Hunks, Hammers, and Happily Ever Afters (69 page)

Noah faced her. “As for the Moretti’s, Hayley, they’ve known I was bi from the very first time I met them. They are one of the most open, accepting, loving families I have had the privilege to meet.” He caught Hayley’s hand. “Max is right. We both love you. We don’t want you to feel you’re a second choice to either of us.”

“But you love each other...I don’t want to come between you.”

“You wouldn’t. You fit in right between us perfectly earlier.”

“That was different.”

“No. It isn’t.” He brushed her hair off her face, letting his fingers linger on the tender skin over her ear. “If you have kids, would you love one less than the other? Of course not. It’s the same here. I am perfectly capable of loving both you and Max at the same time. The same with Max being able to love us both. The question is...do you have room enough for the two of us?”

“I’ve gone on precisely one date with you each. It’s too soon.”

“I could argue the one date comment.”

She pointed at Max. “Jack and Jill party last week,” swung her finger to him. “Wedding reception yesterday. One date each. And maybe you could count the last couple nights as a date each too. But that’s all. I—I—you know what? I can’t think about this right now. I have to leave.”

She bolted from the kitchen, and snatched up her purse from where she’d left it on the stairs.

“Hayley, wait up, I’ll drive you home.” Max chased after her when she ran out the front door. “You don’t have your car, remember?”

She turned and held up a hand, holding him at bay. “I’ll grab a taxi out on Queen. Look, I appreciate the offer but I need time to think about all this, okay?”

“But—” Max stopped only when Noah caught him by the arm.

“Let her go, Max. She’s right, she needs to process everything. If we push her too hard now, we’ll lose her.”

Except Max was pretty sure, they’d already lost her.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

One month later

“What are you waiting for?” Amelia’s penciled-on eyebrows arched almost to her hairline. “Find them and tell them yes already.”

Hayley sat at the dining room table in the now-finished house in Leslieville, swirling the extra-large pumpkin spice latte she’d picked up in preparation for today’s Open House. “It’s complicated.”

She’d seen Max and Noah precisely twice since she’d run from Max’s house. Once when she’d accidentally run into them right here as they finished up the last of the painting—she’d said hi and high-tailed it out of the house, claiming to be late for a dentist’s appointment, and the second time had been two days ago at the Habitat Restore location out in Scarborough as they’d loaded a corner tub into Max’s truck. She’d seen them, but they hadn’t seen her.

“Honey, all relationships are complicated. But you’ve got two guys—two really burning hot sex-on-legs guys—willing to make you the center of their universe. So again, what are you waiting for?”

She leaned forward and lowered her voice, even though they were the only people in the house. “They want me to be part of a permanent threesome, Amelia. It’s not something I can just go jumping into without thinking about it first.”

“Gee, let me think about this.” Amelia’s black fingernails sparkled as she tapped them against her coffee cup.

Almost every body part on the stager sparkled, from the piercings in her eyebrow and nose, as well as almost a dozen up each ear, to the bangles halfway up her forearms, to the multiple rings on her toes. Her black hair was buzzed up one side and long on the other. She wore a worn Tegan and Sara T-shirt that hung over her usual black yoga pants. Like her eclectic fashion sense, she favored an eclectic decorating style too, choosing comfort over fashion. She and Hayley had butted heads a few times when Hayley vetoed some of her choices in staging her houses. This latest conversation was just one of many they’d had over the last month.

“Two totally hunky guys who are two of the nicest guys I’ve ever met,” Amelia continued, “four hands, two cocks—and I’m betting they’re both pretty hung, am I right?—their focus totally on you and your problem is...what?”

Where did she even start, aside from the fact Max and Noah were also into each other, not just her. Not that she’d revealed that particular fact to anyone else. “Okay, you want to know what I’m worried about? What about my house? I love my house. I’ve got it set up just the way I want. Max’s house is perfect, and my stuff would just clutter his place. And then there’s the Moretti’s—I know Max says they’d be okay with it, but they’d always look at me as the woman who...I can’t do that to him. His family is everything to him. Besides I’ve been on precisely one date each with them.” After placing her coffee back on the table, she ticked each point off on her fingers. “The first one with Max was the Jack and Jill party, and the wedding reception with Noah.”

“Don’t forget the twenty-four hours you were naked and bumping uglies with them,” Amelia added. “I’d say that counts for at least ten dates.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I. You’ve been pining for them the entire month. Moping about, checking your phone and then getting upset that they haven’t messaged you, and how many times have you driven past Max’s house?”

Okay, so she may be bordering on stalker territory.

Amelia wagged a finger at Hayley. “You miss them, and don’t deny it, chickie. The only one who has a problem here is you.”

She couldn’t deny any of it. The last four weeks had been the loneliest since she’d moved to Toronto.

“And by the way, you’ve been on more than a single date each with them. Hell, you’ve practically been dating them for two years.”

“What are you talking about?” That’s what Darrell had said too. What had she missed?

“I’m talking about the barbecues at the Moretti’s out in Scarborough. The nights you’ve spent binge-watching Flashpoint and Murdoch Mysteries and then there are the movies you dragged Noah to at TIFF the last couple years, and the number of times you’ve grabbed dinner and eaten with them both. Even take-out food counts, you know.”

“We were working on the project houses and were on deadline.”

“It still counts. You didn’t have to eat dinner with them. But you did. And what about that time you said you went with them to the Taste of the Danforth and Max stopped at every booth to try every type of food? Or the night you guys escaped the crowds at Nuit Blanche? And when Sophie emailed that photo of Darrell on the Jumbotron, who did you call? It sure as hell wasn’t me or any of your girlfriends. You called them.”

“I wanted a guy’s point-of-view.”

“No, honey, you trust them more than your best friends.” She reached across and squeezed Hayley’s wrist. “Open your eyes and see what’s right in front of you. They love you, and you love them. Even if it only lasts a year or two. You’re getting a chance at love that some people never get their whole lives. Don’t throw it away because you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared.”

“Yeah. You are, hon. All these excuses? That’s all they are. A smoke screen. Admit you had the best weekend of your life when you were with them.”

“I did but—”

“Stop with the excuses already. If you think you need to date them more then date them some more. As for your house, you can always sell it, or better yet rent it. That way you have somewhere to move to if things don’t work out, and in the meantime you’d be making more than you’re paying on the mortgage.

“Hiding away from them isn’t going to help you decide. And yes, I saw how you cowered behind that big-assed F-150 at the Restore. I also saw how you looked at them—you are completely in love with them. All you’re doing right now is hurting all three of you. So stop futzing around, and make a decision already. Don’t leave them waiting on you to make up your mind. That’s just cruel. To all of you.”

Hayley considered Amelia’s arguments the rest of the afternoon. A dozen couples were waiting on the front step when she opened the door and started the Open House. By the end of the afternoon, she’d collected dozens of cards from realtors, a sheet filled with names and contact information from the hopeful visitors that she could contact about future houses, and best of all had a two potential offers coming in later that night.

She locked up the house, and headed home. Only to find herself turning east on Queen Street instead of west toward the Don Valley Parkway. Her hands shaking, she turned off the ignition once she’d parked on the street in front of the beautiful old Victorian. Two huge urns of rust-colored chrysanthemums flanked the front door, several large pumpkins had been placed on each step, in honor of this weekend’s Thanksgiving celebrations.

The front door opened and both Max and Noah walked onto the porch as she approached. Both men had circles beneath their eyes, and Max looked like he’d lost weight.

Amelia was right. She was hurting them.

She clutched her purse to her chest and climbed out of her car. “Hi. Can we talk?”

EPILOGUE

One year later

There was no traffic – car or foot —in the center of the tiny village north of Toronto at four a.m. on Christmas Eve. The massive spruce lit up the street, its red bows adorning the lower branches—tied only as high as the locals could reach.

His breath mingling with the light fog rising from the snow, Max grinned as he pulled Hayley and Noah along the sidewalk. “It’s just up here.”

Life with Max and Noah had never been boring, Hayley had discovered when she’d moved in with them on Thanksgiving weekend the year before. She’d always known Max was a glass half-full type of guy, but she hadn’t realized until she lived with him his unbounded joyfulness, his almost child-like curiosity and playfulness. Noah was his balance, who kept him from flying away chasing his latest whim. Noah kept her in balance too. While they’d initially had some issues with each other’s boundaries, their unusual lifestyle hadn’t presented as many problems as she’d expected.

Max’s family were as good as he’d promised, accepting their living arrangements with a casual aplomb. Her family—well, at least they lived far enough away that it wasn’t an issue on a daily basis. Her mother hadn’t issued her usual invitations for holiday dinners and when Hayley phoned every week, she’d know they’d answer, though her father stuttered to silence when Hayley mentioned either Max or Noah. But their door hadn’t completely closed, so Hayley had hope that one day they’d accept her choice.

“Come on, what are you two slow pokes waiting for?” Max rounded the tree, and with a muttered, “here it is, just like he said,” disappeared under one of the ribbon-bedecked boughs.

“Come on then, let’s see what he’s got up his sleeve this time.” Noah followed him, holding a branch up for Hayley so she didn’t end up with a face full of snow and spruce needles.

Their excitement contagious, Hayley followed. Noah whistled, and when she straightened she understood why.

The branches of the tree swept down to the ground from high above her head, forming a protective canopy. The Christmas lights were muted by the blanket of snow that had fallen overnight. And beneath it all, by the huge trunk in the middle, Max grinned. “It is like a church, isn’t it? So peaceful. Like the world outside doesn’t exist.”

“It’s pretty,” Noah agreed. “But why the hell did we have to get up and drive all this out here at this ungodly hour? Couldn’t you have brought us here at a more reasonable time? Like noon?”

“Because I wanted to give you your Christmas presents somewhere special, but I didn’t want to be interrupted by anyone. We won’t get the chance to do this privately later.”

“You couldn’t give us whatever you bought at home?”

“I could have,” Max said. “But—”

“—But it wouldn’t have the same feeling as it does it here,” Hayley finished. “You’re wanting to make a memory.”

“I am.” Max looked so solemn, but the corners of his eyes crinkled as if he were pleased that she understood whatever it was he planned. “I wanted somewhere peaceful, almost sanctified. Somewhere...”

“Neutral?” Noah suggested.

Max shook his head. “Special.”

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out two black silk pouches, embroidered in silver thread with each of their initials. “My life changed so much when you came into it, Hayley. And Noah, I’m sorry that it took me so long to realize how much you mean to me. I love you both, and I want to prove that to you.” He loosened the strings holding the pouches closed and poured two silver rings into his palm. “I want to marry you. Both of you.”

Hayley pressed her palm to her mouth. A glance showed Noah blinking fast too.

“But I can’t do that legally. So I figured we’d say our vows to each other here.” He lowered himself to one knee and held up both rings. Up close she noticed that the elaborate design he’d had engraved on the outside was actually all three of their initials twined together. “Hayley, Noah, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“Of marrying
us
,” Noah amended. He pulled out a velvet box from his coat pocket. “I had the same idea, but I arranged with your parents to do this at their place this morning.”

He flipped the lid on the box, revealing two gold bands, one thicker than the other, with a diamond nestled in the center. “I had our names engraved inside, so no one else has to see.” Like Noah, he dropped to one knee. “Max, Hayley, I offer you these rings as my pledge. To love, to honor and to cherish you always. I promise that I will be there when you need me to be, to listen when you need me to hear you, to hold you when you need to be held.” He grinned, “Hayley, I promise to find the best marble for your next project without complaining and, Max, I promise I’ll cheer for the Maple Leafs even when they’re playing the Canucks.”

Max snorted. “And I’m supposed to follow that?” He took a deep breath. “Hayley, I love you. I have since the moment I first saw you, and I will until my dying breath. You have made me happier than I thought possible. You have made me laugh when I wanted to cry, get up when I wanted to hide away, and I promise I will do the same for you. I will be your shoulder to cry on, your buddy to laugh with. And I promise I will always keep a supply of chocolate for those days when you need it.”

“Damn it,” Noah muttered, “I should have used that line.”