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Gavin turns his focus to me, nodding in a cool, slightly distant hello. “Hey there,” he says, voice dry, tone inscrutable.
I don’t feel inscrutable though. I feel a little transfixed as Gavin whips off his shades. Our eyes lock. Or is it just me thinking they lock? Me feeling some sort of pull? A charge sparking in the air?
“Hi,” I say. My pulse stutters, and I try to get a handle on these reactions I’m having.
I turn to Rhys again, like that’ll cool me off. But his lips are curved in a playful grin. Has his smile always been so…sexy?
“Lovely to see you, Briar,” Rhys says, and that accent. That word. Lovely. It’s even more delicious said by him.
“You too,” I answer, and I should say something more. How was the drive? What’s going on? Great game last night. Really I should. But I feel kind of syrupy. A little slow as I try to figure out what’s happening inside me and around me as the tension between Hollis and me warps hotly into something else—something I don’t entirely understand.
Hollis nods to the tiny house next to the garage. “That’s yours. Enjoy.”
Gavin scratches his face with his middle finger.
Rhys rolls his eyes as he grabs a duffel from the backseat. “I believe I arranged the rental with the festival organizer, so you can enjoy the little bed, Goldilocks,” Rhys says to Hollis.
Hollis shakes his head defiantly. “I was here first. Shotgun.”
Gavin arches a brow, then tosses out nonchalantly, “I’m happy to take you on in poker if you want to settle it that way.”
Hollis blanches. Well, I guess Gavin is formidable with cards. “Fine, fine. You two can sleep on the living room floor,” he says.
As Rhys strides along the stone path cutting through the mustard flower lawn, his dark eyes hold mine. “And are you our guest for the week, Briar?”
My name now sounds like lovely. What kind of sorcery is that English accent doing to me? A zing rushes down my chest. An answer. But am I saying yes to Hollis’s demand too? Is that what a dependable, reliable, focused woman would do?
“Well, as long as I don’t have to sleep on the carpet,” I say, finally, finally finding more than a few words to say. I’m not sure they’ll cut the awkward tension between Hollis and me though. Or resolve what exactly I’m saying yes to.
Hollis turns my way, flashing that generous, easy grin that melted me last night. That still…melts me. “Ladies’ choice.”
There’s something a little naughty in those words. A little sexy, like he’s undeterred by my issue last night. Did Hollis insist I stay because he’s planning something for me? Does he want…another chance? A beat of arousal pulses inside me at the thought. Then, it intensifies when I look at the other men heading my way.
As they reach the steps, Donut greets each one, saying hello to Rhys, then Gavin, then Hollis again.
She’s got the right idea. Sharing her affection.
Get a grip. Your dog is not sending you subliminal sex messages. She’s a dog. That is all.
When we’re all on the porch though, my cheeks heat. A splash of warmth rushes down my chest.
Why am I so flushed?
It’s not just because they’re all handsome, though objectively they are. And yes, of course I’m attracted to Hollis. I knew that last night. But now, as I stand between the three men, forming a circle around me, a new reality dawns, like the sun rising bright and clear on the horizon.
That chemistry I felt for Hollis last night? It’s even more intense with his teammates here. I feel something floaty in my chest. A warm, hazy sensation of…attraction. To all of them. All at once.
“So, you’re staying with us?” Gavin asks, like he needs to confirm that. Or maybe like he’s up to something too?
Rhys moves closer to me, dropping a kiss to my cheek.
Oh. Wow. That’s a nice greeting. It catches me off guard, and I’m dizzy once more. For the briefest of seconds, I lift my palm to my cheek, almost like I’m catching that kiss. But then I drop my hand when I realize Hollis is watching us. His gaze is intrigued—curious even. Like he’s filing that data point away.
“Hollis mentioned you might be our roomie for the week,” Rhys says.
Already? We only just discussed it minutes ago. I look to Hollis again, trying to get my bearings. “You did?”
“I texted them that you were here. I wanted them to know we might have a guest.”
