She shrugged one shoulder.
Holt smiled and realized he wasn’t the only one who’d given this serious consideration. Bailey might not know it yet, but she was directing the play to her advantage. And from his vantage point, Holt could only see it as a win-win-win.
But would Rafe see it that way? Or would he find a way to throw a wrench into the works before they even had a chance to see if this was something all three of them needed?
Chapter Eighteen
Bailey wasn’t sure what prompted her totell Holt she wanted to watch.
Well, she kinda knew. It had more than a little to do with the fact both men in her life thought she was the one who would have to make the hard choice between the two of them. Why? Why did they immediately think she would chooseeitherof them? Just thinking about it was infuriating. They were the ones who started all of this. All. Of. It.
Except for her intensely erotic dreams. She was certain they couldn’t be blamed for that. Neither had even been aware she’d fantasized about having two sets of hands on her, two mouths, two impressive cocks…
Okay, she was getting carried away. That or someone had turned the air conditioner off because suddenly she was sweating.
However, they’d infuriated her enough with their assumptions that Bailey was determined to stick to her guns. If she couldn’t have both of them, she wanted neither.
Not that she was willing to tell them that. No. Determination was one thing. Stupidity was another. She was in love with both of them, and an ultimatum like that could very well have her crying herself to sleep every night.
So, for now, she was going to play this cool. She would set the scene, and they’d see where things went from there. Who knows? Perhaps everything that happened had been building up to this.
Although she knew it was a long shot, Bailey texted Rafe and asked him to come to her apartment. When his response came in, her heart sank.
You know I can’t go in that house. It’s not that I don’t want to. I can’t.
Technically, my apartment is connected to the house, but it was originally the attic. I’m hoping you don’t have bad memories of the attic.
She waited patiently for the three dots to signal he was responding. When seven minutes passed, she texted him again.
You don’t have to go through the house to get up here. You can come in through the back stairs. I assure you it doesn’t look anything like an attic.
Again, she waited.
“He’s not comin’,” she told Holt, who was sitting on the couch.
After their conversation earlier, Holt had given her a few minutes to gather herself. She’d taken a shower, pulled on clean clothes, then texted and asked him to come for dinner. That was after she texted Rex and told him she would need the night off to handle a few things but would still be in the house if something came up. He’d quickly responded, asking if she was okay and letting her know he would cover anything that might arise, but since their full house of guests seemed only to be needy first thing in the morning, Rex figured there’d be no issues with covering for her.
Clearly, he hadn’t realized she was attempting to sway his brother to come over and venture through a house that gave him nightmares. If he had, the overprotective big brother might change his mind.
Rex was a great boss, and it bothered Bailey that she was dragging him into her drama, but it couldn’t be helped at this point. This was her life, and at the moment, it was warped and twisted, so she felt the need to give it the attention it deserved. During her shower, she tried to imagine waking up tomorrow and not having HoltorRafe around. The mere thought of it had been enough to set off the waterworks. It was true, she was in love with both of them, and if someone insisted she choose one over the other, there was no way around it, she would have to give up both.
What a horrible,horriblechoice that would be.
Bailey continued to stare at her phone like that might make Rafe respond faster. She was still doing so when Holt came over to her.
“Tell you what. Why don’t you call the diner and place an order? I’m sure you know what Rafe likes, and you can get me the chicken fried chicken. I’ll swing by Rafe’s apartment, drag his ass out of there, pick up the food, and be back before you know it.”
She studied him. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew it wouldn’t be that simple, but in all fairness, he did deserve a chance to talk to Rafe without her hovering. It wasn’t that she was worried that they’d have sex. If they did, they did. What worried her the most was that they would no longer want her. And yes, that made her selfish, but she couldn’t help it. The heart wanted what it wanted. In this case, hers wanted to be the center of their world. She didn’t care if they were together, but she didn’t want to be left out.
And all this time, she’d wondered how in the world Kylie Walker could’ve ended up married to two men who happened to be in love with each other. It wasn’t nearly as convoluted as she’d once thought.
Bailey took a deep breath. “Okay.” She tucked her phone in her pocket and looked up at him. “But don’t forget about me, please.”
It sounded needy and clingy, but she didn’t care. Bailey had never fought for what she wanted before, but this was far too important for her to be complacent. She didn’t want to sit on the sidelines and wait for them to decide. She wanted to be an equal partner.
“If he happens to show up, just text me.”
Bailey was sure he would see Rafe before that happened. Their paths would have to cross for them to trade places, but she nodded anyway.
