One of the paramedics took over. “Miss Wells, what kind of pain are you having?”

“Stomach.”

When he tried to palpate her abdomen, she cried out in pain.

Tate stroked her hand. “I love you, baby.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “I love you, too…” Her eyes fluttered closed again.

At the hospital, Tate got out of the way while they rushed her into the ER. He had to handle her admissions paperwork, and was finishing up with it when Doug arrived. A nurse led them back to the room, where Harper lay unconscious, hooked up to IVs and monitors.

A doctor carrying a clipboard walked over to them. “Are you family?”

Doug remained silent as Tate spoke up. “I’m her boyfriend.”

“Looks like she’s got acute appendicitis. We need to operate immediately in case it’s ruptured.” He showed Tate the surgical forms and where to sign. “Is she allergic to anything?”

Tate took the pen and signed where indicated. “No, she’s a type 1 diabetic, though.”

“Yes, the paramedics told us.” He handed the men off to a nurse. “She’ll take you to the waiting room. Once we know more, we’ll either call the waiting room or send someone out to talk to you. Any questions?”

“Is she going to be okay?”

He didn’t like the hesitation on the doctor’s face. “We’ll take good care of her, sir.”

In silence, the men followed the nurse to the waiting room. “I’ve got to call Gorden and Harrison,” Tate said. He felt horrible, guilty. If he’d checked up on her the night before, he could have gotten her help sooner. “Dammit, why didn’t I get up and go check on her?”

“Why didn’t she tell me about her diabetes?” Doug softly asked again. Tate felt a little sorry for him. He looked shell shocked.

“Because you know how she is. She is fiercely protective of her privacy and doesn’t like showing weakness. No one else at the office knows except me, Gorden, and her father.”

“I lived with her. I love her. How could she not tell me?”

“You know how she is,” Tate offered again.

“Then why did she tell you?” Doug looked hurt. “Why didn’t she trust me enough with that secret?”

“Probably because of the same damn kind of thinking that led to you not telling her about me,” Tate said, exasperated. He realized Doug was trying to wrap his mind around everything, but he had to deal with telling her dad. “And she had no choice but to tell me, because at our first meeting her blood sugar tanked and I pulled her out of it.”

He looked up Harrison’s phone number first and called him. As he expected, he reached the man’s voice mail. He left him a message and called Gorden next.

He took the news well, but understandably sounded upset. “I’ll meet you there at the hospital. I’ll keep trying Harrison for you. He’s more likely to pick up if he sees it’s me calling.”

When Tate hung up, he leaned back in his chair and stretched. He didn’t want to worry, wanted to believe everything would be okay and turn out fine.

Doug sat, elbows on his knees, head hung low.

Tate didn’t have the patience to deal with his worry about Harper and Doug’s bruised ego at the same time. Harper would always take precedence. “Look, I know you’re not used to hearing stuff like this from me, but suck it up. When she’s out of surgery, she’s going to need us.”

* * *

Doug knew Tate was right, but he couldn’t stop beating himself up over this. He’d outright lied to Harper about himself from the start. He had no business feeling hurt over the fact that she hadn’t told him about her diabetes. When Gorden showed up, he pulled up short when he spotted Doug.

“Hello, Doug.”

He nodded to him. “Gorden.”

Gorden looked from him to Tate and back. “Well, I’m sure there’s going to be an interesting story to hear later, but for now I’ll settle on knowing how Harper’s doing.”

“We haven’t heard from the OR yet,” Tate said. “They said they’d let us know. Did you get in touch with Harrison?”

Gorden took a seat across from them and shook his head. “No. He’s down at Boca, probably out on the boat and can’t hear his phone.” He crossed his arms and stared at Tate.

“Don’t start with me, Gorden,” Tate said, sounding weary. “I’m so not in the mood for it today.”

Gorden arched an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t say a word.”

“You gave me the look.”

Doug watched the interplay like a Ping-Pong match. Obviously, Tate had a different relationship with Gorden than he’d had. And that was another thing. “Why,” Doug asked Gorden, “didn’t you tell me about Tate?”

Gorden shrugged. “I was ordered not to. Do you honestly think I’m going to cross her? And don’t even start with me, son. I don’t know the whole story, but I can guess what it’s going to be. Your glass house isn’t rockproof.”

Doug shut up. He knew he deserved that and more. Every bit of it.

Fifteen minutes later, a nurse came out to talk to them. Harper’s condition was stable. The problem was her appendix, but despite the infection, it hadn’t ruptured yet, so that was good. Had it been a couple hours later, however, it might not have ended well. Surgery would take a while longer, and then she’d be moved to recovery.

The men thanked her and sat down to wait some more.

Four hours later, Harper was out of recovery and in a private room. The men gathered around her bed once they were allowed to visit her.

Doug felt a little jealous that her first pained, sleepy smile was for Tate. He swallowed that back.

Tate leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. “Hey there, sleepy. How you feeling?”

“Been better,” she whispered, but the faintest of smiles curled her lips. She turned her head to look at Doug. “Welcome home.”

He forced a smile and also leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Sorry it wasn’t under better circumstances, sweetie.”

Gorden stepped in, forcing Doug to move out of the way. “Hey, sweetheart. I’ve been trying to call your dad, but I think he’s on the boat.”

She nodded. “It’s okay. Don’t let him freak out too much when you talk to him.”

“I promise nothing. You know how he is.”

She offered up another weak smile. “Can I talk to Doug and Tate alone, please? Just for a couple of minutes.”

Gorden glared at the men and then nodded. “All right. I’ll be outside the door if you need me.”

When the three of them were alone, she looked at Tate, then Doug. “I guess he told you what happened.”

Doug stroked her hair. “Yeah.”

“I want you two to be happy.”

“We’ve got news for you,” Tate interrupted. “We’re changing the terms of the contract.”

“What?”

Doug nodded. “You’re getting a two-fer. We both love you, and neither of us is giving you up.”

She looked confused. “What?”

Tate took her hand in his. “If you think you’re getting rid of either of us, or of both of us, think again. The only way the two of us will leave you is if you order us gone.”

* * *

Maybe it was the aftereffects of the anesthesia. “What are you saying?” She couldn’t comprehend it.

“What we’re saying,” Doug said, “is that the three of us”—he pointed at Tate, her, and then himself—“are going to have a happily ever after together.”

“But what will people say?”

Tate snorted. “Since when has that ever factored in anything you’ve done? If you want, we can still go along, at least for now publicly, with the charade that it’s just Doug that’s your boyfriend.” He stroked her cheek. “At home, however, be prepared for your social calendar to be full. Because you are stuck with us.”

This couldn’t be happening. Sure, she’d fantasized about it, especially after all the erotica books she’d read and then falling for Tate, but she never dreamed it would be something they’d want to do, too. “You mean it?” she whispered.

Both men nodded. “Damn straight we mean it,” Doug said. “And we’ll show you exactly how much we mean it once you’re better and out of this hospital bed. You’ll be lucky if you can walk straight.”

She laughed, then moaned over the pain it caused. “Please don’t make me laugh.”

“Sorry,” he said. He gently squeezed her hand. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Tate. I just wanted to help my family. I didn’t do it trying to take advantage of you. I really do love you.” He looked at Tate. “And Tate. If you both still want me after all this, there’s no way in hell I’ll walk away from either of you ever again.”

Maybe it was the pain meds. Maybe it was the fact that, due to the surgery and the pain, she felt more alone and vulnerable than she ever had in her life.

Maybe she was just certifiably insane.

She nodded as she started crying.

The men gathered around her, trying to reassure and calm her. “It’s okay,” Tate softly said. “We’re here. You’ll never be alone again, baby.”

“Yeah,” Doug agreed. “We’ll take care of you. We promise.”

She was still crying and holding both of their hands when Gorden returned a few minutes later. When he saw her tears, he exploded. “What the hell have you two assholes said to her?”

He started toward the men, but Harper found the strength to sit up. “No, Gorden, it’s okay,” she reassured him even as she pulled the men’s hands more tightly to her. “I want them here. I love them.”

He pulled up short. “Them?”

She nodded. “Them,” she softly repeated.

“What the hell is going on?”

Tate brushed the hair away from her forehead. “It’s a long story, and I’m sure you’re not going to like parts of it, but rest assured, Doug and I promise we’re going to take good care of her.”