Break, page 40
A bubble of guilt rises to my throat. Have I made them think I don’t trust them? I can literally pinpoint the moment I knew I trusted each one of them.
My giant never really lost my trust. I knew he was there for me, and I could always trust him to be conscious of my feelings when he threw that stupid fish back into the lake. Vincent was when he stood up to my father, putting himself between us, protecting me from my father’s anger and hatred.
And my Max, when I walked in on him, losing his mind over what I had endured throughout my childhood. He shared his painful past with me and then gave me my first real kiss, letting his anger go because he knew it unsettled me.
Tears come to my eyes when I remember how I felt at each of those moments. As if someone was putting me together like an old jigsaw puzzle they dusted off in their basement and brought out into the heart of their home.
Max’s playful smile falls when he sees my face, and he quickly cups the back of my head, pulling me against him. “It was a rhetorical question, dove. I have no doubt in my mind that you trust us. I know you do, because I know you.”
Waving him off, I laugh at myself and blink away my tears. “I just got lost in my head for a moment.” Standing up straighter, I tip my head back and give him the biggest smile I can muster. “Yes, I trust you. What’s my surprise?”
He studies me for a moment longer before nodding once and moving on. “I’m going to cover your eyes and walk you inside, alright?”
“Alright,” I agree, although I don’t know why I need to be in the dark. “I could just keep my eyes shut.”
“Nope,” he says, popping his ‘p’. “This is way more fun. Turn around, love.”
Snickering, I follow his directions. Once he has a hand over my eyes, he wraps another around my waist and walks us inside slowly. Knowing where everything is laid out, I can tell we’ve come to a stop in the center of my office space, turned toward the blank wall my desk faces.
I can’t hear Vincent and Ethan, but I know they’re here. The room is filled with them. Their heat and their scent. When the three of them are around me, that’s when that feeling of home comforts me.
Reaching out to my sides, I bite my lip when they both immediately grab on. Vincent’s booming laughter fills the space, and I can’t help but join along with him.
“How’d you know we were here, sweetpea?”
“Because I told her, you idiot,” Max snaps at him. It’s never once bothered me when they bicker. The three of them argue like brothers would, and it just gives me one more reason to validate that what we’ve got between us was the right move.
“Because,” I cut in, preventing Vincent from egging Max on further. “I could feel you. But, yes, Max said you both were waiting for us. I just didn’t know where until now.”
Grunting in exasperation, Ethan gives my hand a squeeze. “Can we do this? Or do you ladies need another few minutes to swing your purses at each other?”
A loud peal of laughter explodes out of me, and I hunch over to catch my breath, gasping between giggles.
“Judgmental army brat,” Vincent mutters out, then tugs on my hand, trying to get my attention. “Ignore the mean brute. Are you ready to see your surprise?”
“Y-Yes,” I chuckle out, attempting to compose myself, but Ethan’s words keep swirling, causing the giggle to burst out sporadically. I don’t think he says these things to be funny, not intentionally. His honesty is so refreshing that my cheeks often hurt after he finishes going after them from smiling so hard.
Max shushes his friends, then kisses the back of my head. “It’s not much, but we wanted to do something for you that personalized the space. To, umm, you know… show you how much we love you and-”
“Max,” I call to him gently. His awkwardness is endearing, but I don’t want him to suffer any longer. “I understand what you’re trying to say. I’m excited to see it. Please.”
I feel his body relax as I let him off the hook. Then he drops his hand from my eyes, and I squint my vision into focus.
Vincent and Ethan move closer to me when I tense as I take in what they’ve hung on my wall, jerking them closer to me.
Three large frames made of old barn wood, sanded and stained to tie into the aesthetics I’ve decorated with in my office. But what the frames hold has my heart sailing to my throat.
They move with me as I take a step closer to inspect what’s inside. “Are… are those oversized dollar bills?” I ask, peeking at Ethan briefly before my eyes are forced back to the pictures.
“Yeah. We had them printed so we could do this,” he admits, waving his hand at them. I know they’re standing in front of each of their frames by what’s inside.
To my left, where Ethan waits, is an origami bird. Folded and pressed perfectly without a hint of an error in sight. Ethan strives for perfection in everything he does, and creating a bird, a dove, I suspect, to represent my first tattoo, is fitting.
“I love it,” I tell him earnestly, stepping toward him without releasing Vincent’s hand or displacing Max’s arm. Ethan leans down and kisses me deeply and without care that the other two are watching us.
I’ve grown far more comfortable over the past couple of years with intimacy as a group. Eventually, all of my concerns will be in the past, where I want to leave everything else that should hold no bearing over my life.
A new beginning, just like Noah’s dove.
To my right, in front of Vincent, is a heart. Looking up at him, I ask, “Where did you guys learn these patterns? This is beautiful.” Nodding toward the heart, my eyes stay on him.
Reaching behind his head with his free hand, he scratches it as he explains. “We went online to find them and then practiced with regular bills until we got them just right. Had the papers printed, and here we are. Probably would have had it done sooner if Max could get his shit together.”
Max’s growl at Vincent’s words rolls through my body. Leaning back to soothe him, I tell Vincent, “You did a phenomenal job. It’s gorgeous and so perfect. I love it so much! Thank you.”
I step toward him so he can cup my cheek and lean his forehead against mine. “You’re my heart, Mina Bardot. Our heart. We couldn’t survive without you.”
My eyes water, and there’s no stopping the few tears that escape. Tilting my face up, I press my tear-stained lips to his and kiss him hard, trying to express how much this means to me.
“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispers against my lips, kissing me once more firmly before pulling away. I swear I see him blink a few times, but he’ll deny he ever got emotional in front of the other two.
Squeezing his hand, I wait for him to look back. Once his eyes find mine, I mouth, “I love you.” He nods and then jerks his chin toward the center frame.
Max’s arm tightens around my waist when my eyes fall to the knife, positioned blade down. Studying it, I stay silent as my eyes roam every crease, line, and sharp point. It’s absolutely stunning.
Turning completely around, I release Ethan and Vincent’s hands for only a moment, to switch them so I can face Max. My head falls all the way back so I can meet his eyes. He’s so tall that when we stand like this, I can’t see his face unless I lean way back.
“It’s perfect, Max. How did you do it? Did you look it up online too? It’s the same pattern I showed you back when I first moved here.”
There’s a light stain of pink on his cheeks, which surprises me. Max never gets embarrassed, but something about my question resulted in a blush, and now I’m even more curious.
Clearing his throat, he glares at his friends before letting his eyes go soft when they find mine. “I’ve been practicing the same one ever since you showed me.” His eyes flicker away, looking up at the knife hanging behind my head, and he narrows his eyes. “Damn thing took forever to get right and caused me nothing but problems. But I wanted it to be right for you.”
Letting go of Ethan, I reach up and place my palm on his cheek, waiting for him to look back down at me. Once I have his attention, I press my hand more firmly and furrow my brows so he knows I’m serious.
“It means so much to me that you’ve been doing this, trying out something that I love and putting in so much effort. It’s perfect, Max. Absolutely perfect. I love it so much.” Sliding my hand to his shoulder, I pull on him so he’ll lean down, and I can wrap my arm around to hug him tightly.
He only gives in for a moment before leaning me back over his arm and attacking my mouth with desperation and need. His tongue works against mine, building us into a frenzy until Vincent clears his throat, chuckling.
“Better knock it off, otherwise we’re going to be christening the office,” he teases.
Max pulls back and looks down at me with a smile, then says in a low voice, but not low enough that the others can’t hear and turns his head toward Vincent. “What makes you think it hasn’t been?” Then, he grins a victorious smile, like he’s won the race.
I close my eyes, then look skyward, silently praying for someone to help me. Ethan’s low bark of laughter has me turning my head. He doesn’t seem pissed, just amused that Max got under Vincent’s skin. I give him a quick wink, then squeal when Vincent lurches forward and pulls me from Max’s arms.
“I get the cider room, then!” he shouts as he drags me away from my men, laughter following behind us.
This.
This is how life should always be. Filled with laughter and love. Filled with my lovers, my friends, and my protectors.
This has always been where my path led.
He couldn’t break me.
Indifference/Reckoning
A lack of interest or concern; unimportance;
the absence of effort.
A day or time in the future when people will be
forced to deal with an unpleasant situation which
they have avoided until now.
An accounting for things done.
The day of reckoning.
A Note from the Author
A HUGE thank you to my husband for giving me the time at home to write. Between both of us working full time and raising three children, it can be difficult to try to do a second thing almost full time as well. (Plenty of late nights). He’s been incredibly supportive, even though this type of genre is not his cup of tea. He hasn’t read anything yet (I’ll make him at some point), but he’s allowed me to use him as a sounding board.
Faith Cavalier and Scarlett Chase, you two got me through edits, proofreading, and polishing this sucker up. :) Not only have they both provided me with hours of hilarious text conversations, but they motivated and encouraged me throughout all of this process.
My ALPHA readers deserve a massive shout out as well! You all have given me so much invaluable feedback, validation, and confidence that really drove me to want to make this book the best it could be!
El Rivers, (check her out in Vella!!) was the one who let me process my ideas and helped guide me toward a more believable conclusion for BREAK. She spent her time reading every chapter as I popped it out and even did an initial proofread on them!
Aurora Hope gets a huge thank you for not only helping me talk this story out when I felt stuck, but for also helping me with graphics and PA work!!! To let you all know a little secret, we have big plans to co-author in the near future! Keep an eye out for her, she’s gonna be big!!
Lastly, to you, my readers. I write stories that speak to me and are largely ones that I would want to read. Thank you so much for allowing me into your home (on your bookshelf/in your kindle) and giving up a few hours of your time. I’m speechless over the love and support that you all have shown me.
About S. E. Green
S.E. Green is a Navy Veteran, having served for 9 years. She lives in the middle of Wisconsin with her husband, three loving children, and her mom. Wanting to do something entirely different from the work she did while she served, she joined up with her mom, where they work together to sell products in the incredibly interesting and fascinating world of insurance. (Insert sarcasm here – but seriously, I really do find insurance fascinating… it’s embarrassing)
S. E. Green is a passionate reader, some would say (her family) that she’s bordering on obsessive. She found that when she was craving certain types of books or scenes, they were difficult to find, OR she’s already read them over and over. She decided that she wanted to write exactly what she likes to read. With the groveling and the white knight and the innocent and the stalkers and the antiheroes and the alpha males and… Each piece she writes hits one of those buttons for her.
She’s just a mom with a computer and an imagination; building romance around dreams.
BOOKS BY S. E. GREEN
THE DISSONANCE SERIES (novels)
ATONE
TEACH
BREAK
LAUGH (9/23/23)
ROUGH (coming soon)
THE INNOCENCE SERIES (novellas)
NORA
FAITH
EDEN
LILY
THE COMPLETE INNOCENCE SERIES
BONUS EPILOGUES (ebook only)
Thank you for Reading!
S. E. Green, Break
