CHAPTER 1
ERIC
I need to see you before the wedding.
A text like that would’ve stopped me in my tracks no matter what. If it had come from one of our vendors, I’d have instantly worried that something had gone horribly wrong. Had my rental tux been lost or destroyed or something? Had the catering company been condemned by the health department? Had the venue burned to the ground? And if it had come from a friend or a relative, I could only imagine what would’ve gone through my mind. Those words on my screen were the panic-inducing grandaddy ofwe need to talk.
When they came from the guy my fiancée and I’d had a threesome with a year ago?
Yeah. I had questions.
I glanced at Selena, who was on the other and of the couch, deep in a group chat with her bridesmaids. My first instinct was to ask her if she knew what the message was about. Had Jesse contacted her, too? What was going on?
But her stress level had been at about a twelve lately, and with less than two weeks to go before our big day, that was onlygetting worse. I didn’t need to pile on her. Not about this. Not until I had some idea of why he needed to see me. If his text had me this edgy and nervous, it would probably drive her to tears.
So I quietly responded to him without saying a word to her.
What’s this about?
The three gray dots appeared as he started typing, and my heart jumped into my throat. Whatwasthis about?
He stopped and started a few times before a message finally came through.
Probably best face-to-face. I know that sounds cryptic and ominous, but some conversations are better in person.
Cryptic and ominous were understatements. So was describing myself as both irritated and uneasy. I was torn between wanting to demand he just fucking spill it already, and… and I didn’t know what else to do.
Before I could respond at all, Jesse started typing again. Gnawing my lip, I stared at the screen and waited until more words appeared.
Can you meet me somewhere? Tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.
There was a pause, then one more message:
ONLY you.
My anxiety ratcheted up by several notches. I glanced at Selena, who was laughing softly at something on her screen. Even as she laughed, the stress of the past few months—especially the last week or two—showed in her eyes and the creases in her forehead.
I was instantly pissed at Jesse for wanting me to hide something from her, but really—even if he’d wanted to see both of us, I didn’t think I’d have said anything. She was already hanging by a fraying thread; whatever was on his mind, she didn’t need to be looped in until I at least had a bead on the situation.
She must’ve sensed me watching her because she turned to me, and she smiled, some of the anxiety smoothing out of her expression. Some. Not all.
I returned the smile, and then we both shifted our focus back to our phones. Hopefully her bridesmaids were sharing silly memes and chatting about her upcoming bachelorette, which was happening this weekend. They were good at keeping her calm and relaxed.
I usually was too, but right now, I was anything but calm or relaxed myself.
I gritted my teeth as I thumbed out a text to Jesse.
I need some kind of hint from you. Do you have any idea how stressed we are this close to the wedding?
I know. And I’m sorry. Really. If I could think of any other way, I would. I promise.
Any other way to WHAT?
Like I said, I need to see you face to face. Any time, any place.
If Selena hadn’t been here, I’d have thrown my phone across the room, then snatched it up, FaceTimed him, and demanded he spell it out.
But shewashere. And though it was tempting to just block him and not bother tugging at this thread, I wouldn’t be able to relax until I knew what this was about. Not that I could imagine anything he’d need to tell us. We’d fooled around with him one time because while Selena had had threesomes before, she’d never experienced one with a couple of bisexual guys. She’d wanted to know what it was like to be with two men who were as into each other as we were into her. So, I’d set it up for her birthday. I’d found a willing participant on a hookup app, we’d all met up beforehand to see if there was chemistry, and then we’d taken him into our bed. It was fun, too. I had no regrets.
