“Aloha and Merry Christmas.” She kissed them both and invited them inside.
“Merry Christmas,” Ben said. “You look beautiful.”
“Gorgeous as always, Tori,” Alex said. “We’ll be proud to have you by our side today.”
“Thank you. Both of you.” She was going to miss being with them.
Blinking back the stupid tears that for some reason decided to well in her eyes, she smiled at them. “I have gifts for you.”
Ben arched a brow. “Gifts, huh?”
“Yes. Hang on a second.”
She went into her bedroom and brought out the gift bags. “They’re silly little things, really. Nothing much.”
They sat on the sofa with their bags. Inside each of the bags was a New York T-shirt, something one would get in the tourist section of her city.
Thank God for her assistant and express shipping.
They both laughed.
“Hey, you have to have something to remind you of me.”
“Thanks,” Ben said. “This is perfect.”
“I love it,” Alex said.
Then they both pulled out watches. Separate and distinct, Alex’s had a leather band and Ben’s was chrome.
“They’re world-time watches, so you can set them for whatever time zone you’re in, and also for New York. So you’ll always know my time. A small way to remember me.”
Alex came over and kneeled in front of her, pressing a kiss to both her knees. “It’s perfect. Like you. Thank you.”
Ben had already put his on. He came over and brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her. “I love this. I . . . thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If it hasn’t become apparent, I’m having a difficult time thinking about leaving both of you.”
Ben looked over at Alex, who nodded. “Alex and I are having the same problem. Actually, there’s something we both want to say to you. We wanted to wait until after Christmas, but maybe now is the right time.”
“Okay.” Her heart started pumping fast. She had no idea what was coming, but she took a deep breath.
Alex got up and sat next to her. He picked up her hand. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Tori. You’re the first person I want to see when I wake up in the morning.”
“And I want you in my bed every night,” Ben said. “You’re smart, beautiful, and I love making love to you. More importantly, you make me feel things I haven’t felt in a very long time. I’m in love with you, Victoria.”
Alex squeezed her hand. “I’m in love with you, too. When I get out of the water, you’re the face I look for in the crowd. You’re the one I want cheering me on.”
She couldn’t breathe. She hadn’t expected this. “You both love me?”
Alex smiled at her. “Yes. We do.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. She needed them to be sure.
“Of course we’re sure,” Alex said. “I’m sure. I don’t take this lightly, babe. Love is a big goddamn deal.”
“I was in love once,” Ben said. “A long time ago. It kicked my ass, so trust me, I know what it feels like. It’s painful as hell and the best damn thing in the world, both at the same time.”
Ben had nailed it. That’s exactly what it felt like.
Her heart was racing so fast she felt dizzy. “I’m in love with both of you. At first I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, how could I love two men? How could I love both of you? It happened so fast and I’ve been overanalyzing it to death over the past few days. But it’s there and it won’t go away and I don’t want it to. So here’s the fact. I love you both and there’s no explaining it. I don’t want to analyze it.”
She turned to Alex. “I love you, Alex.”
“I love you, Tori.” He kissed her, and she felt passion and love in his kiss.
Then she turned to Ben. “I love you, Ben.”
Ben cupped her face. “I love you, too, Victoria.”
He brushed his lips across hers, and her heart ached with the tenderness of his kiss.
This time, she didn’t try to hold back the tears that welled in her eyes. She let them fall down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I’m not normally the emotional type.”
“Be as emotional as you need to be,” Ben said. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen to us every day, either.”
She leaned back on the sofa and squeezed their hands. “The question is, now that we’re all in love, what the hell do we do about it? You two travel all the time. So do I. And we’ll never see each other.”
“We’ll make it work, Tori,” Alex said. “We get time off. We’re not constantly at surf events. And when we’re not, no matter where you are, we’ll come find you so we can all be together. Or if Ben’s busy and I’m available, I’ll see you. And if I’m not available but Ben is, he can see you.”
“Like Alex said, we’ll figure it out. If we want something badly enough, we’ll move mountains—or oceans—to make it work. And we want this. We all want this.”
She heaved a sigh. “Oh, God. Could we really? Would you really do that for me?”