Rules Of Our Own (Rule Breaker Series Book 3)

BOTH GUYS ARE LOOKING at me with eager eyes, like they’re honestly interested in what I’m doing. Not once had Jason cared about any of this, and here they are acting like it’s no big deal to want to help. I ignore the slight stinging in the back of my eyes. If I pay attention to it too much, I may start crying, and how mortifying would that be?

“Really?” I ask them. We’ve moved into the living area, Alex taking the spot next to me on the couch, and River’s sitting cross-legged on the floor, flicking through my notes.

Alex lays his head in my lap and smiles up at me. “Really, really, Kitten.” He tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “Show us what that smart brain of yours is working on.”

“Alright…hmmm… Okay. So Misty told you about the concept, but now I’m trying to figure out how to raise money off of it. It’s one thing to get something to trend; it’s a whole other to get people to give up their hard-earned money.”

“So what’s your plan?” Alex’s fingers trail over my jaw, and I fight back a shiver.

“I’m going to make them feel good about it. I’m going to make it so that when they donate, they get to brag about it. People like to show off when they’ve done something good.”

River looks up from the pages in his hands. “How are you going to do that?”

“Well, first, there’s the challenge itself. You’ve got to state your donation before you can challenge the next person. So bragging rights and all that, but I want to go further than that, and that’s how we got…” I gesture over my mess with both hands. “…here. I thought, well, maybe we could offer different tiers? Like if you donate this much, you’ve sponsored one prosthetic, or a different tier could be sponsoring a kid through certain ages. I don’t know. It’s just an idea.”

“You’re fucking brilliant, Kitten.”

I shrug and can feel my cheeks growing hot. “It’s not like I’m coming up with anything new. I’m just trying to rework it a bit.”

River leans forward so his elbows are on his knees, and his forearms are loose between his legs. He’s done that thing I love, where he rolls up his sleeves, and I have to force myself to breathe.

“Mia, you’re smart, and unique, and determined. Don’t for a second doubt it. You’ve done so much already, and now it’s just that last push. We’re all here to help, but don’t forget you’re the one making this happen.”

I can’t stop my eyes from burning this time, and I blink back the tears. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we try something else.” River says it so simply, in his perfectly confident tone, that I can’t help but believe him. It’s like a massive weight lifted from my shoulder.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that, Kitten. Now, what sticky note should we start with first?”

I take a deep breath. “The thing that’s causing me the most problems right now is I can’t afford a web designer, and for any of this to work, I’m going to need a working website. I was thinking about using Kickstarter, but I checked it out, and it’s not quite right. Unfortunately, the few YouTube videos I’ve watched haven’t magically made me into a coder.”

River grabs the bright yellow sticky note. “I’ll handle that.”

“What do you mean you’ll handle it?” I gasp.

“Exactly what I said. I’ll get it done. What’s next?”

I sit silently for several seconds, realizing just how much I needed someone to take some of this load off of me. To not ask me a bunch of questions on how they were going to do it, but to just wave a magic wand and get it done. A smile curves my lips as I picture River holding a fairy wand, waving my problems away.

Alex winds my hair around his finger. “What’s next?”

“Well, Misty’s going to help me set up an event, but I need someone to host it. Someone who’s not afraid to talk on camera and who’s charismatic.”

“Kitten, you could’ve just asked. You didn’t need to go through the trouble of describing me.”

My mouth falls open. The audacity. “You’re too cocky for your own good.”

“I don’t remember you complaining about me being cocky before.”

“Come to think of it, it could’ve been bigger—” I squeal as his fingers dig into my sides, sending ticklish shivers through me. “Stop. Stop!”

“Not until you take it back.”

I’m gasping for breath between my laughs. “I take it back.”

Sometime during his torture session, he’d positioned himself over me on the couch. He lowers down until his mouth is so close to mine I can feel each breath before he reaches for the floor, pulls up the pink sticky, and sits back. “This one’s mine.”

I roll over, wiping the drool from my mouth, and blink open my eyes. I’m in my room, safely tucked under the covers. I have fuzzy memories of being lifted into strong arms and gentle lips on my forehead. I close my eyes, trying to relive that moment, but it’s gone, like a dream you can’t remember.

I grab my phone, scrolling through social media for a few minutes before pulling myself out of bed to face the day.

The sun is illuminating the apartment in bright, warm tones that wash away the shadows. It’s nine, so I still have five hours before I have to meet Gerard, and the nerves are already settling in.

There’s a plate covered in tinfoil on the counter with a sweet scent wafting off it. I slowly roll back the foil and uncover blueberry pancakes.

There’s a note beside it.

I know you plan on skipping breakfast, but I want you to eat every last bite. Can you do that for me, Mia?

-River

P.S. Syrup and whipped cream are in the fridge

Heat pools in my lower stomach, and I cough, my throat suddenly dry, even as my mouth waters. What is that man doing to me?

I make my way around the island and open the steel double doors. Syrup and whipped cream aren’t the only things in there. There’s also cut-up melon and strawberries. It’s starting to become abundantly clear that River has a thing about feeding me.

I toss a few strawberries over my pancakes, then drench them in maple syrup and moan when the sweet goodness hits my tongue.

My eyes roll back as I take another bite, and I imagine the two of them making these this morning. There’s something extra sweet, knowing they must have done it at River’s to not wake me up.

Warmth fills my chest, and my breath comes out tight. I don’t need a single second more to know I need the two of them. To know that, whatever it is between us, we have to try. I’m done being scared because the idea of not trying is too hard to bear. I just need to get through this meeting, and then I’ll tell them. It might blow up in my face, but so be it. They’re worth it. Even if it’s just a few more moments basking in their attention, I’ll take it.

Because no matter how much I want to deny it, I’m in love with them.