The Sextet Presents… Turn Another Paige [A Toy Story] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

Mike pushed away from the bar and gestured for her to follow. “Then let us show you something that will help you understand.”

On the second floor, a side door led to a staircase. She followed Mike up the stairs as Jude followed behind. Another door at the top opened with a key, and Mike walked inside. “Welcome home, Paige.”

She’d stepped into an apartment. The living room already held the guys’ furniture. “Home? You guys moved in here?”

“Moved in yesterday,” Mike replied.

“The condo comes with the building,” Jude said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

“No more rent,” Mike said. “And it’ll sure cut down on the commute to have work right downstairs.”

She shook her head in disbelief. This wasn’t happening. This answer to her prayers couldn’t be happening.

“You really bought this place?” She might sound like a blithering idiot, but she simply couldn’t comprehend what had possessed her guys to buy a restaurant with an attached living space. How could they possibly afford it?

“We bought it for you,” Mike replied. “Well, for
us
, too. Look, I know the condo’s not much to look at now. It’s a little run down, but once we have the restaurant up and running, we can put some money into fixing it up as nice as you’d like.”

Jude nodded. “That way it’ll be the way you want it. You can pick paints and cabinets and countertops and stuff. It’s a nice place. Plenty of room. Just needs some elbow grease.”

“This is what I’ve always wanted,” Mike said. “A restaurant of my own.

“I know that,” she replied, trying not to snap at him. “You said
some
day, not
to
day.”

“If I had to do it myself, it would be someday,” he said.

“But with my assistance, it’s today,” Jude added.

Paige set her purse down and took a seat on the couch. “How could you two afford this?”

The guys sat on either side of her, each holding one of her hands.

“We invested our retirement savings,” Jude replied.

“We had more than enough for a good down payment, and the renovation money’s rolled into the mortgage.” Mike squeezed her hand.

She gave her head a small shake. “I still don’t get it.”

Jude stroked her palm with his thumb. “We’ve been splitting living costs for years, Paige. Do you know how much an RN makes when he works as much as I do? Not like I spend money on much else. I just kept socking it away. I had a nice nest egg to use.”

“Put that together with my savings and my stock from Glad You’re Here,” Mike added, “and we had enough.”

Dropping her gaze to her lap, she nibbled on her bottom lip, fearing for a moment that she was still an unnecessary third wheel. She had nothing to offer them. Her savings was next to nothing, and she couldn’t offer much to aid them in this scary new venture.

A restaurant.
Mike and Jude were opening a restaurant. She had a hard time wrapping her mind around that idea.

She finally found the courage to pose her question. “Where do I fit into all this?”

“You have incredible decorating taste,” Mike replied. “I want you to help direct the renovations. And when the place opens, I need you to hire and manage the personnel. You’ll be behind the bar a lot too—looks great when an owner serves customers. You’ll be our manager.”

“You’re a manager. I’m just a bartender.”

“A damn good one, but you’re also great with people,” he said. “I’ll handle the business side—ordering food, handling schedules. I need you to help me pick out our team and keep them happy. You’ll train the hostesses, waitresses, and bartenders.”

“
We
need you,” Jude said. “We wouldn’t have taken this step without you as the inspiration.”

“But I didn’t even know about it,” Paige insisted.

Mike nudged her face toward him. His smile made her heart melt. “We love you, Paige. When you finally opened up and let us in, I knew it was time for us to dream this dream together.”

Jude moved to kneel in front of her. “We want this to be
our
dream—all three of us. We’ll have something that belongs to us and us alone that we can share.”

“We’d both marry you if we could,” Mike added. “We’ll just have to show our commitment this way—by sharing our dream and our lives.”

Tears pooled in her eyes. “But we’re not sharing it. I’m not helping financially at all.”

“Think of it as sweat equity,” Mike said, using his thumb to brush away a tear on her cheek. “Trust me, I’ll work you to death. You’ll more than make up for your third of the down payment.”

“And we can add your name to the papers officially if that’s what you want,” Jude said.

Her heart was near to bursting.

“Do you like it?” Mike asked.

“Like it? I
love
it.” She fought more tears. “And I love you.
Both
of you.”

Jude gave her a decisive nod. “Then it’s settled. You and Mike will get this place open, and we’ll make tons of money.”

Mike’s smile was brilliant. “I can finally run my own restaurant with the best bartender in Minnesota.”

Paige cupped Jude’s face in her palms and gave him a kiss. Then she brushed her lips over Mike’s. “And we can all live happily ever after.”

THE END

ELIZABETHRAINES.COM

Elizabeth Raines makes her home in Indiana. A fan of all genres of fiction, she enjoys blending her love of science fiction with romance in the books she writes exclusively for Siren Publishing. Her favorite movies are 
Pride and Prejudice
 and 
Love, Actually
, and she spends far too much time watching shows like 
The Tudors
 and 
Mad Men
. Elizabeth has been happily married for almost thirty years and tries to express that kind of enduring love in all her stories, hoping to help all her heroes and heroines have their own happily ever afters. You can reach Elizabeth at
http://www.elizabethraines.com/
or
http://www.thesextet.com/

For all titles by Elizabeth Raines, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/elizabeth-raines

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com