Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(46)

But for her to marry Cade? He wasn’t sure he could live with that. Marriage meant something to him. Call him old-fashioned, but marriage was something to hold sacred, and he’d always imagined that he’d find the right woman, settle down and get married and grow old together.

He just never thought finding the person he wanted that kind of commitment from would mean sharing her with his best friend.

Cade slowly nodded. “Yeah. I don’t see a way around that.”

Merrick nodded, his lips pursed. “Okay, so who marries her?”

He watched Cade intently, searching for any signs that this was going to cause serious issues between them. Dread was tight in his chest as he waited for the answer. Could he be the bigger person here and act like it didn’t matter when it did? He caught himself before shaking his head because no. Hell no. He wasn’t going to pretend. This was too important.

Cade leaned against the exam table and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“As long as the agreement is made that nothing changes between the three of us, I don’t really care who marries her on paper. That’s all it’ll be is a piece of paper binding her to one of us. It also gives her the legal protection of being able to be listed as a dependent and beneficiary. But she belongs to both of us, and we know that. You know it. I know it. And she knows it.”

Merrick nodded.

“We can’t even decide this kind of thing until we talk to her about it anyway,” Cade said. “I’m jumping the gun here.”

“But it’s a good solution,” Merrick said. “I like the idea. I like it a lot. I want Elle to feel like she belongs, and I want her to know that we’re serious about her. This would go a long way in proving that to her.”

“Yeah, it would,” Cade said in a quiet tone.

“I want to be the one who marries her,” Merrick said bluntly. “I won’t lie to you or pretend it doesn’t matter. If you’re okay with it, I’d rather give her your name and then marry her so the paperwork lists her as my wife.”

For a minute, Merrick thought Cade might argue. He didn’t even realize he’d been holding his breath until Cade silently nodded his agreement.

“If it’s that important to you, I can deal,” Cade said.

“We’ll talk to Elle when the right opportunity presents itself. If she agrees, then we can get with Dallas on getting her documents lined out.”

Cade nodded again.

“She’s yours too,” Merrick said softly.

Cade lifted his gaze to Merrick, determination etched in stone and reflected in his eyes.

“Hell yes, she’s mine,” Cade said. “I’m making a huge leap of faith here, Merrick. Don’t make me regret it.”

In any other situation, the implied threat in Cade’s voice would have pissed Merrick off, but he also knew how huge it was for Cade to bend on this. He didn’t blame his friend for making certain that they were understood on all points.

“She’s ours,” Merrick amended. “And we’re keeping her.”

Cade held up his fist, and Merrick bumped it with his.

The door burst open, and Dakota strode in, followed closely by Catherine and J.T., one of the fighters who’d signed onto Merrick’s camp to train with him.

“What the ever-loving f**k happened?” Dakota demanded. “Are you all right, Merrick? Where the hell is Dallas? Why are you here and not in the goddamn hospital?”

Merrick held up his hand to silence Dakota. “I’m fine.”

Catherine’s brow creased with worry, and she pushed in next to Merrick, her hand resting on Merrick’s muscled arm. “What happened, Merrick?”

Merrick cleared his throat and coughed hoarsely. Dakota looked like he was going to combust at any moment.

“There was a fire at the office. Elle was trapped. Cade and I had to go in after her.”

Catherine paled. “Oh my God. Is she all right?”

“How the f**k did a fire happen?” Dakota demanded.

“Let’s calm down, guys,” Cade said. “I’ll explain everything. We only have a few minutes. Dallas is coming back for us so we can get back to Elle.”

J.T. glanced up at Merrick. “You okay, man?”

Merrick nodded. “I’m out for today, but I’ll be at the gym in the morning. Dallas wants to see me after the morning session so he can okay me for the afternoon.”

Dakota swore. “We can’t afford to lose any days this close to the match. Are you just trying to give me gray hair? Running into a burning building? Have you lost your goddamn mind?”

Merrick’s lip twitched, and he glared at Dakota. Dakota who meant well. Dakota who always had his back. But Dakota was only focused on Merrick and his health. What he didn’t realize was that if something had happened to Elle, Merrick wouldn’t be worth a damn for this fight or any fight.

“Dakota, shut up,” Catherine said in a firm voice as she edged away from Merrick.

“Someone shot up the place,” Cade said. “Elle was inside, and after they shot it up, they torched it. With her trapped underneath her desk. I was on the phone with her when it happened, thank God, so we were able to get to her quickly.”

“Christ,” Dakota bit out. “You two got enemies? What the hell is going on? Merrick, we need to consider moving you to a different location for the rest of your training. Apart from the physical risks, the last thing you need is this kind of distraction. You have to be focused if you’re going to win.”