Just like before, I was unsuccessful at my attempt to get by unseen when Lily called me back into the living room. I pulled my shoulders back and tried to garner any illusion of confidence I had as I walked in and sat down next to her on the couch.
“Look what I found!” she exclaimed excitedly. “It’s a bucket list of all of the things that my mom wanted to do!”
I looked at the journal in her lap and smiled, remembering when Charlotte had made it. We’d stayed up late and laughed for hours as we came up with the most random, impossible list of things. I had completely forgotten about it until now.
“I remember,” I said softly, resting my elbow on my knee and my chin in my hand.
“Did you guys ever do any of it?” she asked with even more excitement.
“We were going to, right after we graduated high school. We were going to travel and conquer her list. But then we moved to California, and she met a boy. After that, all of her time was suddenly focused on him,” I teased, giving John a playful scowl. His smile stretched tight across his face, showing off his perfect teeth.
“Hey, what can I say?” he shrugged cockily. “I was more exciting than her bucket list.”
I let my head fall back as I laughed.
“I seriously doubt that,” I joked, holding my stomach as I laughed harder.
Lily got the giggles and laughed along with me, while John raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at us.
“Why is that?”
“Because I remember that list. There were some pretty amazing things on it that would be more exciting than any boy.”
“How do you know?” Lily asked sincerely as she looked at the list again. She picked up the journal and tilted it to the side, then upside down as if she was trying to find some secret code. “None of it makes any sense. It’s all riddles and codes.”
“That was the fun part,” I squealed, remembering how we worked so hard to create the perfect clue for each one.
“Do you remember what all of them are?” She looked up at me with hope in her eyes.
I pulled in a deep breath, not ready to promise her anything that I couldn’t deliver on.
“I don’t know, honey. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that list,” I admitted sheepishly.
Her face fell, and the excitement that had been there a few minutes before vanished.
“Maybe we could all try to solve them together?” John asked from his chair, sensing the panic that was flooding through me.
“I like that idea,” I agreed. “Teamwork always makes things easier.”
“Okay,” she said with a tiny spark of enthusiasm.
“What’s the first one?” John pressed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees as he concentrated. I had to fight the laughter that was bubbling up inside with how serious he looked.
Lily cleared her throat, then lifted the notebook and began reading.
“Go high in the sky, but not faster than the birds fly.”
She lowered it and looked between us.
“That’s easy,” John said proudly, puffing his chest. “It’s a plane. She wanted to fly on a plane.”
Lily nodded as if that made sense to her. I laughed and shook my head in disagreement.
“Okay, smarty pants,” John teased, pointing a finger at me. “Then what is it?”
“Charlotte had already flown on a plane when she wrote this. She went to Florida with her parents when she was ten. They flew there, and that was the first time she went to Disney World.”
John’s cocky smile faded, replaced with another scowl.
“Shit. I forgot about that.”
“Language!” Lily scolded and shook her finger at him.
“Do you know what it was?” she asked, looking back at me once she finished giving her dad the look.
“I know that your mom always wanted to ride a Ferris wheel. That would be my guess. It’s high in the sky and definitely slower than birds.” I turned to look at John. “How in the world did you guess plane anyway? What kind of birds have you seen that are faster than a plane?”
I watched as the pink in his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. He leaned back in his chair, the cocky, confident attitude from a few minutes ago gone.
Elliot
My career took focus in my life while trying to make a name for myself in a male dominated field. I kept my gender under wraps until I was able to let my expertise speak for itself. But I was knocked off my axis when I ran into Arden, the man I had compared all men to since our one night together. Now he was taken—by another man—a very dominant man.
Arden
The love I had for my man ran deep. But I’d never forgotten her. From the very beginning, Daimen and I agreed to our non-traditional life—two men loving
one another until we found that woman we could claim as ours. Now, she was standing in front of me, unaware she was a marked woman.
Daimen
I had loved my best friend from an early age. The day Arden submitted to me, was a dream come true. That was until a sexy and sassy blonde entered our life and turned it upside down. I see something in her that scared me. But I would make her mine, mine and Arden’s. Claiming hatred would follow us everywhere, Elliot fought us at every turn.
Will the three of us create our own unconventional happily ever after or will she leave us heartbroken?
The Red Head:
I never had a home until I was an adult, living in foster care as a kid. Now, I have a family, one I chose for me. But I’d always longed for a man I could call my forever. Instead, I found two, and they both want me. So how do I choose between them?
The Doctor:
I found the woman I want for life and she’s in love with me. But she also loves another man. When he comes to me and proposes sharing her, I am shocked. I don’t share. But what if she doesn’t choose me over him? And why is it every time he looks at me, I long for him almost as much as I do her?
The Fireman:
I can’t choose between him and her so why not have them both? He’s not interested in me, but I’d rather have them together than not have them at all. They are both mine, he just doesn’t know it yet.
Cami
Who knew I would love to be with two men, at the same time? I never did, until I tried it. Now, it was in my blood. But when one of our partners walked away, Dane and I were left searching for the man who could complete us. When a cocky actor entered our life, we understood he didn’t do commitment. But he kept resurfacing. He wanted us and we wanted another man. One night in return for seven dates. If this wasn’t a recipe for disaster, could we show him that life could be complete with the three of us together?
Dane
I loved my wife more than anything, but our needs and desires were not vanilla and we craved more. The famous actor who kept appearing everywhere we were, turned out to be my kryptonite—an a**hole. More so, he immediately saw Cami for the true gem she was. Will he give into what our touch, our words and our presence in his life, does to him, the second we’re all together?
Miles
I fell years ago for two people and loved them without abandon. But, in my business, you couldn’t hold onto a secret long and it was splashed across the front page. Twenty years ago the world was not ready for three people loving each other—it barely was now. After a loss so deep it left me a shell of a man, I never gave into my desire for a forever. I was built to be alone. I have one and dones and I never stay around for a second date. Yet, the cocky lawyer and his drop dead gorgeous wife, have made it almost impossible to walk away.
Clara
My ex-husband kept a secret from me, when we were married. It was the worst betrayal. Now, after three years, of picking up my life, I’ve found a new man, one who had claimed my heart. He held the same secret, but in his honesty, I can move on with him, the only problem, I’ve never stopped loving my ex-husband.
Bodhi
I lied to my wife for years, never being true to myself. I still loved her, but without her trust, we couldn’t build a future together. It’s why she was my ex-wife, and my heart was broken when she began to fall for another man. A man I, too, find myself falling for, as I continued to love her from afar.
Jack
My life was a wreck until I pieced it back together little by little. When the captivating Clara entered my life, I fell and fell hard. A secret had damaged her. I won’t hurt her, but is that possible—when I was as attracted to her ex-husband as I was to her?
Sigal Ehrlich is a bestselling author of refreshing, fun, and sweet romance books. She loves books, cold weather, and the occasional bubbly drink. Living as an expat for most of her life, Sigal has been lucky enough to visit many exotic places and meet some unique people from all corners of the world, while experiencing the sweet triumphs and travails of trying to acclimate to new “homes.” Currently, Sigal calls the Czech Republic home where she lives with her husband and three kids.
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