Page 24 of Theirs to Treasure

“Baby, I knew about this plan before we came back to your place last night. I wouldn’t have let things go so far if I wasn’t sure that I would be onboard with all three of us.” Sam placed a kiss at her temple. “But Chance and I want to talk to you. Have you ever considered something like this before?”

Josie whirled around in his grasp. “Of course not! I’m not sure I’m considering it now, to be absolutely honest,” she bit out. “But it’s either this, or just let you both go, and somehow I can’t seem to do that.” Josie was still amazed at how important these two men had become to her just over a month’s time.

She watched as a slow Sam-smile broke over his face.

“Thank you for that.”

He leaned in and his mouth met hers. She luxuriated in the feel of his firm lips as they caressed the waiting softness of her mouth. Finally, he lifted his head. “We need to go, before I take you back into your apartment. I promised Chance I wouldn’t do that.” Josie saw that he was serious and couldn’t help but smile.

Once again, he led the way down the stairs, and this time since she was wearing black heels to go with her dress, she was actually somewhat relieved that he would be there if she mis-stepped. When they got to the parking lot, she saw that he was still driving the Audi.

“I thought you only got to use that while Chance was out of town,” she teased.

“Chance wants you to have the most comfortable seats possible,” Sam explained seriously, as he handed her into the passenger seat. He fastened the seat belt around her. It was such a little thing, but it warmed her each time he did it. Josie remembered that Chance had done the same thing the first time she’d met him as well.

In the short drive to the house, Sam asked Josie how her day had gone at Sweet Dreams. The big dilemma of the day was when Mr. Larsden had asked her to lie to his wife. He didn’t want Mrs. Larsden to know how often he was coming to the bakery and how many bear claws he was eating. Elise had saved Josie by saying she would do all the talking when his wife came in and asked any questions.

Sam chuckled and explained that they made the same kind of deal over at Hart’s Diner last year. Apparently, Svenga Larsden thought that her husband sampling food other than her own was the same as sleeping with another woman.

By the time they got to the house, Josie felt much more comfortable. She also told Sam about what was going on with her sisters. Two weeks ago, Sarah had brought up the fact that one of the girls in her study group hadn’t been pulling her weight. Sarah had wanted to blast her, but Josie had talked her off the ledge.

Sarah had called today to thank Josie because it turned out that the girl’s parents were going through an ugly divorce and she really needed support, not criticism. Josie really missed her sisters, but the Skype sessions helped.

When they went through the front door, wonderful smells coming from the kitchen greeted them.

“We’re here!” Sam hollered as he led her toward the back of the house. They found Chance in the dining room. The table was set, and all the food was spread out.

“Don’t think I wasn’t timing the two of you!” Chance said with a twinkle in his eye. He swooped in and embraced Josie in a huge hug. He held her back, and then bent down for a soft kiss. “I was glad to see it was more or less twenty-two minutes, which tells me that Sam kept it in his pants.” Josie burst out laughing. The man was incorrigible!

“Let’s sit down and eat some dinner and just get to know one another as friends. Then we can relax in the living room over dessert and maybe—and I stress the word maybe—get to know one another as more than friends. Okay, Zee?”

Josie looked up at Chance’s earnest blue eyes and then over at Sam’s steady green eyes. She’d never felt so nervous in her life. She looked at the table.

“What’s for dinner? I’m starved.”

By the time dinner was over and Sam escorted her to the living room, Josie was anxious and in pain. What the hell had she been thinking wearing heels for this length of time? She damn well knew what she’d been thinking. She was having dinner and possibly sex with two of the hottest men she’d ever met, and she wanted to look her best, which meant wearing high heels. Each step shot another jolt of pain upward into her spine. She would slip them off as soon as she got on the sofa, but she knew the damage had been done. Soon her back would spasm, and she didn’t even have her medication with her.

Only in the last eight years had Josie ever stopped to take care of herself when the pain got this bad. From the age of fourteen to twenty-six, she’d been forced to fight through the pain, often without a brace, without medication, and just get on with whatever she had to do. Really, she’d gotten soft if she thought about it. Or, another part of her mind piped up, the part that quoted her doctor, you’ll end up doing further damage to your vulnerable vertebrae, if you don’t take care of yourself. Pain is the best indicator that something is wrong. God, Josie hated that voice in her head.

Josie knew that more than likely she had once again compressed one of her disks against a nerve by wearing the heels. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, that had been the problem whenever she’d overextended herself working or taking care of her sisters. A simple nerve flare-up was enough to cause severe pain. Once, she’d actually ruptured a disk that required surgery, over ten years ago. She knew she was nowhere close to that because she wouldn’t have been able to walk. So, she sucked it up and walked cautiously to the sofa, then eased herself into a reclining position, hoping neither man would notice her less-than-smooth movements. As soon as she was seated, she toed off her shoes. Sam took them and put them over near the fireplace, before coming back to sit next to her.

“Back hurting?” he asked casually.

Josie gave him the best smile she could. “Oh, no, I feel fine,” she assured him. Just then, Chance walked in carrying a tray with mugs of coffee and dessert dishes. She watched as Sam looked up at him sharply.

“What’s wrong?” Chance asked quickly, as he set down the tray.

“Josie just lied to me.”

She felt a shiver run down her back at the dark tone of Sam’s voice, and she jerked her head to look at him, amazed that he had just called her a liar to Chance. Sam looked deadly serious, then turned back to her.

“Sam, you’re out of line.” She stated firmly.

“You did lie, Baby. You’re in so much pain I could feel it coming off you in waves as we walked from the dining room.” Sam’s voice sounded like a growl. It was beginning to make her angry as well.

“Is he right, Zee? Are you hurting?” Chance’s trademark smile disappeared as he squatted down in front of her, looking directly into her eyes.

“Yes, Chance, my back is hurting. But it’s nothing really, it always hurts some,” Josie rushed to assure him.