We’re friends.
Friends with very fun benefits.
“You guys have to talk to him,” I finally say. “Convince him that he’s mixed up. Grayson probably hasn’t had a friendship with a woman before. He’s getting mixed up in feeling things for me other than passion, but he just defaults to thinking that’s love or something."
But James is shaking his head. “We’re not gonna talk him out of being in love with you, Caroline."
I frown at him. “Why not? He’s ruining everything. We have such a great thing going. The sex is amazing. But we’re also having such a good time. And he needs us. He’s settling in so well to being a dad, but he needs our friendship. He needs our support. It’s more than just sex."
James sighs. “It is. That’s what he just told you."
I shake my head, frustrated. “No. There’s a lot between lust and love."
“Of course there is. But in this case, Grayson knows exactly how he feels."
“You actually think he’s in love with me?” I demand.
James stretches up from where he’s sitting and takes a few steps until he’s standing in front of me. The look in his eyes is intense.
“Yes, I think he’s in love with you. In fact, I have absolutely no trouble believing that at all.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“I am certain Grayson is in love with you because I’m also in love with you. Caroline, what we’re doing is so much bigger. I know it started out as one thing, but it’s turned into more.”
I feel tears welling up again. My gaze moves from James to Cas.
James’s husband doesn’t seem shocked or upset by James’s sudden declaration to me.
“Cas?” I ask. I need him to make sense of this.
He lifts a shoulder. “It all turned into love, Caroline. None of us expected it. None of us planned it. But James has been in love with you for years. The chance to have you back in his life, back inourlives, has been amazing. Our foursome has been amazing.’
My eyes go back to James’s. “Why didn’t you say anything? This complicates everything.”
“That’s precisely why I didn’t say anything. I wanted every second with you I could get.”
“I’m leaving,” I say. Dammit, these men are making this unnecessarily hard.
“I know. We all know. We would never try to talk you out of that. If you want to stay, we want you. I think our foursome could be amazing. I think this could be a long-term thing. Something all four of us actually really need. But none of us are going to beg you to stay. You just need to know what you can have if you do.”
I look at Cas again. “This is crazy."
He shakes his head. "It makes a ton of sense. You’re amazing, we’re all amazing, we work together better than any of us could’ve ever imagined. If you stay, the four of us can be something special. But, like James said, we wouldn’t ask you to give up your dreams. If your job is still your dream, then you have to go. But if your dream has changed, you need to know what else there is."
I shake my head and step back from James, unable to think clearly when I’m so close to him. “So what about us? The three of us started out without Grayson. We can’t just keep going for the last two weeks I’m here?"
James smiles at me sadly. “Is that really what you want?"
I think about stepping up to him, grabbing him, and kissing him.
But I can’t.
I just stand staring at him.
It’s Cas that finally says, “We’re a foursome now. If one of us is missing, we don’t work."
“Do you really feel that way?" It’s strange to me that these men have fallen so completely into the idea of including another man in this thing that started out well between the three of us.
