“We are,” Knox confirmed.“But I think we have to be careful.If we tell her we want a relationship, she’s going to wig.You saw how nervous she is.”
“So you want to pretend this is just about a bang?”
“No.”Jesse watched the emotions play out across Knox’s face—frustration, arousal, worry.“But we need to be careful.Take things slow.”
Jesse felt like he was on the roller coaster now—the big one at Cedar Point that always made him laugh and feel like he was going to puke at the same time.“A threesome is taking it slow?”
“That’s what she wants, so that’s where we start.”Knox glanced warily at the door.“And we hope for the rest.”
Jesse frowned.He didn’t like it, didn’t like it at all.His instincts were to jump in with both feet, to confess his feelings and let the chips fall where they may.But there was logic in the careful approach.“And if it turns out the bang is all she wants?”
Knox shrugged, his eyes going bleak.“I guess we’ll jump off that bridge when we get to it.”
Jesse studied him for a moment, considering.The headlights outside were moving, which meant Chloe would be coming back any second.“Okay,” he finally said.“I’ll follow your lead.”
Knox’s eyes shone with gratitude, and relief.
“But I can’t hide my feelings,” Jesse warned him quietly.“I can’t pretend she’s some random club pickup, or just a weekend good time.”
Knox nodded.“I know.I know that.Just…hold off on proposing, okay?”
Jesse allowed himself a small grin.It was comforting to be so well understood.“Polygamy is illegal in Ohio.”
“You know what I mean.”
He took it as a good sign that Knox was relaxed enough to roll his eyes.“Yeah, yeah.I’m going to set the table.”
He turned for the kitchen, then looked back when Knox’s hand wrapped around the back of his neck.“What?”he said, then found himself being thoroughly, deliciously kissed.
When Knox lifted his head, Jesse licked his lips.“What was that for?”
“Because I love you,” Knox murmured and, with a last nip of Jesse’s bottom lip, stepped back just as the front door blew open.A second later, Chloe walked back in.
She glanced from one to the other, her cheeks red from the cold and a tentative smile on her face.“Um, can I do anything to help with dinner?”
“You can help Jesse set the table,” Knox said easily and moved to take the coat she peeled off.“He can never remember which side the forks go on.”
“I used to have that problem, too.”Chloe bent to tug off her boots, then padded across the room to take the plates Jesse had pulled from the cabinet.“Then my brother gave me an easy way to remember.”
“Yeah?”Hiding his erection behind the kitchen island, Jesse pulled out flatware and glasses.“How’s that?”
“He told me I was lucky,” she said, taking the plates, “because I’m left-handed, and that meant if I ever needed to stab someone at the dinner table, I wouldn’t have to reach across my plate to get to my fork.”
Jesse paused, silverware in one hand, water glasses in the other, to goggle at her.Behind him, Knox was choking on suppressed laughter.“People get stabbed a lot at the dinner table when you were a kid?”
“No, but Roman likes to be prepared.”She smiled.“Where am I taking these?”
“What?Oh.The console table against the wall, there.”Shaking himself, he walked around the counter.“It has leaves.”
“It’s pretty.”Chloe set the plates down on the narrow tabletop, then stood back when Jesse came around to pull it away from the wall and lift the leaves.“And functional.Did you make it?”
“Knox’s design, my build.What does your brother do?”
“Hmm?”She was examining the table, running her fingers over the satiny surface with obvious pleasure.“He’s a pediatric nurse.Why?”
“No reason,” Jesse said and went back to get the rest of the table ware.
Chloe was, to her considerable surprise, relaxed during dinner.Somehow, getting the threesome out on the table had chased away most of her nerves, and what remained felt more like excitement than anxiety, so she was almost enjoying the bubble and fizz as they dug into spinach salad, garlic bread, and spaghetti.
