Witless (Lonely Souls #3) - Autumn Reed Page 0,114
I just wished I’d figured that out sooner.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Like you and your brothers did.”
“Thanks to Thea,” I said automatically. I had no doubt that, without her, we would still be flailing. Or worse. Tristin would probably be hiding in Alaska, Hayle would be chasing success in the business world, and I would be lonely and miserable in the NFL.
Dad shot me a grin. “So, really, you have me to thank for your happiness. After all, I was the one who brought Thea back to you.”
I shook my head but couldn’t resist smiling back. “For the record, thank you for bringing Thea back. Not so much all the stuff that happened after.”
“Fair enough.”
After walking over to give Amber another kiss and a promise that I would play with her later, I went in search of my brothers. Hayle was just finishing up his tour, and I caught his arm before he could get drawn into another task.
“How’s it going?” I asked.
He smiled, even displaying his teeth, which was a sure sign that it was going well. “Great. I can’t believe how many people have already shown up. Thea is going to be over the moon.”
“Speaking of…do you think now would be a good time for the surprise?”
His smile grew even bigger. “I don’t see why not.”
We detoured to steal Tristin away from a game of basketball and then made our way to Thea. She was still manning the front counter, handing out flyers and answering questions. But there was plenty of other staff milling about that could take over.
When she was finished speaking to an older woman with a child that was likely her granddaughter, Tristin snuck up behind her and lured her into her office, where Hayle and I were waiting.
She grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and held it to her flushed face as she looked between the three of us. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
I reached for her free hand and tugged her fully into the room, so I could shut the door behind us. Though there was a window into the main office, we’d have a little privacy this way.
“Nothing is wrong.” I pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “We just wanted to ask you something.”
She quirked an eyebrow as she set her water on the desk. “Oh?”
“Yep,” I said confidently, though my insides were trembling. I couldn’t even explain why I was nervous. She was already ours, and we were hers. But this moment was still important, for all four of us.
Tristin slapped a hand on my back, which I had to assume was meant to be encouraging. If nothing else, it snapped me out of my distracted thoughts, and I cleared my throat to speak my rehearsed lines.
“Thea, as you know, you mean everything to us. Before you, I was spineless.”
“And I was heartless,” Tristin added solemnly.
“And I was witless,” Hayle said with a grim smile as Thea released a soft laugh. “But you changed all of that. You helped us find our courage and love and good sense.”
I reached for her hand, needing her touch while I spoke my next lines. “More than that, you helped us rediscover our brotherhood. We were drifting through life, not even realizing how lonely we were on our own. With you, we’re complete.”
She wiped a tear away, and I could have sworn a few tears of my own burned my eyes.
Tristin took her other hand. “You’re already ours and always will be. We may not be able to make our relationship legal, but that doesn’t make it any less official. Or real.”
On cue, I pulled the small velvet bag from my pocket and passed it to Hayle. It wasn’t a traditional engagement ring, because we weren’t a traditional couple…er, quadruple. If that was even a thing.
Instead, it was made up of three thin platinum bands that were soldered together to create one thicker band. One had an inset of tiny garnets to represent me, yellow diamonds for Hayle’s band, and emeralds for Tristin’s. We would have happily bought her the biggest rock we could find. But this was Thea, and she wouldn’t have wanted that.
Hayle took a step forward, holding the ring between his fingertips. “Still, we want to show the world you’re ours.” He raised it to hover over the third finger on her left hand. “If you’ll accept our ring.”
I held my breath, my heart pounding, while we waited for our girl to respond. This was one of those pivotal moments in a man’s life, and my anxiety wasn’t only for myself. It was for Tristin and Hayle as well.
Her eyes glued to the ring, Thea whispered, “Like a rainbow.” And, when she lifted her head, those gorgeous eyes were full of tears and unconditional love.
“Yes.”
Thank you for reading!
If you haven’t gotten quite enough of Thea and the Sharpe brothers, don’t despair. They’ll be showing up again in Extra Credit, a contemporary reverse harem loosely inspired by the Rapunzel fairy tale.
Extra Credit—a full-length standalone featuring Violet, Jude, Tobias, and Lincoln—is currently available for pre-order.
A Note from Autumn
Thank you so much for reading the Lonely Souls series. If you enjoyed Witless, I would truly appreciate it if you would share your thoughts by posting a review.
To learn more about me and my future projects, please visit my website or contact me at [email protected].
Also, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes details, and information about upcoming releases!
Autumn
Acknowledgments
To Amanda Rose: Thank you for designing the most exquisite covers for this entire series.
To Ripley: You’re simply the best.
To Jem, Jennifer, Jennifer, and Meghan—thank you for your help polishing this book.
To L. Frank Baum: Thank you for inspiring this series by creating a story and characters that we’re still enthralled with over a century later.
Also by Autumn Reed
Extra Credit
Scarlett XOXO
Stolen Song
The Collectors
Series Box Set
Touch of Regret
Touch of Wrath
Touch of Promise
Touch of Fate
Risking It
Raising the Stakes
Playing to Win
Defying the Odds
The Stardust Series
Series Box Set
Phoenix
Draco
Pyxis
Chamaeleon
Vega
Polaris
About the Author
Autumn is a lifelong bookworm with a penchant for sarcasm. She loves cloudy days, fluffy dogs, and murdering succulents. When she isn't bringing daydreams to life on the page, she can be found behind the lens of a digital camera or binge-watching Veronica Mars.
To read more about Autumn Reed, visit www.autumnreed.com.