“Holyshit!”Rhett’svoicehit a pitch I’d never heard from him before. His eyes were wide as saucers, the massive pink donut box clutched in his hands like he’d forgotten it existed. “She agreed to a threesome?” The raw hope and excitement in his face might have been comical if my heart hadn’t been racing. Leave it to Rhett to walk in on an innocent hug and immediately leap to the filthiest possible conclusion.
Aimee jerked away from me, her face flaming red. “What? No! That’s not—”
Something twisted in my gut at Rhett’s eager expression. The way his eyes darted between Aimee and me made it clear how excited he was, but setting him straight felt like kicking a puppy. A very horny puppy.
“I was comforting her, not propositioning her,” I said.
“Oh,” Rhett said, his entire body deflating like a balloon with a slow leak. His shoulders slumped, his smile faded, and even his hair drooped. “Right. Yeah. That makes more sense.” He set the donut box on the counter with a defeated thud.
I couldn’t stand seeing him look so crushed, even if his disappointment was over something completely ridiculous. I crossed the kitchen and took his face in my hands, pressing my lips against his in a hello kiss that tasted like early morning air and maple sugar. His response was immediate, his body perking up as he leaned into me, his hands on my bare waist.
“Good morning to you too.” His usual cockiness was already returning. “Nice abs.”
“I know,” I teased, stepping back and giving him an exaggerated flex. “You’re not the only one who can thirst-trap around here.”
Rhett’s eyes trailed down my body appreciatively before he turned to Aimee with a sheepish grin. “Sorry for the, uh, misunderstanding. I saw you in Troy’s arms and my brain short-circuited.”
Aimee laughed, her embarrassment fading. “At least buy a girl breakfast first before assuming she’s up for your sexual escapades.”
“I did!” Rhett gestured to the massive box of donuts with exaggerated offense. “Pink Pony’s finest! I stood in line for forty-five minutes for these babies.”
The wounded puppy-dog look on his face as he glanced longingly between Aimee and me was too much. I caught myself wondering if there was something—anything—we could do to put that eager spark back in his eyes.
“Maybe we could do a little something,” I said, the words spilling out before I’d fully thought them through. “To make up for crushing your hopes so spectacularly.”
Rhett’s eyes widened. “Like what?”
“I don’t know,” I backpedaled. “Nothing crazy. Just... something fun?”
A slow, dangerous grin spread across Rhett’s face, the kind that always meant trouble. “I dare you and Aimee to kiss.”
The words hung in the air between us, charged. I glanced at Aimee, whose eyebrows had shot up, but whose lips were twitching suspiciously close to a smile.
“What is it with you and dares?” I asked Rhett, heart hammering against my ribs.
“Hey, our first kiss was on a dare from Aimee,” Rhett pointed out, waggling his eyebrows. “And that turned out pretty fucking fantastic, didn’t it?”
The memory of that kiss flashed hot through my body—the way Rhett had melted against me, the soft sounds he’d made, how everything had changed between us in an instant.
Aimee laughed, breaking the tension. “He’s got a point. Fair’s fair.”
My mouth went dry. I looked at her—really looked at her—standing there in sleep shorts and one of my old t-shirts, her blonde hair in a messy bun, her blue eyes bright with challenge. She was gorgeous. I’d always known it, always felt the pull toward her, even while respecting the invisible boundaries that kept her firmly in the “off-limits” category.
But something held me back. Not a lack of desire—fuck, I wanted to kiss her—but a knot of fear deep in my chest.
Aimee’s smile faltered as she registered my hesitation. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “You don’t have to. I know this is... complicated.”
“It’s not that,” I said quickly, hating the flicker of hurt in her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want to.”
“Then what is it?” she asked.
I glanced at Rhett, who was watching me with curiosity rather than impatience, and something broke open inside me. The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
“I’m scared,” I admitted, my voice rougher than I expected. “I’m scared that once you kiss her, once you have both of us... you’ll realize you don’t need me anymore. That I was just a stepping stone to get to her.”
The confession hung in the air, raw and vulnerable in a way I rarely allowed myself to be. Rhett’s expression shifted from confusion to understanding to something so tender it made my chest ache.
“Troy.” He moved toward me, taking my face in his hands the way I’d held his moments ago. “Is that what you’ve been worried about?”
