No, I can’t think about that. Not with an erection straining against my slacks like lives depend on driving it into her.
“I’m sorry,” I say, for a different reason this time. “Part of treating you right is remembering that for the moment, I’m still your professor. I’m not going to forget that again. We’ll find the right course, but it’s not—it’s not like this.”
Elodie’s smile sends relief fluttering through my chest. “I understand. I’ll try not to sabotage your self-restraint.”
A guffaw sputters out of me. I push myself to my feet,drawing her with me and then unwilling to let go of her hand once we’re standing.
I can allow myself that one small pleasure, can’t I?
The squeeze of Elodie’s fingers around mine suggests she welcomes it as much as I do. We move toward the door together, but she stops me before I can reach for the handle, gazing up at me.
“It’s already better,” she says abruptly.
I search my addled thoughts for the thread she’s replied to. “What?”
“You said the other Cole was better to me. But I—” She appears to gird herself. “I could never be honest with my original matches about so many things: Asher’s death, my glim… The lies were always hanging over me. I don’t know what they’d have done if they’d found out.”
Another protective bristle comes over me. “They should have seen it wasn’t your fault and stood by you exactly the same.”
“That’s easier for you to say when you still have your Asher.” Her smile turns softer but no less sweet. “Maybe you didn’t go about it the nicest way, but I’m glad you got the truth out of me. We can go forward knowing everything that matters about each other. That already makes what we have better.”
She nudges the door open, and I follow her with a stutter of my pulse. Beneath my joy at her words, I can’t help wondering whether she really does know everything that matters aboutme… and whether her opinion would change if she did.
Thirty-Nine
Elodie
Idon’t bother with a bath—I showered before getting ready for the social, and I want to spend every possible moment with my matches, not on my own. In the bathroom, I wriggle out of the slinky dress I picked from Other Elodie’s walk-in closet and reach for the lounge clothes Cole brought for me.
I can’t say Imindedwearing the dress, especially after noticing the way all of my matches’ eyes lit up when they saw me in it. It definitely wasn’t relaxing-wear, though. I was too aware of the skin exposed close to areas I don’t want seen, of the hotter tug of my bond toward the two men I’m not getting that close to yet.
After shedding my bra for maximum comfort, I pick up the undershirt. It’s cotton rather than my doppelganger’s usual silk, but just as soft and light with a cozier texture. Much moreme, if I could have picked the best quality version of my usual wardrobe.
Shoving aside the niggling question of what observations prompted Cole to include it, I slide it over my head and reach for the sweats.
Both shirt and pants are the same soft cotton, made even cozier by the gentle weight of the fabric. I hug myself with a little squirm against the fabric, reveling in the snuggly texture, a smile curving my lips.
If this is how Cole apologizes, maybe I don’t mind if he messes up now and then.
He even included a pair of thin gloves, which I appreciate because the ones I wore with my dress are too long. I slip the new pair over my fingers, tucking Asher’s bracelet underneath, and walk back into the hotel suite on socked feet.
I’ve gotten used enough to the opulence of Other Elodie’s home that the fine furnishings don’t take my breath away the way they might have a couple of months ago, but I can still appreciate the luxurious feel of the thick carpet beneath me. The extravagance of this massive room that’s all ours for tonight sends a thrill through my chest.
Because what I appreciate most is the company of the four men waiting for me. Who, it turns out, might be able to cooperate with each other even at this early stage after all.
Maybe I’m still not giving them enough credit. Not even the imagined voices in my head could have predicted they’d manage to find common ground this quickly… but these aren’t the same matches.
And these versions of my men aren’t leaving any doubts about their devotion.
Even though I’m not dolled up anymore, all four of their faces brighten at the sight of me. As I walk over to join them, my pulse gives a giddy sort of hitch.
Cole organized tonight’s interlude, but they all came together to make it happen. They’re all standing there withina few feet of each other, not arguing or hassling each other, seemingly at peace.
For me. And right now, for the first time, we really do feel like a union.
“They’re good?” Cole asks, inspecting the clothes with a tinge of concern.
“Perfect. Thank you.”
