I backed up, bumping into the kitchen counter. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Liar,” Luke interrupted, the word carrying no heat, just amused certainty. “You’ve been trying to push us together since I got back.”
“Not… since you got back,” I hedged.
“Holy shit!” Luke said. “You’re the one who convinced Lori to call me.”
The jig was up. I straightened my spine and decided to own it. “Fine. Yes, I set you up. But only because you’re the most frustratingly stubborn men I’ve ever met! Six years of silence? It’s ridiculous.”
“You don’t know what happened between us,” Luke said.
“Why not? Someone had to, or you’d go another ten years without talking.”
“So you appointed yourself our personal mediator?” Eli raised an eyebrow, and I realized he didn’t look angry. There was something else in his expression. “Why such an intense personal investment in our friendship?”
I crossed my arms, feeling defensive. “You guys made me believe in love, okay? You showed me that I didn’t need my psycho parents to be happy. That family didn’t need to be blood. And then you went and threw it all away!”
Eli perched on the sofa’s arm. “It’s not that simple, Mioko.”
“It is that simple! You two are family, whether you like it or not, and ignoring each other like idiots doesn’t change that. You both look at each other, like you’re starving for something only the other can give.”
A heavy silence fell over the room. Luke and Eli exchanged another loaded glance, having an entire conversation without words.
“Well, this is a lot,” I said, trying to break the tension. “But it seems like you two have things to discuss, so I’ll just...”
I edged toward the door, hoping to exit gracefully and leave them to their long-overdue reconciliation. My hand closed around the doorknob, but it wouldn’t turn. I jiggled it, then pulled harder.
“It’s locked,” I said, turning back to them with narrowed eyes. “Why? Where is the key.”
Luke pushed away from the wall, a slow smile spreading across his face that made my pulse quicken. “Oops. Must have dropped it outside.”
“Very funny. Unlock it.”
“We don’t have the key,” Eli said.
“How could you lock it without the…” I blinked. Henry had led me up the steps and showed me into the house. “Your grandfather locked us in? That’s crazy.”
“He means well,” Eli shrugged, moving closer. “Remember, he helped you with your scheming, too. You’re right, we do have things to discuss. All three of us.”
“All three of us?” I repeated, my voice embarrassingly high-pitched. “But I’m not part of Luke and Eli.”
Luke’s smile turned predatory as he closed the distance between us, his movements deliberate and graceful. “I don’t know. We always wanted to try a threesome. We just hadn’t found the right girl.”
“Luke and Eli and Mioko. It works,” Eli said, nodding.
I gasped, heat flooding my face as my body traitorously responded to the idea of being pinned between these gorgeous men. “Excuse me? I’m not—I don’t—”
“You don’t what?” Luke pressed, close enough to smell his woodsy, rich scent.
“I’m not trying a threesome with you two!” I sputtered. “I’m the matchmaker, not the... the...”
“The match?” Eli asked. “Even if it means helping Luke and I finally fuck each other?”
My entire body flushed hot at his crude words, filthy, sensual images flooding my mind. Luke and Eli tangled together, their powerful bodies sliding against each other, hands and mouths exploring every inch of each other before turning to me.
“I’m not that kind of girl,” I said.
Eli laughed, his eyes scanning my body. But then he turned away. “Fine. If you’re not interested, we won’t push. Henry left us a basket of food, so we may as well eat while we wait for him to set us free.”
