“Keeping it warm for you,” I said with a wide grin.
We took turns hugging June. The sight of her nose, which was swollen and taped up, filled me with unfathomable rage all over again. But knowing the suspect was in custody helped me relax.
“I’ll leave you all to it,” Frank said, and he and the other agent left.
“Hi, I’m Patricia.” My sister walked forward and hugged June. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Don’t believe any of it.” June chuckled, then winced and touched her nose. “Okay, nobody make me laugh. It hurts to laugh.”
“I’m going to leave all of you alone for now,” Patricia said. “But I want to get lunch before I leave town!”
“I’d love that,” June said with a smile.
My sister and the woman I cared about hugged once more. Something moved behind my ribs, like my heart was swelling with love.
And then the three of us were all alone with June.
“We all know,” I said to break the ice. “About each other, I mean. It’s all out in the open.”
“Oh.” June nervously glanced at each of us. “This wasn’t how I expected everyone to find out…”
“We all care for you,” Elias said. “This situation is not normal. It is complicated. Three men, one woman. Shared. And you are the trainer. We all work together. Very complicated. But it is not bad. I think it is good! I would like to see what happens. Explore this.” Elias moved his finger in a circle between the four of us. “If you wish to do so. But I very much do. And I believe Cole and Rhett also do.”
“Oh my God,” I said. “That was, like, a full goddamn paragraph from Elias the Silent Giant.”
June groaned in pain. “I said don’t make me laugh!”
“Shit. Sorry. I just never expected to hear him say so much at once.”
“You all talktoomuch,” Elias said with a disapproving scowl. “You should listen more, and speak less. That way when you speak, it carries weight.”
“Wise words,” Cole agreed. “Some of us could use that advice more than others.”
“He is speaking about you,” Elias told me.
“Thanks, I figured that out.” I gave him a patronizing smile. “But he’s right, June. Shit, he couldn’t have hit the nail on the head better.”
June looked at me with those wide, innocent eyes, and my heart absolutely melted.
“I’m falling for you, June,” I said. I hadn’t practiced this, but the words came easy. “Ever since we hooked up in this room, I’ve been falling for you. I lied to myself for a while, and told myself it was just physical. You’re hot, I’m hot, and we’re hot together.”
“Humble, too,” Cole muttered.
I stuck my middle finger in his face, but kept my eyes locked onto June. “Elias was right. I want to see where this goes. Even if it means sharing you with him and our asshole Canadian captain.”
She smiled at me, and my heart melted all over again.
Cole stepped forward, bracing June by the shoulders. “I’m sorry we had a fight. The amount of stress I’ve been under, and all the pressure of the season… I’ve got a lot of excuses, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m sorry for taking it out on you. I hope you can forgive me. That’s all I wanted to say.”
He stepped back to give June some space. For a few moments, she looked at a loss for words as she glanced between the three of us.
“This is overwhelming,” she finally said. “And not just because I might have a mild concussion.”
“If you want to think on it…” Cole suggested.
I hated that idea. I didn’t want her to think on it. I wanted to hear what June had to sayright fucking now, because I would die if I had to wait any longer before knowing how she felt.
Once you’ve poured your heart out to someone, you were vulnerable in a way that was impossible to stand.
