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Authors: Lizzie Lynn Lee
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actually the victim? You’re vulnerable and hurt and you’ve been mistreated by your ex for years, and naturally, when some man is kind to you and whispers a few nice words, you’ll eventually fall for it. Think about it. You’re Red Riding Hood living with three big bad wolves. No matter how much the wolves promise to behave themselves, Simone, you’re a temptation. A guy must be a saint to be able to leave you alone. Just so you know, I ain’t no saint either.”
I was stunned by his revelation. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“To be honest, I’ve seen this coming since you came back to Bellwood. I thought it was going to be far worse, like coming home to find Jamie with a hatchet in his head or Nate lying on the floor with a shotgun hole in him.” Luke laughed. “Ah, those two yahoos handled it better than I thought.” He paused to drink the water that came with the sundae. “The three of us talked this thing through and—”
“By talking, you mean fist-fighting?” I interjected.
“Ah. No. The talk came after the punches. That’s irrelevant anyhow. We feel things between the three of us won’t go well if we don’t compromise. One thing we know for sure, now that you’re available, is that we’re not going to back down pursuing you until you end up with one of us. Which leads me to this—”
“It was a mistake that—”
Luke held up a hand. “Can I finish my pitch here?”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Have you heard of the term ‘polyandry’?”
I stared at him blankly.
“It’s basically a reverse polygamy. In polygamy you have one husband with multiple wives, while in polyandry, you got one wife with mul—”
I stopped him from talking. “I get the gist. I won’t do it. It’s crazy.”
Luke leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Simone, please, try to be open-minded. I’m a traditional guy through and through and—”
“Luke, it’s wrong.”
He straightened his back against the vinyl upholstery of the booth, ran both hands through his hair and exhaled deeply.
I could see this wasn’t easy for him either.
“Simone, I don’t think you have any idea the impact on us when you decided to elope with Sam. Even dad was taking it hard. We were so used to have you there for us and suddenly not, to be honest, we felt abandoned. I was angry at you for a long time.
“I mean, how could you do that to us? Just leave without a goodbye? Many times we wondered if we did something terribly wrong that made you want to leave us…”
“You know that wasn’t not the case,” I interjected.
“Now. But back then…” Luke sighed hard. “We were just kids. We didn’t know any better. I carried that anger with me for a long time. Hell, it’s probably one of the reasons I acted up when I was a teenager. After mom died, you’re the one who kept our little family together, and when you left, I was like a loose cannon. I was into so much trouble, Dad was convinced I’d ended up in prison.
“One day, I was arrested for vandalism and the judge gave me an ultimatum: go to jail or serve in the military. I chose the latter. Before I knew it, I was shipped to a warzone.
“And it was…hard. My unit was part of the ground troops deployed in Fallujah. I saw my friends die. I witnessed people doing things there that would’ve earned them life in prison in here. It was hell out there—hell on earth. It poisoned everyone, and ones who couldn’t cope, it drove them crazy.
“The only thing that kept me sane was you. Or should I say, it was the memory of you. I pretended that when I’d get home, you’d be there and everything would be okay.”
I was shocked to hear his revelation. I didn’t know how deep Luke felt about me.
“My brothers,” he started. A pause. “They felt the same way about you. There’s no one who could replace you in our heart. Probably one of the reasons, our personal relationships failed miserably. We still hung on to the notion that one day
I was stunned by his revelation. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“To be honest, I’ve seen this coming since you came back to Bellwood. I thought it was going to be far worse, like coming home to find Jamie with a hatchet in his head or Nate lying on the floor with a shotgun hole in him.” Luke laughed. “Ah, those two yahoos handled it better than I thought.” He paused to drink the water that came with the sundae. “The three of us talked this thing through and—”
“By talking, you mean fist-fighting?” I interjected.
“Ah. No. The talk came after the punches. That’s irrelevant anyhow. We feel things between the three of us won’t go well if we don’t compromise. One thing we know for sure, now that you’re available, is that we’re not going to back down pursuing you until you end up with one of us. Which leads me to this—”
“It was a mistake that—”
Luke held up a hand. “Can I finish my pitch here?”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Have you heard of the term ‘polyandry’?”
I stared at him blankly.
“It’s basically a reverse polygamy. In polygamy you have one husband with multiple wives, while in polyandry, you got one wife with mul—”
I stopped him from talking. “I get the gist. I won’t do it. It’s crazy.”
Luke leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Simone, please, try to be open-minded. I’m a traditional guy through and through and—”
“Luke, it’s wrong.”
He straightened his back against the vinyl upholstery of the booth, ran both hands through his hair and exhaled deeply.
I could see this wasn’t easy for him either.
“Simone, I don’t think you have any idea the impact on us when you decided to elope with Sam. Even dad was taking it hard. We were so used to have you there for us and suddenly not, to be honest, we felt abandoned. I was angry at you for a long time.
“I mean, how could you do that to us? Just leave without a goodbye? Many times we wondered if we did something terribly wrong that made you want to leave us…”
“You know that wasn’t not the case,” I interjected.
“Now. But back then…” Luke sighed hard. “We were just kids. We didn’t know any better. I carried that anger with me for a long time. Hell, it’s probably one of the reasons I acted up when I was a teenager. After mom died, you’re the one who kept our little family together, and when you left, I was like a loose cannon. I was into so much trouble, Dad was convinced I’d ended up in prison.
“One day, I was arrested for vandalism and the judge gave me an ultimatum: go to jail or serve in the military. I chose the latter. Before I knew it, I was shipped to a warzone.
“And it was…hard. My unit was part of the ground troops deployed in Fallujah. I saw my friends die. I witnessed people doing things there that would’ve earned them life in prison in here. It was hell out there—hell on earth. It poisoned everyone, and ones who couldn’t cope, it drove them crazy.
“The only thing that kept me sane was you. Or should I say, it was the memory of you. I pretended that when I’d get home, you’d be there and everything would be okay.”
I was shocked to hear his revelation. I didn’t know how deep Luke felt about me.
“My brothers,” he started. A pause. “They felt the same way about you. There’s no one who could replace you in our heart. Probably one of the reasons, our personal relationships failed miserably. We still hung on to the notion that one day
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