Now I feel even worse. “Blame me. I planted the idea in your head.”

  He shakes his head. “I was already thinking it.”

  “But I pushed.”

  Marcus grits his teeth. “The way we both wanted her, it was going to happen anyway. Just a matter of time.”

  Probably. I sigh. “What do we do?”

  “If Kate decides to follow her dream and run her father’s company, there’s nothing we can do. That would be the easiest. Clean break. We’d never have to see her again.”

  He’s right, but… “I hate that idea.”

  “We don’t get to pick, buddy. She chose last night. We’re the dirty little secret again.” Suddenly, he stands and grabs the back of his chair, hurling it across the room. “Fuck!”

  It clatters across the hard floor, loud and screeching and destructive. The silence that follows is deafening and horrible.

  He’s lashing out with the same anger that’s eating me up inside. “What do we do if she stays at Force Financial?”

  Marcus scrubs a hand down his face. “And we have to see her all the goddamn time? It will hurt like hell.”

  I close my eyes and push away from my desk. “You tried to tell me that permanent threesomes don’t work.”

  At least not with the sort of woman we’re attracted to. In theory, some are willing to be unapologetic about who they love, but ones like Kate—with polish and ambition and a close-knit network of family and friends—don’t want to fly their freak flag for everyone. And, as Marcus pointed out a few short weeks ago, what happens if the woman between us gets pregnant? If she had any reservations before, a positive test would likely send her running. I can’t even picture Kate trying to tell her protective father that one of us—she’s not sure which—knocked her up. Since Marcus and I both want children soon, that’s a fucking problem.

  “They don’t,” he pants, pacing the room. “I kept hoping… But Kate just fucking proved me right.”

  “I think…when we return to Boston, we go back to your plan, and we don’t deviate anymore. Separate women. Separate sex lives.” I swallow, hating it even as I tell myself it’s the only choice that makes sense.

  “Yeah.” He retrieves his office chair and lifts it with one big hand, carting it across the room and shoving it in front of his desk again. “I need to get out of here. I’ll be back.”

  Knowing Marcus, he’s going to avail himself of the hotel’s gym and put himself through a punishing run. I did that at two thirty this morning. Not that it helped me sleep…

  With a sigh, I wilt back into my office chair. I have no idea how much time has passed before the whoosh and the scrape of the ill-hanging door has my head popping up. Kate walks in wearing a navy blouse that hugs her curves, a matching floral pencil skirt, beige heels, and a guarded expression.

  She stops short when she catches sight of me. “Good morning. I wanted to tell you I’ve finished my part of the project for Savannah and Mr. Force. Would you like me to email it to you so you can send it along with the financial recommendations, or should I send it to them separately?”

  Right now, I don’t give a shit. “That’s all you have to say?”

  “What do you expect me to say? I had no idea my family would show up. I’m sorry if it’s an imposition, but I made sure my part of this deliverable is complete and on time.”

  “Their unexpected visit has no impact on the project.”

  “I’m glad we’re agreed. After I ate and talked with them, I got back to work so no deadlines were jeopardized.”

  Does she really think Marcus and I are upset about that? “Chad and Savannah will appreciate your dedication.”

  “But you’re still angry? Listen, I had no idea my dad was going to offer me his company. I know you overheard that, and I’m sure it looks suspicious or underhanded or—”

  “No. I could tell you were shocked by his offer. I hardly expect you to give him an answer without giving his proposal serious consideration. It’s your family’s business, after all.”

  “Exactly.” The confusion on her face tells me she still doesn’t understand why Marcus and I are hurt.

  From her perspective, maybe she’s lost because we never told her we’re having more than a fling. We certainly never hinted we’re in love with her.

  “Are you going to accept your dad’s offer?” There’s no use in fighting if she’s just going to return to Phoenix.

  “I don’t know. I’m still weighing the pros and cons.”

  “What would make you stay?”

  She raises a brow. “Why did you both storm out last night?”

  Impasse. One of us has to find the guts to expose our truth and be vulnerable. I really don’t want to put my heart on the chopping block again, but before I burn this bridge, I need to know if I’ve read the situation right. I have to make sure she never intended to do anything more with us than fuck.

  “Winter before last, Marcus and I shared a girlfriend. Her name was Taylor.”

  “The woman from the bar the secretary on my floor has pictures of you with?”

  I nod, remembering that night. We were finally going to meet some of her friends. After weeks of seeing her mostly in dark bedrooms, Marcus and I were relieved that Taylor was proving we weren’t just a booty call, like she swore. We were seeing a bright future. But all of her friends supposedly flaked and ghosted her. She acted appropriately upset and apologized with her lips parted and her legs spread. It was all a lie. “I met her first. We dated for a couple of weeks. It seemed promising. The sex was good.”

  “Josh, I don’t—”

  “But when I introduced her to Marcus, sparks flew all around. The three of us were inseparable for months. We were in love with her.”

  “I see.” Kate looks taken aback. “What happened?”

  “Just before Christmas, we proposed. She refused. Marcus and I weren’t the same for a long time.”

  She blanches. “I didn’t realize I was a substitute for—”

  “You’re not,” I grit out between my teeth. “When Taylor turned us down, she laughed. She told us that she never intended for us to be more than a fling and we were crazy because most women would never openly settle down with two men. They wouldn’t want society or their loved ones forever judging them.” I shake my head bitterly. “Two weeks ago, I bumped into her. She’s happily engaged to another man. Just one.”

  “I’m sure that hurts. I’m sorry.” She swallows. “I wish you two had told me before we got involved that you’re still pining for someone else—”

  “Goddamn it, you’re not listening!” I rarely raise my voice, but I can’t seem to help myself now. “We don’t love Taylor anymore, but since the breakup Marcus has been convinced she was right. He refused to share another woman with me…until you. Despite our better judgment, we both fell in love with you. We were desperate to believe you were different. Last night proved you’re not.”

  She gapes at me. “Because I didn’t introduce you to my dad and my sister as my lovers? That’s not fair. I—”

  “Because you apparently talk to your sister more than anyone and she had no clue we were more than your coworkers.” Seeing the guilty truth cross her face nearly implodes my chest. I’m barely clinging to my restraint, so I pick up my laptop and abandon my cup of coffee. “Marcus and I didn’t sign up to be your post-divorce booty call. Next time you’re looking for someone to fuck, don’t contact us.”

  I’m out the door in seconds, eyes closed, willing myself not to turn back and ask her why she can’t love us in return or endure the occasional judgmental asshole for a lifetime of devotion from two men who would give her their whole hearts and futures. It seems like a small price…but she’s not any more willing to pay it than Taylor.

  It’s a bitter pill to know Marcus and I will probably never get over Kate. And we’ll probably never be truly happy again.

  Marcus

  After an hour at the gym, sweat drips down my face and chest as I let myself into our hotel room. Instantly, the bed Josh and I took Kate in together confronts me. I look away. If I don’t, all I’ll think about are the blissful nights she lay between us, writhing and pleading and open, her face soft with pleasure and something I hoped was love.

  I was a stupid fucking schmuck.

  Despite the fact we’re only in Hilo for two more nights, I make a mental note to call the front desk and demand a new room. There are too many memories in this one. If I stay, I’ll be tempted to try some hail-Mary bullshit, like beg Kate to come back to Josh and me and pretend she loves us, too.

  It’s desperate. Hopeless. Self-destructive.

  Two more steps into the room, and I stop short at the sight of Mariah in the corner, bending over Kate’s suitcase. As the door slams shut behind me, she whirls and presses a hand to her chest as if I’ve startled her.

  When she catches sight of my naked torso, she whips her gaze away. “I’m sorry to intrude. Kate and I thought you would be in the office. She asked me to gather her suitcase.”

  So Kate is leaving. Without saying goodbye. Like Josh and I meant nothing to her. The pain of that nearly cuts me in half. “So I guess that’s it.”

  With a crisp nod, she continues folding Kate’s clothes, dragging garments off the hanger in the nearby closet and settling them into the suitcase. I stare, trying to think of something to break the thick silence, but Mariah’s short, sharp movements make it clear she doesn’t want to talk. Why the fuck is she pissed off? Josh and I are the ones who got hurt.

  The door opens behind me again. I turn to find my best friend tearing into the room, looking miserable and broken. I can’t tell if he’s going to rip apart all the furniture in the suite with his bare hands or just fucking cry.

  “I can’t believe this shit. You tried to warn me…” Josh shakes his head, full of self-reproach.

  Before he runs off his mouth, I elbow him and lift my chin toward Kate’s older sister.

  He stops short when she turns his way. “Mariah.”

  “Hello.” Her greeting barely sounds civil. She snaps her mouth shut, turning away again.

  Beside me, Josh gestures to the woman with an incredulous, WTF expression.

  I send him a scathing nod to confirm that, yes, this is exactly what he thinks it is. Kate is leaving.

  Suddenly, Mariah slams the lid on the suitcase and whirls to us. “Okay, this is none of my damn business and my sister would have my ass if she knew I was breaking her confidence, but Kate is really fragile right now. Her divorce messed her up, but she emerged from it stronger and surer of herself, ready to take on the world. And the two of you have managed to dismantle that in a week. You all are consenting adults, so the fact the three of you agreed to have a fling is fine. Great, even. Kate needed to know she’s beautiful and desirable. But—”

  “She told you about the three of us?” Josh crosses the room, bearing down on Mariah.

  “Of course she did. Last night.”

  That’s a fucking news flash. Josh looks equally stunned.

  “And don’t you dare be angry about it,” Mariah goes on. “The way the two of you walked out on her yesterday crushed her. I mean, when I first saw her, I thought she looked a little tired and like she’d lost some weight. She told me it was stress. I assumed from the project, but after seeing both of you cut her cold…” She purses her lips shut. “I don’t know if you enjoy playing head games with your bedroom sport, but stop it—for Kate’s sake. She’s in love with you both.”

  “She’s not,” I spit back, but my heart starts pounding.

  Is there any chance Josh and I read Kate all wrong?

  We exchange another glance. I see my hope mirrored on my buddy’s face.

  I tamp mine down.

  “The hell she isn’t! She tearfully confessed she’s been hoping the three of you had a future, but you made it crystal clear last night that isn’t the case. So she’s getting her heart broken again, and this time it’s worse. Derrick the jackass spent years slowly sliding off her rose-colored glasses. You two ripped them off like that.” She snaps her fingers. “Dad and I begged her to come back with us to Phoenix—”

  “Wait. Your father knows, too?” It was one thing to tell her sister, her apparent confidante, about our relationship, but she confessed to her dad?

  “I do,” the man says, suddenly behind us.

  My heart stops, and I whirl to find James Evans coming through the door we left ajar, his blue eyes shrewd. As he looks us both up and down, I grit my teeth against the urge to feel shame or apologize. I don’t. I need to figure out what the fuck is going on instead.

  “So she’s returning to Arizona with you?” I ask.

  “I wish. The stubborn thing refused. Not that you care.” Kate’s father pushes his way past me and heads to help Mariah. “Did you get her things out of the bathroom?”

  “Yeah, I’m almost done here.”

  Fuck that. Mariah isn’t taking that suitcase because Kate isn’t leaving us—at least not until we’ve talked.

  It’s dangerous, but another branch of hope takes root. I can’t think of many reasons she would turn down the dream of running her father’s firm—especially without having to spend a cent to acquire it. She hasn’t worked for Force Financial long enough to feel loyalty or attachment, and its headquarters are far from her family. There must be something else keeping Kate from going home.

  Us?

  A glance at Josh tells me he’s wondering the same thing.

  Mariah slams down the lid of the bag. “Where’s Katie?”

  “I left her in the office with that one”—he bobs his head Josh’s way—“and went to find coffee.” He lifts the paper cup in his hand. “But it looks like the asshole walked out on her again.”

  Josh and I exchange another glance. This time, I’m the one with the WTF stare. Why the hell did he leave her?

  “I told her about Taylor,” my pal admits, wincing.

  Which means he accused her of keeping us her dirty little secret when she didn’t, and of assuming she’s a bitch like Taylor when she isn’t. “Shit.”

  James glares us both down. “If there’s another woman or you’re simply using my daughter, don’t ever touch her again.”

  “Nothing like that. There’s no one else, and there’s definitely no one as perfect as Kate,” I say, facing him straight on. “Sir, what if I said we’re in love with her? What if we said we’re hoping to share a future with her?”

  He scowls. “I haven’t seen any evidence of that.”

  “Because we screwed up, me mostly.”

  “But I can prove we’re very serious. We had this made for her yesterday.” Josh whips out his phone and quickly scrolls to a picture of him holding the engagement ring Maleko created.

  James looks stupefied. Mariah gasps.

  Josh presses our point. “Would you disapprove if we both wanted to love her and take care of her for the rest of our lives? Would you give us your blessing? I realize we’re talking about a very unconventional relationship—”

  “That’s not what troubles me,” James says. “You’re consenting adults. If the three of you are happy together, we applaud that.”

  Mariah nods. “We don’t care who Katie loves as long as she’s loved equally in return. If you can’t do that…”

  They mean what they’re saying. My relief is swift, sweeping, and deep.

  “We can. She is loved equally. More, actually,” my best friend assures them. “Right, Marcus?”

  “Absolutely. One hundred percent. You have no idea.”

  Neither does Kate. We have to prove that to her.

  “Hold up.” James crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s you two I’m concerned about. I don’t know a damn thing about either of you.”

  “We’ll fix that,” I promise, my heart chugging like a motherfucker, feeling lighter than it has in twenty-four hours.

  “We’ll send résumés, financial statements, character witnesses—”

  “Whatever will convince you Kate will be in the best possible hands,” I finish.

  James hesitates. “You’re both clearly older.”

  “We are. There are fourteen years between us and Kate. We acknowledge that.”

  “But that means we’re totally ready to settle down,” Josh adds. “Tomorrow. Hell, today. All she has to do is say yes.”

  James’s eyes narrow. “And if she wants kids?”

  “Great!”

  I smile. “We’re hoping to have children sooner rather than later. So we’d like your blessing…or at least your understanding.”

  “Please.” Josh cups James’s shoulder. “She’ll be our world.”

  The man considers us with a long, probing stare before turning to his older daughter. “Mariah?”

  Her face loses its starch as she studies us. “I was convinced when they said she’s perfect.”

  It’s all I can do not to hug the woman. Since I’m sweaty and half-naked, I doubt she would appreciate it. Josh takes care of it for me, grabbing her hands and squeezing them in thanks before turning to the man I hope will be our father-in-law soon. “Please.”

  James sighs. “It’s hard enough making a marriage between two people work, and Katie has been through a lot.”

  “She told us. And we know a relationship like ours won’t be easy. We’ll raise brows and incite whispers everywhere we go, but we’ll always do our best to shield her from that and make up for it.”

  Mariah recoils. “Please don’t elaborate on your sex life.”

  I bark out a laugh. Kate’s sister isn’t wrong. We’ll never stop finding creative, filthy-dirty ways to make our wife scream and sigh in ecstatic bliss. But that’s not what her family wants to hear. “Josh means that your sister will have our whole hearts.”

  “Exactly,” my pal assures her.

  “Oh.” Mariah blushes. “Good.”

  We all laugh, and the awkward tension finally leaves the room. James offers me his hand, then Josh. “If you can persuade her of that and she says yes, then…welcome to the family. But be warned. If either of you hurt her, I’ll hold you both responsible. The police will have to dig for your bodies with tweezers.”