“But I’ve already got a full-time job.”
To Stone’s surprise, Nico said, “But we both know this is more along the lines of what you’d rather be doin’.”
“That’s not true.” She was offended. “I happen to love what I do.” Her forehead creased as she glared at Stone. “And I don’t appreciate you comin’ in and tellin’ me I don’t.”
He held up his hands. “That is not at all what I’m doin’. Swear it.”
She shoved off the stool. “Coulda fooled me.”
“Stevie, wait,” he said, setting his coffee mug on the counter.
“No.” She planted her hands on her hips and spun to face him. “What gives you the right to come in here thinkin’ you know what I want? You don’t know me, Stone. You don’t know the first thing about me.”
“You’re right,” he admitted, moving closer. “I don’t. And I’m not pretendin’ to.”
When she didn’t move back, he took that as a good sign, reaching for her hands.
Lowering his voice, he tried to defuse the situation. “I don’t have an agenda, Stevie. Honest to God. This is merely an opportunity, and as soon as my uncle presented it, the only person I could think about was you.”
“Too little too late, Stone,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “You had your chance. And I’ve already told you, I—”
Before she could rip his heart out of his chest with her words, Stone pulled her closer, forcing her to look up at him.
“Don’t say it.”
“But it’s true.”
“Maybe so,” he whispered. “But I’ve told you already, I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.” Stone looked over at Nico. “And to you, too. Last night…” He looked back at Stevie. “Last night wasn’t just sex.”
“Maybe not for you, but it was for me,” Stevie huffed and tried to pull away, but Stone held on, not letting her get away.
“It wasn’t,” he said, his tone harder than before. “You can lie and say it was, but we all know better.”
“That doesn’t mean I want anything from you,” she countered hotly.
“I know.” And he did. This wasn’t going to be easy, but he was willing to put in the work.
Hell, at this point, he was willing to do whatever it took to show them both that the three of them were meant to be together. He felt it in his soul, and he just needed some time so they could feel it, too.
***
Nico wasn’t sure what to say, buthe couldn’t ignore the sincerity he saw on Stone’s face.
He also couldn’t ignore the pain that glittered brightly in Stevie’s eyes. He knew her well enough to recognize when she was shutting herself off. Stevie wasn’t willing to open herself up to the heartache she believed Stone capable of. Who could blame her? The guy had left fifteen years ago and hadn’t looked back. They’d both obviously been hurt by that decision, and Stone was looking to make up for it now. Nico respected that.
At the same time, it’d beenfifteen years. Stone had been back for less than a month and while Nico didn’t think there was a time requirement on relationships, it felt like they were moving fast. One night together … and yeah, Stone was right, it wasn’t just sex. But that didn’t mean they needed to jump into something as permanent as a business proposal. But he also didn’t want to let Stevie pass up an opportunity he knew she would’ve jumped at if Nico had been the one to suggest it.
“Give me a chance, Stevie.” Stone’s voice quivered. “That’s all I’m askin’ for. From both of you. A chance to show you what we had … it was real. It’sstillreal.”
Nico was honestly surprised he was being included. Considering what they’d shared all those years ago had been nothing more than one night of intense pleasure, he didn’t expect more than that now.
Did he want it? Yeah. More than he was willing to admit.
Last night … with Stone … Nico had felt everything he’d felt back then, only now it was multiplied by a million because he’d honestly thought he’d conjured it all up. That the past decade and a half had been filled with memories he honestly believed he’d simply exaggerated. But he hadn’t. It felt right to him. Being with Stone. Being with Stevie. And being with both of them… After years of not finding anything that even remotely came close … that was what made him realize this wasn’t something that happened every day.
And fine, maybe they were moving at warp speed. Stone could very well disappear tomorrow. But Nico didn’t think that would happen.
He exhaled a hard breath when he realized he’d just mentally run himself in one big fucking circle.
