Thank you for giving us a chance.

Thank you for giving us a chance.


Richard

My nerves were a live wire under my skin. I had never felt this tense before. I needed every single detail to be flawless. I had booked the private gazebo on the grounds of the Grand Hotel for the night. It was strung with tiny, glowing lights, filled with white roses, and thick white candles stood tall on every surface. The wooden floor was covered in a carpet of red and white rose petals.

I paid a private chef to cook the meal, giving him very clear rules about what he could and could not use. I had the Matsusaka beef and the live lobsters flown in from Maine myself. I did not give a fuck that the hotel’s restaurant had two Michelin stars; I did not trust anyone else with Violet’s food.

Michael had dressed up for the night, wearing his finest black suit with a dark maroon tie. I was in my charcoal grey suit with a black shirt. Michael shifted his weight beside me, a clear sign he was just as on edge as I was, while we waited for Nash to bring Violet down from the penthouse.

We had not told her a thing, only that we were “going out for dinner.”

“There she is!” Michael grabbed my shoulder and pointed. I saw the two of them walking through the garden. Violet looked so small next to Nash that from far away, you might think she was a kid. Nash looked like he always did, in his army surplus pants and Richardet. Violet wore a flower-print sundress that hugged her narrow waist and showed off her strong arms.

I watched her steps falter when she saw us waiting by the gazebo. She clutched Nash’s arm as if her legs might not hold her. Nash gave her a soft nudge, guiding her across the wide lawn that separated the main gardens from this private spot, usually used for weddings.

Her eyes were enormous as they moved over the sparkling lights, the flowers, and then over each of us. “Wow,” she let out a soft breath, releasing Nash’s arm to reach for my hand. “What is all this?”

“We never got to give you a real birthday celebration,” Michael explained.

“You did all of this? For me?”

She looked back at Nash, as if she expected him to confirm this was real. Nash gave one of his rare, full smiles, his teeth showing. “Happy birthday, Miss Blair,” he said in his slow way, and then he winked at me, turned, and walked off with his hands in his pockets.

I had to swallow hard. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” she smiled up at me. “You clean up pretty nice, too.”

I tugged at the knot of my tie.

“Should we sit down?” Michael gestured to the table set for three. I pulled out the middle chair, and Michael helped her into it before we took our seats on either side of her.

Violet was still taking in the gazebo. Her fingers reached out to brush the soft petals of a white rose, their scent thick in the air. “I cannot believe you two went to all this trouble! You could have just put a birthday candle in a burger, and I would have been perfectly happy.”

I could tell she was feeling a little nervous. She kept pushing her hair behind her ears and biting her bottom lip. “We wanted to make this a special day,” I said, my words coming out a bit broken. “A day you would never forget.”

And God, I prayed it would be a good memory.

Michael signaled the waiter, who was standing just out of sight. He came forward and began to serve the food. Twin lobsters, a perfectly cooked wagyu steak, skewers of plump shrimp, and a crystal bowl of hot, melted butter. Michael and I had the same, but our plates also had small roasted potatoes and broccoli.

“Holy shit,” Violet said, a happy, irreverent laugh in her voice. Some women might be shy about cracking into a lobster, but this was clearly not new to her. She knew exactly what to do. She snapped off the tails and the claws, setting the main body aside on the extra plate the waiter had provided. She used the little two-pronged fork to pull out the sweet, soft meat, dunked it in the melted butter, and placed it on her tongue.

She let out a moan of pleasure. It was such a deeply sensual sound that it went straight to my groin, making me stir in my pants.

Then she tried the beef. Her eyes went wide as her fork slid through the steak like it was nothing. It practically dissolved on the tongue, needing almost no chewing. “That is… wow, I have never tasted anything like that!”

She ate every bit of the meal, reminding me of the first day we met, when my father took us all to dinner and I watched, stunned and amused, as she put away a massive surf-and-turf platter that would have defeated a grown man. That first night, I thought her appetite was strange, but now I was used to it, and I was even starting to eat that way myself.

But I was desperate for her to finish. So desperate that I could not enjoy my own two-hundred-dollar steak. I barely tasted it. Instead, I kept slipping my hand into my pocket, checking that the small, velvet box was still there.

She finally set her fork down and pushed her plate away. “That was… without a doubt, the best birthday dinner I have ever had.”

I gave her a shaky smile. “That is good. Um… how about dessert?”

She looked at me, partly amused, partly annoyed. “Richard, you know I do not eat dessert.”

“Oh, well, in that case…” Michael and I stood up at the exact same time. I snapped my fingers, and two waiters hurried in and picked up the entire table, carrying it away and leaving Violet sitting alone in the middle of the gazebo. We both turned to face her, side by side, and then we went down on one knee in the middle of the scattered rose petals.

“What!?” She put her hands to her cheeks, watching us, completely stunned, as we each held out the special rings we had chosen for her. I flipped open the lid of my box at the same moment Michael opened his.

Michael’s ring held a heart, covered in black diamonds. Mine held the infinity symbol. The two pieces were designed to lock together into one single ring. I had practiced a whole speech, but every word was gone from my head. I could not speak, so I looked at Michael, begging him with my eyes to say the right things. He was good with words, good with people; he would know what to say.

Michael cleared his throat, and I knew it was as tight with feeling as mine was. “These are commitment rings,” he said, his voice a little rough. “They are a symbol of our love, our loyalty, and our devotion to you. We love you, Violet Blair, and we want to be with you forever.”

She just sat there, as if she could not move, staring at the rings but not reaching for them. She blinked very fast. “Are you… are you sure? After everything that has happened, are you really sure?”

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life,” I said, my voice thick. “You are the one we have been waiting for. The only one we want.” I fumbled with my ring, pulling it from its slot in the satin. “Please, Violet. Will you be ours?”

“And we want to be yours,” Michael added, his voice steady. “We are making this promise to you, Violet. And we are asking you to make that same promise to us.”

Her bottom lip trembled until she caught it between her teeth. “I… I do not know what to say. This is… huge. So unexpected.”

“Please say yes,” Michael pleaded, giving her his famous puppy-dog look.

I almost wanted to tell him that look never worked on Violet. “I love you, Violet,” I said. “I know this is a big step, but we needed you to know how we feel, how important this is to us.”

“Yes.” The word was so quiet I almost missed it.

She held out her left hand, and it was shaking just a little. I slid my ring over her knuckle, and then I passed her hand to Michael. He kissed her fingers and then slipped his ring on next to mine, turning it slightly until the two pieces clicked together into one.

She stared down at the joined ring. “It is… it is so beautiful. It matches…” Her other hand moved to her throat, touching the polyamory pendant that rested there.

I stood and pulled her into my arms. Her hands came up to the back of my neck, pulling me down to her. Her kiss was hot and deep and full of everything she was feeling. “Thank you,” she breathed against my mouth. “Thank you for choosing me.”

Michael tugged gently at her arm, impatient. She turned to him, jumping into his embrace, and met his kiss with the same passionate fire she had given me. “No, Princess,” he said when he finally pulled back for air. “Thank you for giving us a chance.”