Two Hotties Next Door Read online

“I don’t. I don’t. You’re important to me, Will. You’re not like everyone else.”

  “True. I am special.” He sighed. “Honey, I don’t care, okay? You have given me a chance to see my family before it was too late. I was working all the time, never saw my kids. Couldn’t even remember their ages or names half the time. You love two men, and from what I’ve seen both of those men, they love you, Meredith. More than anything.”

  “They do?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “We don’t talk about things like that. I told them about losing my baby and how that affected me. They both started talking about babies, but nothing else has come from it. I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading too much into it or something.”

  “The last time I checked, the only way to know for certain how a person feels is to ask them, or better yet, propose.”

  “Is that what you did?” she asked.

  “Yep. I didn’t have a clue how Sarah would feel about me, so I decided to give it a go as the saying goes. Now I live happily ever after with my wife, and we’ve got beautiful children, Meredith. You deserve happiness. Those men will grant it you. Your private life is your own, but I will always be here for you, regardless of what happens. Not only do I think you’re extremely talented, you’re a good person. Inside and out. I’ll do anything for you.”

  “I love you too, Will.”

  “I know, honey.” He hugged her close.

  “Thank you for not giving up on me and for not freaking out about … you know.”

  “Your lack of productivity?”

  “Yes, that.”

  “I was worried, Meredith. This is your life, and I know you’re talented. What I didn’t want to do was give you more stuff to stress about. I will handle that part of things. I just need you to find the love that makes you draw, that makes you paint.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I never for a second doubted that you’d find that spark again that makes you you. I better get going. Think about what we talked about.”

  “I will.”

  She saw him to the door and watched him leave. He gave a final wave before turning off the street. Closing the door, she leaned against it, taking a deep breath. Everything was going to be fine. Of course it would be fine.

  For nearly twelve years she’d avoided anything as serious as she’d had with Jess. Her work always came first, and now, for the first time, she wanted something more.

  It was unconventional, different, weird to a point, but it was what she wanted more than anything.

  Stepping away from the door, she made her way upstairs toward her studio. Ace and Brett spent just as much time as she did in this space. They were always posing for her, making her laugh, showing her how to have some fun. She loved every second of her time with them.

  This house was purchased in the chance of her finding her love of her art once again after she had lost that fire. She had found her way back to what she loved. Ace and Brett had been part of that.

  They’d been her reason for getting up some mornings, just to see their smiles. Her sadness wasn’t part of her anymore. It was nothing more than a distant memory. She was more than what she had been, and she knew it was because of Brett and Ace.

  She stared at the piece she was working on. It showed Brett and Ace in bed. This one clearly showed their faces, and on the end of the bed was her, a blanket thrown across her ass, her leg lifted in the air. No one saw her face, but she knew it was her. Her hair was bound up on top of her head.

  She loved both of those men, and there was no way she could choose one.

  “What have you gotten me into?” she said, touching the wall of the house. She rested her head against it, and then laughed. “Great, now I’m a crazy person talking to walls as if they hear me.”

  Meredith didn’t believe in the tales of houses drawing people together. It was a nice thought, sentimental and a bit scary, but she truly believed that it was single people who happened to live close together, learning about each other, and then falling in love. Houses didn’t have a way of making people fall in love.

  They brought people together, and then time helped people to fall in love.

  ****

  “Did you get it?” Ace asked, sitting opposite him at the café.

  “I got it.” Brett pulled out the engagement ring he’d picked up and showed it to his friend. They’d both made the choice a few days ago but needed some time to finish the payment, as it had been a little out of their budget.

  “It’s beautiful,” Ace said.

  “So, do you have the plan in place?”

  “Garden is nearly complete. I’ve got the table. You’ve got date night tonight, so you need to distract her so that I can finish setting it up.”

  “I don’t usually go out for date night.”

  “Well do. I don’t want her to check on me or anything.”

  “We’ve already picked the music, right?” Brett asked.

  “Yeah. I’ve got dinner cooking right now. It’s in the slow cooker, and the wine is chilling in the fridge.”

  “So all I’ve got to do is distract her.”

  “I would, but I think she’d get a little suspicious as it’s your date night.”

  “I know. I know.”

  “You’re sure about this?”

  “I’ve never been more sure about anything else. We’re in agreement though?”

  “Our date night stands, but for the rest of our life, we all want to be together, yes?” Ace asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re nervous?”

  “Wouldn’t you be?”

  “All you’re doing is distracting her. I don’t see a problem with that.”

  Brett smiled. “This is the first time I’ve ever proposed to anyone, at all.”

  “I get it. Don’t forget I’ve never proposed either.”

  “Will gave us his blessing.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes, I asked him the last time he visited.”

  “Shoot. She’s seeing him today. You don’t think he’s talked, do you?”

  “Nah, he wouldn’t do that.” Brett ran a hand down his face. “We are really going to do this.”

  “Yeah, we really are.” He snapped the box closed and handed it to Ace. “You keep hold of that.”

  “I will.”

  With their lunch over with, their plan in place, Brett finished with his last client of the day and made his way home.

  The scent of whatever Ace was cooking filled the air and made his mouth water, but he wouldn’t allow himself to get distracted.

  He took a quick shower, thinking about their proposal tonight. He’d never done anything like this, and his nerves were fraught. Once he finished in the shower, he made his toward his bedroom, dressing casually in a pair of jeans and shirt.

  There was no backing off now.

  He walked next door and found Meredith in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water. Her hair fell down around her in waves, and she wore a pair of jeans and a white blouse.

  The warm weather had started to leave them, making way for fall and winter. With it, the summer dresses and bikini had been put away.

  “Hey, babe,” she said, coming toward him, carrying a glass of water. “How are you?” She kissed his cheek and smiled.

  “I’m doing good. So, I thought we’d go out. The fair is having its last day tonight, and I’ve not been to one since I was a kid.”

  “A fair?”

  “It’ll be fun. Rides, cotton candy?”

  “You had me at fun, sweetie.” She finished off her water, putting the glass on the counter. “I’ll grab my bag.”

  “How was Will today?” he asked.

  He watched her tense up just a little, and he couldn’t help but wonder why. Had he said something? Had he told her he and Ace intended to propose?

  All of his carefully organized plans started to unravel, and he didn’t know what to do. Shit, he wanted tonight to be special.

  “It w
ent well, actually. He’s really happy with everything that I’ve produced lately.” She tilted her head to the side as she turned toward him. “He likes you guys.”

  “He does?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s good. We like him.”

  “Good.”

  He took her hand and walked outside, helping her into the car.

  “This isn’t like you. Taking me out for your date night.”

  “I know. I wanted to try something new.”

  He strapped her in, and when she giggled he realized what he did. She placed a hand to his head. “Are you feeling okay, Brett? You’re acting a little strange.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I guess I’m more excited than I thought.”

  “Yeah, I guess you are.” She spoke so softly he almost didn’t hear it.

  She looked sad for a few seconds, but that disappeared the moment he climbed behind the wheel. Starting up his car, he pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the fair, which had been set up near the high school.

  Parking was a nightmare, and the drive was quiet. He didn’t know what to say for fear of alerting her to what he and Ace had planned.

  “You’re quiet today,” he said.

  “Just thinking. You know, about things.”

  “It is important to think about things.”

  What the hell are you doing and saying?

  She’s going to know.

  Glancing over at her, he forced a smile as she was looking right at him.

  “Okay, what is going on, Brett? Are you going to break up with me tonight?” Meredith asked.

  “What? No.”

  “Really? Because you’re acting really guilty and it’s kind of worrying me. I don’t need to go to a fair to be broken up with.”

  He was so taken aback that he pulled in against the side of the road and turned toward her. “I don’t want to break up with you. Neither does Ace, so get that out of your mind right now. Okay? We’re not breaking up with you.”

  “Then what is this, Brett?”

  “This is me taking you out on a date. We’ve got a surprise for you later and rather spoil it right now, we’re going to have some fun, and then there will be a big reveal. You’re not getting dumped.”

  “Oh.”

  “Not even if you wanted to,” he said, pressing his lips against hers.

  “I don’t want to get dumped,” she said, laughing. “Wow, I sound like a teenager.”

  “And you were acting like one. Now, stop panicking okay.”

  “I will.”

  He took her hand, locking their fingers together and kissing her knuckles. Tonight had to go down properly. He wouldn’t accept it any other way.

  Chapter Ten

  “I’m screwed!”

  “He’s going to fucking kill me.”

  Ace had everything set up. The garden was a romantic paradise. The food was perfection. When Brett texted him, he’d cook the pasta, toss the stewed sauce, and everything would be perfect.

  Rushing upstairs, he rummaged through his bag and found nothing.

  He’d lost the fucking ring!

  How was that possible? He had it right on him, and it was not there anymore.

  “Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Shit.”

  If he left it at the gym, he wasn’t getting that tomorrow.

  “I didn’t leave it at the gym. I had it on me today.” His bag was clear, and then he moved to the bathroom. “No, I brought it home with me. I put it on the counter.”

  “The counter.” He ran back downstairs, and the counter was bare.

  Standing in the kitchen, he felt fucking nervous. This was their big night. They had picked the damn ring together. “I’m screwed.”

  As if that wasn’t the end of it, his cell phone chimed to let him know to put the pasta on.

  Running his hands down his pants, he quickly started trying to figure out not to get killed before the end of the day. Of course, Brett was going to kill him. The ring was expensive, and this was their night.

  How could they not have the damn ring?

  He knew it was in the house somewhere, he just forgot where.

  The water came up to the boil for the pasta. He seasoned it, and then dumped the pasta inside.

  Just as he was draining it, he heard them pull into the driveway.

  “You had fun, baby?” Ace asked.

  “The best kind. What is all this?”

  “We’ve got a nice surprise planned for you,” Brett said.

  She kissed Ace on the cheek.

  “Why don’t you go out into the garden?” Ace said. “I’ll finish up in here.”

  “Okay.”

  He grabbed Brett’s hand. “I lost the ring.”

  Brett’s face dropped. “What the fuck, man? You had one thing. One thing and you lost it?”

  “I didn’t mean to lose it.”

  “I don’t even want to talk to you right now. How did you lose it?” Brett asked.

  “I put it down somewhere, and now I can’t find it.” He smiled, and Brett shook his head. “It’s not completely lost. I just got to find it.”

  “I gave it to you so you wouldn’t fucking lose it. Damn it. Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.” Brett patted him on the arm, which made him feel a million times worse. Yep, he’d screwed up, like, completely screwed up.

  Heading back into the kitchen, he added the parmesan, pasta cooking water, and a drizzle of olive oil to the sauce. If he was going to eat something like this, it was going to be done right.

  Serving it up into three bowls, he quickly put the parmesan back into the fridge, and paused. There, glaring at him, was the velvet box, near the cream.

  He laughed, and quickly pulled it out. Opening the box, he saw the ring still perfect and slid the box into his pants pocket.

  He was saved. The night was saved.

  Clearly, he’d been so preoccupied with getting this meal right that he’d not even noticed that he packed it into the fridge.

  Putting their meal on the tray, he carried it out. Brett and Meredith were dancing to a slow tune that was playing. “Your dinner awaits.”

  “This is date night, and you’re both here. This is curious.”

  “I stopped her eating a lot of cotton candy,” Brett said.

  “You told me I’d throw up going on one of the rides.” She looked between them. “What’s going on?”

  “Why don’t you try your meal first? It’s lovely,” he said.

  “Okay.” She put her fork into the food and twirled it around.

  He couldn’t take his gaze away from her as she took a bite of the pasta. Her eyes closed, and a moan escaped her lips. “Oh, that is so good.”

  “Excellent.” It was a beef rib sauce that had been slow cooked all day with onions, carrots, celery, and lots of tomatoes and herbs. It was one of his favorites but took some planning to get it all right. He also liked to skim off most of the fat. The meat on the ribs was so tender, but greasy. He didn’t want to weigh down his sauce. He glanced at Brett, who was still glaring at him.

  Ace winked at him, and he watched Brett visibly relax.

  Diving into his own meal, he closed his eyes, and enjoyed the taste. Watching Meredith and Brett, Ace knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could get used to this life. Of being with his best friends, falling in love, having a family.

  He really liked the idea of having kids around. They wouldn’t live in these two houses forever, if she agreed. He hadn’t told Brett yet, but he was already looking at places for them to move to. He loved Meredith and his best friend. She hadn’t said anything to either of them, but he knew she loved them as well.

  He finished his bowl first, leaning back in his chair. “That was good.”

  “And no quinoa about,” Brett said.

  Meredith chuckled. “You’re still not over that?”

  “I had to have quinoa for a long time. Lunch and dinner, I got a bit bored.”

  “You hear him complaining, but you d
on’t see him rushing to the kitchen to cook.”

  ****

  Meredith watched the two men, not exactly sure what was going on but also knowing something was.

  Brett had been strange all night, and Ace, well, he looked super happy with himself. Taking a sip of her wine, she stared at the two men she loved so damn much. How could she have ever thought of a life without either of them? They completed her in so many ways, and being between them, it all felt right.

  Love filled her, and she just couldn’t hold it back any longer.

  “I love you two,” she said.

  The entire table seemed to freeze. She didn’t care.

  She had held back from her feelings, and she was done. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops, to scream it.

  “What?” Brett asked.

  “I know we’ve never really talked about the future or what it would mean, but I love you … both. I know it’s messed up and that it should only be one of you, but I love you both the same.” She glanced down at her plate. “I didn’t want to go another moment without telling you guys.”

  Looking up, she saw them both looking at her.

  Suddenly they started scrambling around, and she watched as they both got on one knee. She frowned as Ace started to pat down his body and pulled out a velvet box.

  She knew what that was.

  “Meredith, we love you,” Brett said. “We know we come as a package deal—”

  “Which is great because that means you have me, and everyone knows life is better with me in it,” Ace said.

  “Anyway, we come together, and being with you, it showed us both that we don’t want anything to change. We love you, and we will always love you. Who cares what the outside world thinks? This is our business. We live one life, and I know, we both know, it is with you.”

  “So, Meredith Snow, will you do us the honor of becoming our wife?” Ace asked.

  She was in shock.

  “You want to marry me?” she asked.

  “Brett and I have already decided. You’ll marry him, and we’ll have a private ceremony.”

  They opened the lid, and she saw the two rings bound together.

  “We thought this would show that you belong to the two of us.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Hold up, you’ve not even said yes yet,” Ace said. “Only a yes gets the ring.”