jaxon, Mike’s youngest, as he looked around disgusted at all the people surrounding him, none of whom would throw the footy to him. Spinning it on his finger, he huffed out an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes. Katy pointed to him and Levi murmured, “Poor lil’ dude.”
“I’m gonna play with him. Why don’t you dance with Connor?” Levi’s hum was all the confirmation she needed. Katy stepped out of his embrace and held out her hands to Jax. His little face lit up like he’d won the lotto. Catching the ball he threw to her, she snapped her gaze to her men when the music abruptly stopped.
“Nick, get a radio on,” Levi’s low voice rang out clearly among the quiet group. “I wanna dance with my man.” Katy smiled and tossed the footy back to Jax, all the time watching as Levi held the neck of Con’s guitar and lifted it over his head, setting it against the wall. When Levi stepped into Con’s arms, they melted together, holding tight while they joined their lips in another scorching kiss. Right then, she wanted Con to have Levi more than anything. She was so ridiculously happy, so damn ecstatic that her guys could finally love each other in the open. She knew how hard it was for Con to be kept hidden, even if he wouldn’t admit it to them. Katy couldn’t help her goofy smile and the giddy happiness at full bloom in her.
ELEVEN
Levi
Connor pulled up into the drive, and Levi’s gut sank, its contents very nearly coming back up when he saw the car sitting there. He’d been riding a high after Jonathan left the party, everyone’s unflinching support and acceptance freed him from the weight of Jonathan’s words, his hatred. But that four-by-four parked there, and its occupants who were waiting for them, undid it all. He could see Katy’s father sitting on the front step—his dark brown but greying hair was neat as usual. He was dressed casually but sat ramrod straight, his jaw clenched tight and his mouth drawn into a thin line. Levi looked around for Katy’s mother and, sure enough, she was there too, inspecting the grevillea that Katy’s parents had gifted to them for their housewarming.
He took a deep breath and wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his shorts, a fine tremor in his hands. He’d been through the ringer that night, and he was tired, emotionally spent. Levi didn’t have it in him to do anything more than curl up in bed with his lovers and hold them tight, but Rich clearly had something on his mind. It didn’t take a genius to guess that Jonathan had called them.
He remembered back to “the talk”that Katy’s father had given him years ago—the one that went “if you fuck my daughter over, I’ll cut your balls off with a rusty knife and watch you bleed out with a smile on my dial.” God only knew what Jonathan had said, but even a toned down version would easily count as one of those “I’m gonna cut your balls off” scenarios.
None of them spoke as Connor turned off the engine. With a final glance at each other, he and Katy opened their doors. Connor was right behind them. As soon as Katy stepped out from the passenger side, Rick had his hand on her arm, dragging her across to his car. “Dad, what the hell?” Katy fought him, pulling her arm away, but his grip visibly tightened. She winced, and it kicked both he and Connor into gear, both of them racing to her side. “Dammit, Dad, that hurts. Let go.”
“I spoke to your brother tonight. You’re coming home with us.” He tugged on her arm again with a sense of urgency and Katy stumbled, Rich catching her before she fell. In his peripheral vision, Levi saw the front lights of their neighbour’s house turning on, the screen door opening and their neighbour Ying walking outside in her PJs and holding a cricket bat. But she was the least of his worries. Connor’s expression was murderous, rage boiling in his dark eyes, every muscle in his body vibrating as he clenched his fists ready to attack, and Levi was right there too. Rich putting his hands on his daughter and hurting her? Not in this lifetime.
“Dad,” Katy ground out, fighting to pull free of his embrace. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Kaitlin, now isn’t the time to do this. You’re coming home.”
Levi saw red, blinding rage filling his every pore. Her father was as delusional as his son, judging them for something he knew nothing about. “Let her go, Rich.” Levi’s words were deceptively quiet and calm, but anger bubbled just below the surface, like a volcano about to erupt. He and Connor were a united front, standing shoulder to shoulder, working together as a team. Levi took Katy into his arms and Connor reached out, pressing down on a pressure point on Rick’s wrist until the other man dropped his hand. Rubbing it, Rich looked at Connor horrified, but Connor’s attention had already turned to Katy, gently caressing the red mark her father had left on her arm.
“You bruised her,” Connor gritted out, clenching his fist again and stepping closer to Rich. Panic filled Katy’s mother’s face, and she stepped between them, placing her hands up to stop Connor, halting his progress on a dime.
“Katy, honey, are you okay?” Andrea, her mum, asked.
“I’d be better if we weren’t arguing about bullshit after my bedtime on my damn front lawn. I’m drunk and I’m tired. Jonathan almost ruined our night and he’s an arsehole, so if you’re here because of him—and of course you are, because why else would you be here at nine at night—you can just leave.” Katy was ranting, and Levi couldn’t help his smile. God, he loved this woman. She was feisty and fiery and called it exactly as she saw it. “Can we at least go inside?”
“I think that’s a good idea,” her mum replied. When Levi looked to Connor and nodded, his lover strode over and opened the door, ushering everyone through. Katy’s parents went on ahead, walking into the living room while Levi hesitated, putting some distance between them.
“Cupcake, you okay?” Connor asked, his voice filled with concern as he lightly fingered the quickly fading mark.
“Yeah, boo. I am now.” She reached for him and hugged him hard without letting go of Levi’s waist. The three of them stood there wrapped around each other just inside the front door, the cool night air wafting in on the breeze. Something in Levi relaxed, clicked into place, let him breathe again. He was home—and it wasn’t being inside the walls of that house that did it. No, it was being with the two people who meant everything to him. His heart was full, his soul complete because of the man and woman in his arms. One of the songs Connor had sung earlier flashed back into his mind—Armageddon could happen around them, but no matter what happened from there on out, Levi knew down to his bones that they’d be okay.
He could have stood there for hours, just holding Connor and Katy, but his girl was wavering on her feet. He knew they needed to get this conversation with her parents over with and right on cue, Katy broke away and stomped into the living room. Levi followed, Connor right beside him, and he bit back a smile upon seeing Katy’s stance. Arms crossed, legs apart and chin up, she didn’t beat around the bush. “What exactly did Jonathan say?”
