Tequila Truth by Mari Carr

girl and if they had to spend a lifetime convincing her of that fact, then so be it.
    “Fine, the deal’s off.” He answered calmly, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite.
    “I know that, Baretta. Geez. Is that all you wanted to say?”
    “Yep,” He continued digging into his sandwich and sensed Heath giving him the evil eye.
    “I don’t think you understand what Colt’s saying, Red.”
    She looked at Heath waiting for him to explain.
    “When he says the deal is off, he means the time-limit part.”
    “Time’s up. I know.”
    “Dammit, Colt, would you stop stuffing your face and hop in here?”
    He grinned at Heath’s discomfort. “Way I see it, Heath, Kylie’s right. There’s nothing to discuss. We’ve been roommates for years and I don’t see that ending in the foreseeable future.”
    He turned to face her. “We love you, darlin’, and we plan to extend this weekend of fantasies to a lifetime engagement. No, scratch that engagement bit, a lifetime marriage.”
    “Marriage?” Kylie’s face was so cute in her confusion he couldn’t resist the urge to lean across the table and kiss her wrinkled-up nose.
    “Marriage. You, me and Heath. Forever and ever, amen.”
    Heath groaned at his nonchalant attitude. “Well, that’s certainly the worst proposal I’ve ever heard. I’m embarrassed my name was even linked to it.”
    “You’re proposing?” Her face was still a mixture of utter shock and complete bewilderment.
    “Yep. And darlin’, I want you to think long and hard before you answer. I can see those wheels in your brain churning and I’m pretty sure you’re thinking about laying into us. Telling us we’re crazy and that it will never work and a whole bunch of other nonsense. Trust me, we’ve thought about all that and there’s nothing you can say that will change the fact that you’re our girl and we aim to keep you with us forever.”
    Her mouth remained tightly closed as she studied his impassive face. She must have read his determination as she turned to Heath, no doubt expecting him to offer her some semblance of sanity.
    “Heath,” she started, but Heath cut her off.
    “He’s right, Kylie. We belong together. We’ve been fools not to see it long before this. I think if you look deep inside, you’ll see it’s true. Hell, Red, we’ve learned to do the hard part. Living together, dealing with each other’s quirks. Colt and I know better than to try and discuss anything serious with you before you’ve had your first cup of coffee. You and I know not to say a damn word to Colt the day after the Toronto Maple Leafs lose a game. You and Colt respect my privacy when I’m buried in drawing plans for a new project.”
    “Think about it, darlin’. We’ve already divvied up all the jobs. You do the shopping, I take care of the yard, Heath fixes all the things that break. We share the cooking and cleaning chores. Everything newlyweds fight about after the honeymoon won’t exist for us.”
    “Colt, you’re a cop. I’m fairly certain you realize what you are proposing is illegal. As in bigamy.”
    He laughed. “You don’t legally marry us both. Just one of us. Then the three of us make our own private vows.”
    “Fine,” she leaned back and gave him a smug look as if expecting her next question to jar some sense into them. “Who am I going to legally marry?”
    He grinned at her transparency. Obviously, she thought this was going to be a sticking point. “We’ll arm wrestle to decide that.”
    Heath laughed at the suggestion. “Good call. I was wondering about that myself.”
    “Actually,” he crooked his thumb at Heath. “You’ll marry Heath. He’s got the job which requires a bit of propriety. You’ll be the future architect partner’s wife.”
    “Colt,” Heath frowned at his answer, but he was convinced by the practicality of it.
    “I’m a cop, Heath. Given the bizarre nature of most of the criminals we have to deal with, none of my friends there will care