AllFreeNovel
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Is he going to ask to try again? Would I mind another shot? The tingles that rush down my chest say I wouldn’t mind at all. But then a voice in my head says, You know what would happen? Nothing, sucker!
“What’s the condition?” I ask. I’m not sure if I want him to sex blackmail me or not. I do, and I don’t. I don’t, and I do.
His grin is confident, borderline cocky. Like he knows he has a winning hand. “You stay here with us.”
18
BE OUR GUEST
Briar
Before I can answer him, Donut perks up from the living room floor, floppy ears lifting. She rushes to the front door and springs into the air, attempting to unlock it once again with a jump.
I snap my gaze toward my pup then peer out the window, spotting a sleek cherry-red car. I don’t recognize the make or model, but it sounds electric, since, well, it’s silent. But the crunchy gravel driveway is not.
Donut launches herself up again and again. Hollis looks at her curiously. “She jumps?”
Translation: how does a Dachshund spring two feet in the air when she’s not even one foot tall?
“She thinks she can jump-open a door.”
He seems to take that in as we stride to the door together, and it occurs to me I should answer him.
He’s been polite.
Kind.
And ridiculously generous in his shirtless-ness. But three sexy hockey studs and me sharing a house that’s really for three? “You don’t think it’ll be awkward if I stay here?”
It’s already awkward this morning. There’s so much weird tension. Which is understandable. But still, it’s there, like the lingering scent of garlic in the kitchen long after you’ve cooked a stir-fry.
A line digs into his forehead. “Because of?—”
Before he can say last night, I wave that off. “Because of the house situation.”
“We’re good at sharing,” he says casually, advancing ahead of me toward the door while I chew on that.
We’re good at sharing.
He can’t mean…
Or does he?
No, he’s just talking about square footage and stuff. Not other kinds of sharing.
I try to dismiss the thoughts racing through my head as Hollis swings open the door. I tell Donut to stay by my side and she complies, parking her butt on the floor.
“Thanks but we don’t need any solar panels, security systems, or window washing,” Hollis calls out to the guys, wasting no time diving into the taunts.
“Then you can come get our bags and carry them in,” Gavin says, not missing a beat either as he steps out of the driver’s side, aviator shades on, brown hair wavier than usual, stubble coming in thicker than it was last week. It’s a good look on the strapping guy. He’s really got the whole strong-sturdy-man-who-can-scale-mountains thing working.
Rhys gets out a second later, unfolding his body from the passenger seat. He’s so handsome it’s like looking at the sun. Feels like it too. I’m just warmer in his presence. There’s something so GQ about him, but the scar on his eyebrow humanizes him. The imperfection amidst his perfection. He wears khakis and a black Henley that hugs his strong pecs. Gavin’s dressed in gray joggers and a dark blue T-shirt that’s nice and snug.
My gaze swings back to Hollis now, roaming up and down the hockey player next to me who’s wearing nearly nothing.
The thoughts tango once more in my brain. All new possibilities. Configurations. Yoga poses.
That I really need to snap out of.
