Misadventures of a Curvy Girl (Misadventures #18)(56)

None of us move for a long minute—a minute when I quietly panic that I’ve ruined everything and I’ve ruined it so thoroughly that they’ve driven two hours just to tell me they never want to see me again.

Hi, is what I should say.

Sorry, is what I should say.

“I love you,” is what comes out. So softly that I’m not even sure they hear it.

And then they’re loping toward me with big, half-jogging strides, and I’m suddenly crushed into two sets of strong arms and pressed between two hard, warm chests, the sunflowers crushing in there with me. My chin is taken between Ben’s firm fingers, and my face is turned toward Caleb. I’m kissed—passionately, tenderly—with a scratch of soft beard, until my knees weaken and I can barely stand. When I start whimpering against Caleb’s lips, Ben turns my face back to his and rewards me with a long, thorough kiss of his own.

“Fuck, I missed you,” Caleb groans into my ear, hugging me tighter as Ben continues to conquer my mouth with his. “Missed you so damn much.”

We break apart with a gasp, and I’m shocked to see Ben’s eyes are just as red-rimmed as mine probably are. I reach up and touch the corner of his eye, where even now a tear is beading. The touch of it is scalding—burning me with regret.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper to them both. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“No, we’re sorry,” Caleb says, pressing his face into my neck. “We started this whole mess. We should have never told that reporter we were dating if you didn’t want us to. If you don’t want to be openly dating two men at once, we get it. We’ll have you however you want.”

“That’s not—” I take a breath and pull back enough so I can see both their faces. “That’s not why I left. I’m ready for the world to know I love two men. I was a little surprised by it coming up during the interview, but when I chose to pose for that photo, I chose to be ready. I’m proud to be with you.”

I receive two dazzling grins in response to that.

“No, it was more like…I was worried you wouldn’t be proud to be with me. That even if you were, it would mean subjecting yourself to all kinds of things…” I trail off because Ben’s expression has grown stormy and Caleb’s thick eyebrows have pulled together in confusion. “The comments people were leaving on that article, the things my ex said…and Ben, your Yelp page…”

“What’s Yelp?” Ben asks, his storminess giving way temporarily to puzzlement. “Is that on Twitter?”

“It’s a thing on the internet for reviewing restaurants and stuff? Super popular?”

He shrugs, his face getting dark and thunderous again. “I don’t care what happens on a Yelp. Do you think the people in Holm are having drinks at the tavern because of reviews on an internet site?”

Having grown to know the people of Holm over the last month, I have to admit it’s unlikely. I shake my head.

“Even if loving you meant selling everything I own and going to work at the meat-packing plant in Emporia, I’d do it. I don’t give a shit about what people say or do, as long as I have you. As long as we have you.”

Caleb’s nodding in agreement, pressing his face to the back of my hand, as if he can’t bear not to touch me for even a moment.

“Ireland,” Ben continues, his voice growing raspier, more pained. “It kills me that you’d ever think we wouldn’t be anything other than ecstatic to be with you. I don’t know what it’s like to be fat”—he uses the word in the same mild, casual tone Mackenna did—“and I can’t pretend to know all the ways society makes your life harder because of it, and that means I’ll be learning as we go sometimes. But I do know how I feel. I don’t love you in spite of your body. I love you with it, as you are, and I’ll never be anything but fucking proud to be yours.”

Caleb assents to this last with a nuzzle of his face against my hand and a murmured, “Me too.”

My heart lifts. I knew Mackenna was right about everything, of course, but having it confirmed nearly makes me break into tears again.

“You mean all that?” I whisper to them.

They nod solemnly at me.

“We mean it, peach,” Caleb says. “And we’ll beat the hell out of anyone who says different.”

“And we possibly have,” Ben says.

I look up at their faces, mischievous and possessive all at once. “Oh, you didn’t.”

“We just paid your ex a little visit is all,” Ben answers mildly. “He won’t be bothering us again anytime soon. And he says he’s sorry, by the way.”

“I feel like I should scold you,” I tell them, shaking my head, “but I have to admit, I’m not sorry.”

“Good!” Caleb grins. “Neither are we.”

Greta barks and prances around our feet, as if trying to signal that she’s also not sorry.

I take in the happy dog and these two perfect, amazing men, who are currently trying to kiss me around their hug-crumpled sunflowers.

“Let’s go home,” I say, kissing them back. “Let’s go home together.”

And we do.





Epilogue





Caleb