Her gaze fell to our clasped hands, as if she wasn’t quite sure how they’d ended up there. “Remember what?”
“Why I fell in love with you in the first place.”
She stared at me, her throat working as she swallowed.
“Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?” I asked, hardly daring to hope.
“I forgave you a long time ago. Holding a grudge wouldn’t have helped anyone, and besides,” her mouth twitched up and mischief sparkled in her eyes, “I grew to understand the appeal as I got older.”
Tilting my head to one side, I tried to keep my breathing under control. “The appeal?”
“Yeah.” Her cheeks burned and her voice wavered, but she didn’t back down. “I’ve never tried it myself but, the idea of having three people in the bed, all that bare skin and so many wandering hands.” She lifted a shoulder in concession. “I’m not immune to the fantasy.”
“It helps if you have the right people,” I added, biting down on my bottom lip to keep from grinning like a lunatic. “If you fit together in all the right ways.”
We’d moved closer as we talked, closer than we’d been in years. Heat gathered where her palm pressed tight to mine, and my other hand found its way to her hip. My gaze lowered to her parted lips. It had been a lifetime since I kissed her, and my mouth ached to relearn her taste. I lowered my head a fraction.
She stiffened, took a step back.
With a sigh, I let go of her hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
“Yes, you do.” She glanced up at the door to her apartment. He was up there. Connor. It took everything in me not to take the stairs two at a time, dragging Gabi along behind me.
“You’re right, I do.” I couldn’t hide from her. She already knew the worst of me.
Her face was flushed with arousal, but her eyes, as she watched me, were uncertain, hesitant. “Thanks for bringing me home.” At my nod, she turned to climb the stairs, pausing halfway up to look back at me. “He doesn’t hate you.”
I waited until she closed the door behind her before forcing myself to return to the car and begin the short drive to Frank and Caroline’s place. The warmth of Gabi’s palm against mine lingered, as did the emptiness her rejection had left upon my lips.
An endless series of questions began to clamour for attention in my head. Did Gabi want me, as I craved her? If so, she was intent on denying it, choosing instead to focus solely on the possibility of a relationship with Connor. How would he feel about the lingering attraction between me and Gabi? Did he ever think of me? Could he still learn to love me the way he’d loved her?
I know it’s wrong, but I want this.Connor’s whispered admission was always there, in the back of my mind.I want both of you.
Nothing had changed. I didn’t have a single reason to believe I could get any closer to my wish than I had five and a half years ago, despite Gabi’s newly revealed curiosity. But I didn’t care. All the pieces of my heart were present once more. I would do everything in my power to bind them together.
TEN
______
CONNOR
The knock on the door couldn’t have come at a worse time. Pushing the last of the beef strips deep into the marinade, I rushed over to the sink to wash the oily mixture off my hands. A second knock—more insistent than the first—rattled the closed door.
“I’m coming!” Grabbing a tea towel to dry off, I stalked across the room, muttering under my breath about unexpected visitors and patience being a virtue they might want to consider developing. As I opened the door and recognised the man standing on the other side of the security screen, my irritation morphed into shock.
Lawrence fucking Miller.
The smile he aimed at me was one hundred percent laid-back Aussie male charm. Paired with thigh-hugging faded denim and a t-shirt that accentuated the generous expanse of his muscular chest, it made my recently revived libido go freaking nuts.
“Hello, Connor.” The words were rough, breathless. “It’s been a while.” Bracing an arm against the doorframe, he peered at me through the mesh. His hair was slightly longer than it used to be, and messy, as if he’d run his fingers through the dark strands too many times on the way over. Soft, brown eyes rushed over me, seeming to land everywhere at once. I’d used the same hungry look on Gabi the first time I saw her again.
I didn’t want to be pleased by his eagerness to get an eyeful, but my spine straightened nonetheless, and a satisfied grin tugged at my mouth. “Lawrence,” I said, slipping into the attitude of lazy confidence I used whenever I wasn’t sure how to act. “What can I do for you?”
He edged closer to the door, devilry sparking in his eyes. “You could let me in.”
I will swear black and blue my dick tried to reach for the doorknob all on its own. Traitor. Thankfully, the rest of my body remained motionless. “Why would I do that?”
He stared at me, biting down on his lower lip. Then, he stepped back, breaking the eye contact as he lifted a small shopping bag. “Frank asked me to deliver this to Gabi. It’s ribbon for the wedding booklets. She’s supposed to finish them off or something.”
