He shook his head. “Because I’ve always imagined bein’ with a man and a woman to be happy.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
He smiled, loving her innocence. “No. Bisexual is when you’re attracted to more than one gender. It doesn’t mean you can’t find happiness with one person.”
Her forehead creased.
“You could fall in love with one person of any gender and be happy.”
Understanding dawned on her face. “But you want to be with a man and a woman.”
“It’s not so much I want it, but I feel I need it.”
“But you’ve never fallen in love with a woman.”
Magnus held her stare, then decided it was time to tell her the truth. “Ava, I’ve been in love with a woman for a long, long time.”
“Who?”
He canted his head, raising an eyebrow. He figured he could turn this into twenty questions until she figured it out for herself, but this conversation felt far too important for that. So he said, “You, Ava. I’m in love with you.”
Her eyes moved over his face, but he could tell she was skeptical. Since he hadn’t intended to push this issue, he pulled back and stepped away from her.
“I think I need some air.”
He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t try to stop him.
***
Rather than chase after Magnus, Ava decidedto let him be. The conversation they’d just breached was far too important for them to hash out after her first therapy session. As it was, she felt raw and untethered. If she admitted to Magnus that she was in love with him, too, he’d think it was a result of her emotional turmoil.
She was certain of one thing: he would come back.
However, the same couldn’t be said for Trey, so she grabbed her phone and pulled up his name on the text app. He’d given her his number a long time ago in the event she needed him while he was working. The message thread was lengthy because when she got bored, she would text him inane things with the sole intention of making him smile. And believe it or not, sometimes he would do the same.
Based on what she’d done, she wasn’t sure she’d ever get another text message from Trey, period, but she sure as shit was going to try.
Knowing it was a long shot, she went with:Would it be possible for you to come back? I really think we need to talk about that kiss.
She eased onto the edge of the couch and stared at her phone like that might make him respond faster. It didn’t help, but fifteen minutes later, she did get a message.
Trey:Nothing to talk about.
Ava:Please don’t be like that.
Trey:Be like what? You kissed me. I kissed you back. No big deal.
Ava:It’s a big deal to me.
Trey:Doubtful since a minute later, you were kissing Magnus. I’ve got nothing left, Ava. Let it go.
Ava stared at her phone in horror as she read the message several times. It was true. She had kissed Trey and then Magnus, but in her defense, she’d wanted to kiss them both. She hadn’t done it to get Magnus to kiss her. She’d kissed Trey because she couldn’t help herself. It wasn’t until the drive to the therapist that she realized how much she missed him. He’d only been gone for a few days, but when she’d seen him every single day for months on end, it felt like an eternity. And then, when she’d watched him blush as she boldly talked about a subject that had her belly twisting with anxiety, she’d been smitten. Trey Walker was not like other men. He was kind and sensitive, and his heart was so much bigger than his ego. How could she not fall in love with that?
Her head jerked up, and she stared at the wall. What now? In love with him?
Could she really be?
Because if that was the case, that meant she was in love with two men. MagnusandTrey.
