I took the middle of the couch and dropped onto it. "Yeah, I think so. I did not expect to ever see that man again." And I looked up.
Ash hovered beside me. Violet was pouring something. Luke stood just at the edge of the living room with his arms crossed and a glare on his face. He was pissed. No, jealous, and he only knew how to deal with that feeling by lashing out. That was why his hands were clenched into fists and pressed to his sides. It was why that muscle in his jaw was jumping and his green eyes were smoldering.
Then Ash crouched down before me. "Why'd he come here?"
"How'd heknowto come here?" Luke snapped.
Ash's head whipped around to give the man a glare. Luke's mouth snapped shut, proving he'd wanted to ask something else after that, but I just waved them both down. I wasn't fragile. I didn't need to be babied. Sure, this sucked, but they were all walking on eggshells around me, and I fucking hated it.
"Look," I said, turning to check on Violet, then back. "I had no idea he was coming. I blocked his number! But Kindle said he got a letter about my license transfer, and it sounds like he opened it up. Well, that would've had my new address." I grunted, knowing I was messing this up. "It's basically the last chance to change my mind. So, that address led him right here. He thought this was just a job, and I never told him about Southwind, or us, or any of that."
"Sounds like a good foundation for a marriage," Luke grumbled.
All I could do was sigh. Thankfully, Violet came around the couch at that moment and passed me a glass of something amber. The monogrammed D engraved on it made it clear this was Gran's best stuff. The same thing she'd gone for when Luke had dumped us.
"Need to talk about it?" she asked, those pretty grey eyes hanging on me.
I felt my lips curl into a smile. "No, I'm good, Vi."
"You're a mess," she corrected. "And the guys are jealous."
A huff broke from my mouth. "Yeah, don't be," I assured them. "Seriously. Kindle and I were a raging dumpster fire."
"So why were you with him?" Luke asked, finally moving to take a chair.
That was the problem, wasn't it? I'd been with him because I could. It had honestly been that simple in my mind. I'd noticed him at a bar - the gay kind, of course. My eyes had run across him, finding something familiar that I'd liked. Looking back, I knew it was his fashion sense. That stiffness to his spine and the little bit of arrogance had reminded me of the two most important people in my life. And then I'd taken him home.
We'd fucked. The next morning, we'd fucked a little more. When I got off work the next day, I'd called, and he'd come over so we could fuck. Our fights never lasted long because he'd had this amazing habit of dropping to his knees and shutting me right up. He'd loved pushing me down, against a wall, or just about anywhere else, and having his way with me - and I'd let him.
Finally, I licked my lips and knew the answer. "Because he was in charge. Not like some dominant thing. Kindle just had plans, and they always made sense. He had no problem starting things..." I winced. "Yeah, I mean sex."
"Pretty sure we know you fucked him," Ash assured me, easing onto the cushion beside me. "Can't see you offering a ring otherwise."
That made me feel a bit better. "Look, he was a distraction. I knew it at the time, but he'd been a good one. I just... I..." Pushing out a breath, I struggled to find the words to explain. "Being with him left no time for anything but work. He had plans. He wanted to do things. He dragged me along, and it didn't matter if that was to the opera or redecorating the apartment. I was honestly happy for a bit, but not with him. It was more like because of him."
"Are you going back to him?" Luke asked. "Because I'm not ok with that."
My heart puffed up a bit at those words. That smile came back to my lips, and I looked over, hating that I loved the jealousy plastered on Luke's face. He was talking, and I was damned proud of him for that, but that look? It fucking meant more than he knew.
"No, I'm not. I don't do lies, Luke. I can forgive a whole lot of shit, but lying to my face? No."
"So you're ok with cheating?" he snapped.
"Counts as lying," I assured him. "That's why this works. I'm fine with sharing. I'm ok with you shoving your dick in Ash's ass. Why? Because it's not a secret. It's not hidden. You aren't denying it. To me, cheating comes right back to one single thing: lies. And not one of you have lied to me. You've yelled, screamed, and broken my heart, but you three don't lie."
"Yet you told him we're not together," Luke shot back.
"I told him you aren't myboyfriend," I corrected. "You aren't. I also don't trust that idiot not to go to the grill or the gas station and bitch about his ex fucking some cowboy named Luke. One person hears that, and we got a lot bigger issues. So I told him that you're my boyfriend's best friend's boyfriend. It's true. It keeps with what we've been saying, and it still gives you a reason for stepping up, which was very sexy."
"What did I miss?" Ash asked, moving to the couch to sit beside me.
Violet took the other side. "Yeah, I'm a little curious now too."
"Oh," I drawled, gesturing to Luke across from us, "he stormed into Kindle's face and said he was my boyfriend. It was right after Kindle called him a bubba."
"Fucking priss," Luke mumbled.
Violet turned her face and pressed it into my shoulder to hide her giggle. "Yeah, that's cute."
