Page 112 of Shared By my Ex's Best Friends
When his hand finds mine, he doesn’t say anything. Not at first.
He simply laces our fingers together, his grip sure, and begins to guide our joined hands downward until they settle over the soft swell of my belly.
My breath catches. So does his.
“You’re ours,” he says. His voice breaks on the second word, and I feel it—a shiver in his chest, a tremor against my spine. “And so is this baby.”
The room doesn’t move. Doesn’t breathe.
Outside, the night is thick with quiet. Trees shift lazily in the breeze, their branches dropping faint shadows across the walls as the curtains sway, whispering against the window frame like the house is listening.
The silver moonlight has shifted slightly, spilling lower across the bed, brushing over the dip of the sheets and the curve of Jake’s hip. The warm copper glint of Liam’s watch on the nightstand flickers as it catches the new angle of light.
My throat tightens instantly. The sensation blooms like a wave, spreading from my chest to my fingertips. I press my palm morefirmly against my stomach, feeling the echo of Liam’s hand over mine.
It’s too soon to feel movement, but still, I swear there’s something. A flutter. A spark.
A beginning.
Jake’s hand slides gently over the back of mine. His fingers thread through the gaps Liam left, slow and intentional, like every inch of contact is a promise.
His skin is rough in places, callused, but his touch? Gentle. Devotional. He squeezes my hand softly.
“We don’t need rings,” he murmurs.
I turn my head slightly, just enough to feel the brush of Ethan leaning in behind me. His presence has always been quiet but constant.
Now, I feel his nose nudge against my shoulder before his lips find the skin there. His kiss is soft. Certain.
And when he speaks, it’s with a breath that sets my pulse racing.
“We just need you,” he whispers.
That’s what undoes me.
Tears well before I can stop them—hot and slow, tracking silently down my cheeks to pool in the pillow beneath me.
Not from sorrow. Not from fear. But from feelingtoo much—from the way they hold me, the way their hands and voices and hearts press into mine.
How deeply they love me.
How deeply I love them back.
I draw in a shaky breath, my voice catching on the edge of it as I speak.
“Forever?”
Jake answers first, voice firm but soft, like he’s been waiting to say this his whole life. “All in.”
Liam’s lips brush the back of my neck, the kiss more breath than touch. “Always,” he murmurs, his arm tightening around my waist.
And Ethan—still curled against me, still holding my hand like it might shatter if he lets go—leans closer, his voice steady and fierce and full.
“You’ll never be alone again.”
That’s it.
That’s everything.
