“Ollie? You okay? Say something, princess. You’re worrying me.”
“How?” It’s the only word I can force past my shocked lips.
He sighs heavily. “The same way it happens for most people, I assume. We met her at a coffee shop of all places and ended up chatting. We realised we all liked her after she gave us her number and we figured we’d give it a shot. And it worked, for a bit.” There’s an edge to his voice.
I tense and I’m almost afraid to ask what happened. Almost. “What happened to make it stop working?”
“She decided she no longer wanted Rhys or Alex and wanted to add two different guys to the relationship. Only, she didn’t say anything before she fucked them and just assumed I’d be okay with that. I wasn’t and kicked her ass to the curb.”
A bolt of anger shoots through me at the idea of this woman—Willow—destroying the hearts of three amazing men. All because of her selfishness.What a bitch,I think, and then it all makes sense.
The disgusted look Rhys shot my way, the way Alex reacted when I asked Theo to be my fake boyfriend. They think I’m trying to collect them into some kind of reverse harem without their consent and expect me to fuck them over like their ex did.
“Shit,” I groan and rub my face. “I really fucked up.”
“No, you didn’t, Ollie.” His fingers dig into my hair, pulling gently on the strands. “Like I said before, you’ve done nothing wrong. This is on them, their past trauma and a lack of communication.”
“Doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have done what I did, and I know very well just how fucked past trauma can make you.” Pretty sure I’m the Queen of letting your past trauma dictate your future at this point.
“Is that why you hold yourself back? Because of your past?” He tugs at my hair again, like he’d demanding that I answer the question. I’ve neverbeen a girl who enjoys having her hair pulled, but the way Theo does it… I don’t hate it.
Focus, Ollie!“Yeah. I’ve found that the men I date will only break my heart.”
“All of them?”
I nod and shiver as the action causes him to tug at my hair again. Fuck, okay, I like that more than I should. “Every single one.”
Theo is quiet as his fingers stroke my hair again, the action so soothing it almost lulls me to sleep. Until he speaks, then I’m wide awake once again.
“I’m going to be completely up front with you. I like you, Ollie. A lot. I don’t care that you can’t have biological kids, suffer from past trauma or that you like the other two idiots. In fact, those things make me like you more. I’ve never wanted kids—neither have the other two—and every single one of us has our own issues. Plus, I enjoyed sharing with Alex and Rhys.”
My mind spins, a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts that swirl through my mind like a hurricane. But the one thought that keeps coming back is that his words are too good to be true. I’ve heard men tell me over and over that they don’t care about kids, my nightmares or any of my other issues, and I’ve believed them. Right until they tear my heart out and tell me I’m no longer good enough. That I’m too broken for them.
I’m shaking my head before I even realise I’m doing it. “Theo…”
“I know, Ollie.” He presses a finger against my lips, silencing my protests and causing my skin to tingle. “I understand words won’t be enough for you and that’s okay. I’m more than happy to show you with my actions, for however long it takes for you to believe me.”
Pulling his finger from my lips, I say the same words I said to Alex in the hotel room last night. “This won’t work, Theo. You don’t know me.”
“I know enough, and there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind. Unless you tell me you don’t want me, want this, I’m not backing off until you’re mine.”
Shit. He sounds exactly like Alex. Speaking of… “Where does Alex fit into with all this?”
“You let me worry about Alex and Rhys.”
My brow furrows. “Wait, Rhys? What does he have to do with this?”
He chuckles. “Why do you think he looked so pissed off when he caught you and Alex making out against the side of the warehouse? Which was very hot, by the way.” He taps my nose with a finger.
My cheeks flush, but I force myself to focus on his question. “Because he doesn’t think I’m good enough for Alex?” It’s the only thing I can think of.
He tugs on my hair. “You can’t seriously think that?”
“Well, what—” My words stutter to a halt as his meaning sinks in. “You can’t be serious. The guy can barely stand me!”
“Oh, he can more than stand you, princess.”
“You’re wrong.” Sure, we’ve flirted a bit, but the vibe I’ve been getting from the surly bastard is that he only tolerates me. There’s no way he’s interested in me, not when the guy looks as good as he does and constantly growls at me like a pissed off wolf.
