“You hear that, Prez? She thinks we’re attractive,” Doc says to Cole with a schoolboy grin, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
Before I can think of some sort of witty retort so I don’t come across as a total idiot, Cole answers my question seriously. “We’re single. All of us.”
Cole says this so pointedly, I can only assume he means Rex is, too. So he must have gotten divorced after all. I hope it wasn’t because of me. Maybe that’s why he seems to be so mad at me. Does he blame me for his marriage failing? It’s utterly ridiculous if he does.
“Do you mind if I ask why?”
“Are you wondering what terrible failings we have before applying for the position yourself?” Doc teases, making me blush. “Cole here is a terrible control freak, Judge has PTSD, Rex is a grump—though you already know all about that, and there’s nothing wrong with me. Perhaps the problem is that I’m too perfect. I think maybe I’m too good in bed, the ladies can’t handle it,” he jokes with a wink.
“Or perhaps it’s that you never take anything seriously,” Cole quips dryly.
“Well, we need some comic relief from all you serious and somber bores,” Doc retorts, flashing his perfectly straight white teeth.
Cole grabs a grape from the fruit bowl on the table and chucks it at Doc’s head. Doc catches it in his mouth and chews ittriumphantly. Mia is thrilled by this amazing trick and laughs in delight. “Again!”
The men oblige her, throwing several grapes into Doc’s mouth in ever-challenging ways until he’s halfway across the room. “No more, I’m gonna become a grape if I eat any more,” Doc declares dramatically, making Mia giggle.
“You’re good with her,” I tell him.
“I like kids. It’s the main downfall of having never met the right woman. I worry that it’s getting too late for me and I won’t be able to have children of my own someday,” Doc admits.
“Never say never. Children seem to have a knack for coming into your life when you least expect them. Mia certainly did for me,” I reply.
“Perhaps,” he replies with a soft, thoughtful smile.
With our plates empty, I begin clearing the table. “I’ll wash up. Would you mind keeping an eye on Mia for a bit?” I ask him, already feeling comfortable around Doc more so than the others.
Cole has been kind, but he’s such a big, intimidating presence that it’s hard to relax around him. Judge’s silent stealth makes me nervous, and I feel uncomfortable around Rex—for obvious reasons.
“Sure, can I take her outside? There’s a swing in the big tree in the yard.”
“She’d love that. She’ll need help putting her shoes on.”
Mia happily trots off with her new friend, and I’m relieved to see that she seems to be unperturbed by the strangeness of our situation and bouncing back from last night in the way only a child can.
With Doc gone, I feel suddenly acutely aware of Cole’s presence. I feel flustered, and I busy myself with the washing up so I don’t have to talk to him or look into his intense gaze.
As I’m washing up, I hear him get up from his chair and come to stand closer to me. The hair on the back of my arms stand up. He’s not touching me, but it almost feels as if he were. My whole body is on high alert as I try to pretend his presence isn’t making me react strangely. I don’t allow myself to think about the fact that the last person whose presence made me react this strongly was Rex. That’s a whole can of worms I don’t need to open.
“Do you want to know the real reason the four of us are still single?” he purrs. I swear I feel his breath on the back of my neck, though he can’t be close enough for that to be true.
“Sure,” I reply, trying to keep my voice casual.
“Because we like to share, and we’ve never found a woman who can handle all four of us.”
Dear god.
I almost drop the plate I’m washing. His words have an immediate effect on me as I find myself asking myself what that would be like—being with all four of them?
How would that even work? Do they also hook up? Surely not, none of them seems that way inclined. And surely, it’s just a sex thing, would they really want a relationship with just one woman and four men? How would that work? Is that even a thing?
My pussy twitches at the thought. I’m excited more than I thought I would be. The idea is so taboo, so wrong.
Yet why am I intrigued?
Almost as if he knows the effect he’s had on me, Cole doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t move. He just lets me process the information before he turns and walks away. Leaving me flustered and confused. Did he tell me that because he’s interested in me sexually? Does he want them to share me? Surely not.
More importantly, why am I hoping that he does?
