Looking For It (Three Player Co-op Book 1) Read online

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  There was no going out for coffee the next morning, or running off to work. We did force ourselves to get out of bed for the essentials, around midday on New Year’s Eve. Spent way too much time figuring out if all three of us could fit at the same time in their small tub, for a shower. We didn’t manage, but the trying was a lot of fun.

  And I absolutely knew what the pizza girl was thinking when Grayson answered the door in nothing but a pair of gray sweats.

  While we were eating, Chase texted me, as he had every day for the last week.

  “When are you going to answer him?” Grayson asked.

  I hadn’t decided yet. The anger wasn’t there anymore, thanks largely to the fact it was hard to be angry about anything when I was sitting with my back against Jax’s shoulder and my legs across Grayson’s lap. “I’m letting him simmer.”

  Jax tugged my hair playfully. “A decade seems fair.”

  “You haven’t talked to him since Christmas?” Grayson managed to set his plate aside without disturbing my position. “You know he’d do anything for you.”

  “I haven’t, and maybe next time he does something for me, he’ll find out first if it’s the thing I want.”

  “A person is allowed to learn and grow and change their mind.” Grayson didn’t even flinch at tossing my sentiment from yesterday back at me.

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “Lying to and about people isn’t the same as adjusting a perspective on how many people go in a relationship.”

  “Fair point.” Grayson shrugged. “Then again, he didn’t say it to or about me, so I’m not carrying the same kind of grudge.”

  Jax’s barking laugh shook me. “Don’t pull that bullshit. You were fuming after you heard what he’d done.”

  “It’s true.” Grayson lifted my legs and set my feet on the ground. “And speaking of Christmas, we never got to give you your gift. It wasn’t in the stack at your parent’s, because... we weren’t sure anymore.”

  “We also haven’t opened the ones from you yet. It didn’t seem right,” Jax said.

  “What? You have to open them now.” I’d forgotten about presents in middle of everything else, but now they could be a priority again.

  Grayson kissed the palm of my hand. “Stay here.”

  He vanished into the other room, and returned a moment later with a box that held two familiar wrapped packages. He handed Jax his, extracted his own, and set the box aside. “Who do you want to go first?”

  Giddiness bubbled up. “It doesn’t matter. Open them.” It was a good thing neither of them were paper savers. I’d go nuts watching either slowly cut around the tape.

  I’d gotten Grayson a new set of headphones for streaming. He’d been eyeing them for months, but kept putting off the purchase for one reason or another.

  Jax’s was a leather portfolio, to hold documents for sales meetings, and monogrammed. He gave me a curious look. “How did you...?”

  “You said the one you carried was looking hammered.” I was pleased they both liked their presents. The pair of hungry kisses I got as thank yous didn’t hurt either.

  “Your turn.” Jax reached over to grab something else from the box. He extracted a small package, barely bigger than a business card, and only maybe an inch high.

  My heart jammed in my throat. It was a jewelry box, that much was obvious from the size and shape. I’d never had a guy buy me jewelry before.

  He handed me the gift. “Merry late Christmas.”

  The gold foil paper glittered in the light. If I tore into it, the surprise would be over, but I was also dying to see what was inside. I slipped a fingernail under one flap, slicing the tape neatly.

  “Are you kidding me with that?” Grayson asked.

  I laughed and tore off the rest of the paper. Inside, nestled on a bed of cotton, was a gold bracelet. It looked like three delicate ropes braided together. I lifted it out gently, still processing how gorgeous it was. Two charms dangled from it—a pair of scissors with sapphires in the handles, and a circle that said weapon of choice. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “Here.” Grayson held out his hand.

  I handed the bracelet over. He unclasped it, and gently secured it on my wrist.

  “I may never take this off. Thank you.”

  We spent the rest of the day with movies playing in the background, and us groping each other as much as we were paying attention to what was on the screen. We fucked to the ball dropping and ringing in the New Year, and collapsed in a tangled-but-happy heap for the second night in the row.

  The next morning we took our time getting up, and there was discussion of me maybe heading home for a few hours, for a change of clothes and to prove to Lyn I was still alive. For now, I was happy in one of Grayson’s shirts and a pair of Jax’s shorts.

  We hadn’t managed to leave the bedroom, when someone rang the doorbell.

  “Be right back.” Grayson squeezed my fingers and gave Jax a quick kiss before leaving to answer.

  “Is my sister here?” I heard Chase’s voice distinctly as it drifted in from the other room.

  Jax nuzzled my neck. “Make him suffer a little longer, or grant him a reprieve?”

  “Not sure.” I was going to forgive Chase. Maybe in about five or ten minutes.

  “Are you here?” Grayson hollered through the house.”

  I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Depends on who’s asking,” I yelled back.

  “I’m not going to do this in a shouting match.” Chase was doing exactly that.

  “Try.”

  “I’m sorry.” Chase’s voice carried better than mine. That deep tenor had a commanding quality to it.

  Jax kissed the back of my neck, and nudged me toward the door. I grabbed his hand as I stood, and tugged. “He owes you at least as much of an apology as he does me.”

  I recognized Chase’s posture when we stepped into the living room. He had his back to the front door and his arms were crossed. He looked me over, eyebrow raised. I stared back, unblinking.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I didn’t realize you’d held onto that, but I shouldn’t have said it anyway. I was young. Stupid.”

  “Was? Past tense?” Jax said.

  Chase snorted.

  “Did you tell them to keep their grubby dicks off me?” I had to know. Because that wasn’t nearly so long ago.

  Chase nodded. “And they laughed at me for it.”

  Grayson had moved to the side, so we could all see each other, and adopted a similar defensive posture to Chase’s. “That’s being kind.”

  “We told him to go fuck himself,” Jax said.

  Chase’s shoulders drooped. He looked at all three of us again. There was no question something was going on, given my clothing. He didn’t look upset, though. Not that his opinion would change my mind, but it would delay me forgiving him.

  “They’re good guys.” Chase crammed his hands in his pockets. “I trust them implicitly, but you’re more important. You’re family. My baby sister even if it is only by a year. If they make you happy... I can accept that. If that changes, I’ll start smashing skulls.”

  Grayson rolled his eyes. “How very caveman of you.”

  “Yup.” Chase gave me all his attention. “I’m sorry. I really am. To both of you. I can’t take it back, but I know it was stupid.”

  “I get it. I forgive you. But if you do something like that ever again...” I was happy letting the unspoken threat hang in the air.

  “That’s fair.” Chase crossed the room to wrap me in a tight hug. He stepped back and looked at Jax, questioningly.

  Jax’s sigh was exaggerated, and I had to fight a smile. “I guess we’re cool.” Jax only held his stony expression for a few seconds before it shattered into a smile.

  Telling our parents needed to be even a quarter this easy.

  We sent Chase on his way, and I headed home to grab a change of clothes, and take a quick shower where flipping a coin to see if anyone got to share
wasn’t required. Not that I minded the playful struggle between who got to spend more time with whom.

  I was back at their place not long after. It wasn’t as though I was moving in, but with Jax having the rest of the week off, and Grayson and I taking breaks from streaming, we were going to steal as much time together as we could.

  Friday morning, I was surprised to see a phone call from an unknown number in California. “Hello?” I was prepared to hang up on a robodialer.

  “Sadie? Hey, it’s Chet Stanford.”

  My brain stumbled on the name, before catching up. “Yeah. Hi. I mean, how are you? How was your holiday?”

  “Great. Look, I won’t take a lot of your time, but I wanted talk to you sooner rather than later.” He spoke more quickly than when we’d met in the courtesy suites, but he was just as friendly. “I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you. People have been in and out of the office all week, but I’ve got the answers I hoped for.”

  I was missing something. “That’s great?”

  He laughed. “I missed a step. I do that when I’m excited. I loved your proposal, and so did the execs. We want to bring you on to do costume creation, based on our specs, so our artists have something tangible to work from. But I needed a promise from Legal first that they could handle the fallout from the company pursuing you. They looked over your case, and they’re going to take care of you.”

  I stared at Grayson and Jax, who were watching me with hopeful curiosity. Was this... It was the job I wanted. Really? Creating for someone in public media. “Would I get artist credit?”

  “Absolutely. And creative flexibility when it comes to making sure the designs are viable.”

  My name would be on video games. Asset sites. I’d get to make amazing new designs. I only saw one problem. “I’m not prepared to move to L.A. to do this.” I had been a week ago, but my entire world had changed since then. Now Chet would tell me never mind and I’d go back to that new life, missing the opportunity, but knowing I couldn’t leave my guys behind.

  “That’s okay. I didn’t assume you’d want to,” Chet said. “We will need you out here occasionally to talk specs and look at what you come up with, but we’re not equipped to have a seamstress in the building. This is a remote position.”

  “This sounds too good to be true.” I meant to keep that to myself, but best to get it out now.

  “I understand. I’ve got a contract in your email. Look it over, take the weekend to think about it, and let me know.”

  “Yeah. Thank you.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I’d have questions once this all sank in, but for now I was basking in how amazing it sounded.

  I disconnected, explained the brief conversation to Jax and Grayson, and was promptly bathed in hugs and kisses.

  The contract came through as promised. Grayson read it aloud.

  “You even make legalese sound sexy,” I teased him. The offer was exactly what Chet had promised. Grayson handed me back my phone, and I set it aside.

  “Would you really have given up a chance like this for us?” he asked.

  “Yes.” I didn’t hesitate. “I love you too much to walk away from what we’re discovering. Both of you.” I hadn’t said that specifically to Grayson yet, but the words felt right. And incredible. “I love you so much.”

  He kissed me on the forehead. “I love you too. I’m glad you figured it out before it was too late.”

  “Arrogant asshole.” I reached to smack him playfully and he grabbed my wrist.

  Heat rushed through me at the intensity in his gaze and the possession in his grip.

  Jax pressed his lips to my neck, right below my ear. “What round will this be?”

  “I’m not keeping count.” I leaned back into him.

  This was amazing. Whatever came next, we were ready for it. All three of us together, the way it should be.

  Epilogue

  August was the perfect time for a wedding. I was grateful to not be restricted to something like saving myself for the wedding night, but heading our separate ways had gotten harder and harder as the months passed by.

  And for the last few weeks, I’d been too busy with wedding prep to spend much time at all with Jax and Grayson. Even with Anne and Lyn stepping in to help with the big things, my calendar had been full.

  Partly finishing my wedding dress, which the guys hadn’t seen yet. I stood in my what wouldn’t be my bedroom after today, in Lyn’s house, smoothing out the gown and studying my reflection.

  “You look gorgeous.” Anne tucked a loose strand of hair into the pins holding my updo in place. My hair wasn’t quite long enough for a fancy style, but she’d given me ringlets and made the currently pale pink color into a plaited design any woman would envy.

  The hair color matched the embroidery and pearls I’d sewn into my gown. Lace hugged my torso, hips, and legs, and stretched into a short train behind me. It wasn’t the princess dress that child-me imagined. It was stunning and elegant.

  Lyn and Anne had similar style dresses, but in rich green, and blue respectively, and minus the trains. I’d used the excess satin from my dress to make handkerchiefs for the guys’ suits. Chase insisted I give him a blue one.

  “Are you nervous?” Anne fidgeted with her skirt, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

  “Yeah. Not in a bad way. Like... I can’t believe this is happening, you know?”

  She grinned. “I do know. Me too.”

  Someone knocked, and she hurried to open the door.

  My dad stood on the other side. “Are you ready?” He and Mom barely flinched when I told them I was dating two men, especially when they found out who. I’d taken the opportunity to point out to Chase that made him more uptight than our parents.

  I nodded. “I’m ready.” I wanted this to be over with, and at the same time I wanted to savor every second of today.

  Anne gave me a quick hug. “I’ll see you downstairs.” She hurried away to take her place in the wedding procession.

  Lyn was loaning us her house for the day, including her kitchen and back yard. She’d wanted to cater as well, but I made her promise if she cooked, someone else had to do the serving and the work. I wanted her and Anne by my side through this.

  I descended the back stairs with Dad, and heard the electric organ kick up with the wedding march. The marriage wasn’t state sanctioned or anything. We wouldn’t have an official license for the three of us. But we’d have the ceremony and the promises we made here, and that meant everything to me.

  When we stepped out the back door, I couldn’t see anything but Jax and Grayson waiting for me at the altar. Their faces both lit up. They were my entire universe. The best thing that ever happened to me.

  I was on autopilot during the preacher’s introduction. I managed my vows only because I’d practiced them a million times in front of the mirror. The rings they gave me had been made to intertwine with each other, and I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate as a symbol of our love.

  The preacher said they could kiss the bride, and the both planted chaste kisses on my cheeks.

  Then Grayson captured my face and pressed his mouth to mine, in a long, drawn-out promise that meant more than any recited words.

  Jax coughed, clearing his throat, and stole me away for his own kiss. I was pretty sure people were cheering and clapping, but my new husbands were the only thing in my world right now.

  Jax pressed his forehead to mine. “If you’re leaving that mattress behind, we’ve got one last chance to abuse it before the reception starts,” he whispered.

  I grinned. “Let’s do it.”

  This was nothing like what I’d dreamed of when I build my perfect life plan. It was so much better, and I was looking forward to every single minute of it.

  THANK YOU FOR READING Sadie, Jax, and Grayson’s story.

  If you’d like to see what Chase and Anne get up to, check out WAITING FOR IT. She shouldn’t have slept with her boss once, and she really
shouldn’t be making a habit of hooking up with him, and her best friend’s older brother. Especially when someone is willing to use that information to threaten her job.

  › Click here to get your hands on WAITING FOR IT today

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She likes her stories with sweet geekiness and heavy spice, because cubicle dwellers need love too. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together.

  Read more at Allyson Lindt’s site.