I’m nodding slowly, agreeing wholeheartedly. The thought of Maddie veering off to someone who isn’t me, Bax, Rayne, or Ryan has me wanting to crawl out of my skin, wash it, hang it to dry, and wear it again when it’s clean and nasty-thought-free.
“Same here,” Ryan agrees, simple and to the point. I like it.
I look over at Rayne, catching him hesitating, and decide to give him a small push. “You in or out, bro? Just know, if you choose the latter, you’ll be sitting on the sidelines watching her instead of being an actual part of her life. Think you can cope with that?”
He shakes his head like he’s on autopilot, and something explodes right there in my chest, an ecstatic sense of joy damn near bursting out of my pores. Then he says, “I don’t think sitting on the sidelines is an option anymore.”
I dampen the urge to throw a victory fist in the airBreakfast Clubstyle, instead linking my fingers together as I lean forward in my seat before asking, “Okay, cool. So we’re in agreement that we’ll all pursue a relationship with her, but we make it clear that we’re not willing to share with anyone outside of this room.”
All three nod, Rayne a little bit more reluctant, but I’ll take that over a flat-out denial. Hell, no answer at all would have been perfectly good enough, because he didn’t say no, and that’s a win to me.
I’m practically floating on clouds as I peer over at a slumbering Maddie, smiling at the little wrinkle her nose makes when a blue strand of her hair falls onto her face. Baxter reaches over to pull it away, but she swats at his hand before turning and falling onto Rayne’s shoulder instead, dropping her bare feet onto Bax’s lap.
I’m in a bubble of excited jitters and anticipation when Ryan decides to pop it, quietly asking, “You think it’s something she’d go for, though? It’s not exactly the social norm, dating four different men at the same time, and she’s somewhat in the limelight thanks to her parents and her own career. What’s to say she won’t snuff out the idea completely?”
Damn it, he couldn’t give me longer to enjoy the possibility.
Glaring at the asshole, I grumble, “You’re giving my mood whiplash.”
He shrugs. “I’m not even sorry. You wanted this conversation, and so I’m giving it to you in all of its realistic and blunt glory. How do we know she will be okay entering a relationship with not only one man, but four, who all live together? Who are as close as brothers, who have never shared a woman between them before, and possess streaks of jealousy a mile wide?”
It’s Bax who answers, allowing me to simmer in my annoyance no thanks to the realist in the room. I was happy in my little delusions, damn it.
“Pretty sure she’ll be more open to it than we think,” he says, nodding at the girl as she nuzzles into Rayne like a cat,hugging his arm to her chest and tucking her feet between Bax’s legs.
Rayne’s lips twitch with a barely there smile, and I can’t help the grin that damn near splits my face, that giddiness coming back with all the force of a tidal wave I am more than happy to surf.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I smile at the others and declare, “We’ll just come right out and ask her. No point tiptoeing around it if we’re already in agreement, right? We ask her if she’s open to the idea and go from there.”
Everyone nods in agreement, and I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone or something, because this rarely happens between us. I can count on one hand the times the guys have been in complete agreement with me, and I won’t lie and say it doesn’t feel damn good that we all agree on this one thing.
“All right, cool,” I note, right before I jump right back into my original question. “So, what’s the plan here? How do we make sure Maddie doesn’t take those two weeks off without us?”
Rayne frowns at me. “Are you planning on keeping her here or going with her?”
My answer comes so quickly that he actually surprises me with a smile. “Whichever results in her being with us. If I have to take two weeks off to go traveling with her, I’ll do it in a heartbeat. How about you guys?”
“I can work from anywhere, so it’s a nonissue for me,” Ryan answers.
Bax smirks. “I could take time off. Benji and Dad have been nagging at me to take a vacation.”
And we all turn to Rayne, who eyes us all before huffing a barely there laugh and saying, “Tell me when and I’ll clear my calendar.”
“Fuck yes,” I blurt quietly, finally losing my air-fisting urge, punching the air like it owes me money and I’m here to collect.
The guys all laugh quietly, even Rayne flashing me an amused smile before looking away and focusing on the show Maddie picked, adjusting a little so Maddie is comfortable leaning against him.
“Okay, so we need to figure out how to convince her to stay here, or we need to start planning a group trip away to wherever the hell she wants to spend two weeks,” I declare, rubbing my hands together and biting my lip, already deep into the thinking process. We could turn her apartment into a cozy trap, decked out with blankets and snacks and movie lineups. Sabotage her two weeks by sharing the wrong weather predictions and hope she doesn’t check. I could always search for her passport and hide it between the couch cushions. Or I could always-
“Given that I’ve already partially convinced her to go away, it might be easier to simply join her on her travels than resorting to whatever your brain is conjuring. Pretty sure you’re one thought away from considering locking her in this apartment for the whole two weeks,” Ryan interjects, giving me a look that tells me he knows exactly where my head went.
I give him a look back, because fuck him and his mind-reading ways, and grumble, “It’s not like I wouldn’t feed or water her.”
Baxter laughs loudly, disturbing Maddie enough that her eyebrow puckers with a frown that smooths right out when she wriggles her way under Rayne’s arm. She’s out like a light a second later, Rayne’s wide eyes peering down at the sleeping beauty like he has no idea what to do.
Snorting, I whisper, “Relax your arm, bro. She’s not a snake, she won’t bite.”
It takes some Herculean effort, but he manages to relax his arm over her shoulder and around her back, freezing when she nuzzles deeper into him like she’s trying to crawl right into his skin. I’ve never been more envious of the bastard, either, because I’d love to trade places with him right now.
