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Bryce’s voice was resigned. He sounded defeated. “My agent wants me to deny we’re a trio. They’ve suggested I come out as gay, tell everyone that Ava and I aren’t really together and she’s my closest friend. They want me to be the poster boy for gay athletes, and that’d be fine… except I’m not gay. I don’t want to catfish anyone.”
There were quite a few grumbled comments in response, a murmur of understanding rippling through the group. They’d seen bi and pan erasure before. Levi had gone through it, Mike’s parents had struggled with it, and Jake’s father hadn’t even bothered to try to understand it.
Bryce continued, sounding a little more hopeful, but still down, “The Gold Coast team have already done up a welcome announcement. They’ve worded the press release as if they poached me. It talks about my stats and says how I’m an asset that they’re grateful to have. They have a one liner in there at the end which says they’re ecstatic I get to be my authentic self and the entire team are 100 percent behind me in every way. They haven’t mentioned my sexuality at all, but the conversation I had with the coach was good.”
“Coach is good people,” Liam stated. “He’ll support you. The players are good guys too. They’ll probably be put out because of the media circus that’s coming, but I don’t think anyone will be overly shitty.”
“What do you want to do?” Nick asked after introducing himself as Katy’s cousin. “It’s a big decision to move teams, especially with this hanging over your head.”
Bryce groaned and she could hear Ava murmuring through the line. “I have no idea, but I need to have a game plan figured out so that I know how to respond. I’m floundering here.”
“Let’s put aside the contract and your agent for a moment and deal with the media,” Nick advised. “You’ve got a few options on how to tackle them.”
Levi added, “Agreed. If you’d like my help, I’m here for you.”
“Yeah.” Bryce cleared his throat and there was more talking in the background. Cole said something she couldn’t make out, but it had Bryce’s tone lightening and the smile returning to his voice. “I’m not really ready to come out, but I’m also not going to lie about Cole and Ava to anyone either. You run a podcast, don’t you?”
“I do. We can use it to take control of the narrative if that’s what you’re thinking,” Levi responded, pride and a hint of determination to help his cousin shining in his eyes and in the set of his jaw. It wasn’t going to be easy for Bryce, Cole, and Ava, but Adelaide knew with Levi’s help they’d have a community behind them and friends to support them every step of the way.
She had history with so many people in this room. Connor, Levi, and Katy were the beginning. She’d been witness to Levi finally starting to see the light. Their relationship had inspired her to pursue her dreams. Katy, Robyn, and Emma had encouraged her to go on that date night where she’d met King. She and King had stopped for coffee at Mike’s gym on their second date, and Mike and Levi both trained King. She’d inadvertently helped steer Phoenix back into Cassie and Jake’s arms, helping him reconnect with the two people who’d loved him unconditionally for years, despite their separation. Phoenix had offered a friendship to Liam that she could tell meant the world to him. Now Bryce would become part of their group too, and by extension, Ava and Cole. The love in the room was palpable, as was the fierce protection of one another. Adelaide knew it was going to be exactly what Bryce and his partners would need.
After watching and waiting and finally trying to move on, she was going to take a page out of her friends’ books. She was going to live and love her guys to the fullest, and she knew they’d do the same.
Their journey had meandered along winding roads, diverging and crossing, but never joining until recently. Now all their lanes had merged into one. It didn’t matter whether the road ahead was bumpy because her guys were there with her. To hold her hand and love her as much as she loved them. They weren’t on the freeway though. They weren’t speeding toward some unknown destination, their eyes blinkered to the beauty of the landscape surrounding them. No, they were on the scenic route. The road less travelled. The one where they could stretch their legs and enjoy the sunshine together. The one that would take them their whole lives to travel. But it didn’t matter when or where they stopped or what detours they took, because they’d already reached their destination. They’d already found the place they belonged. Their home. It was right there next to one another, the three of them together. Happy and in love.
Adelaide had loved King from early on. She’d fallen hard and fast for him. But although their relationship was rock-solid, they were incomplete without Liam. She’d come to realize she wasn’t supposed to give up loving him. Instead, she and King needed to embrace him so that the three of them were whole. They’d needed to stop fighting the inevitable and let their journeys converge.
It had taken failing statistics twice for the roadblock to be broken. For them to face what was before them. But third time really was a charm, because now that they were together, Adelaide would never let go. She would never need to either, because the two men in her arms were a part of her. Destined to live their happily ever after. Together as one.
And they lived happily ever after.
*****
Thank you for reading Third Time’s A Charm. I hope you loved Adelaide, Liam and King’s journey.
Want to read Ava, Bryce, and Cole’s story? Triple Threat is available for pre-order.
She’s picked her team. Now she just has to score.
When a summer storm sweeps in, Ava finds herself road tripping across the state with two sexy as sin strangers. A flat tyre delays their trip, and the only hotel in town with a vacancy has just one bed.
Even though the two men are complete opposites, both have her captivated. The only thing hotter than being with Bryce, the handsome footballer with a perpetual smile, and Cole, the dark and broody construction worker, is watching them together.
Their holiday fling soon turns into more, but the odds are stacked against them. Threats come in threes and Bryce has to face one that will change the path of both his life and career.
But Ava’s playing for keeps. Can this trio emerge as the victors?
Can’t wait until then? Go back to the beginning and see how Katy, Connor and Levi got together in Three Hearts.
He wants his best friend’s girl. How can he want his best friend too?
When Connor met Katy, he knew she was the one. But it wasn’t meant to be. Six years later, with PTSD and an honourable discharge from the army, he has nowhere else to go except home—back to the only two people who can help him heal.
Connor should leave, but he can’t seem to stay away.
Falling for Katy again isn’t supposed to happen.
Neither is falling for his best friend, Levi. His very straight best friend.
He’s fought for his country, and now he’s fighting for love. This is one battle Connor cannot afford to lose.
Three Hearts is a slow-burn, emotionally charged, friends to lovers, bi-awakening MMF romance that will leave you breathless. Previously published as Delectable, it is the first story in the Rule of Three series and can be read as a standalone.
