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“Anyway, I’ll call social services tomorrow, I’ll find a new sitter for Jasper, and I’ll keep saving until I have enough for a new apartment for us. Everything will be fine.”
Rhys gave her an encouraging grin. “Well, my money’s on you. I have a feeling there’s nothing you can’t do once you’ve set your mind to it.”
Jess let Rhys’s words soak deep, let them strengthen her. Then she yawned again. “I think I’m going to turn in for the night. The wine is making me extra sleepy. Besides, I promised to read Jasper a bedtime story.”
The three of them stood, no one moving for a moment. Jess needed to be up and out early tomorrow so she could stop by Rocco’s office to apologize for missing work today.
She smiled when she realized how tranquil she felt. For weeks—no, months—she’d been in a perpetual state of motion, her body and mind never stopping as she fought to drag herself and Jasper away from one disaster after another.
In just one day, Rhys and Tony had given her a chance to reboot—with sleep and warmth and food. Now she had a concrete way to move forward from here.
There was no way she’d ever be able to express to them exactly how much today had meant to her. So Jess followed her instincts, stepping toward Rhys and giving him a hug. “Thank you so much for taking care of me this morning.”
Rhys wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug. He smelled good…and for a moment, she allowed herself to wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
“Any time. And the next time Jasper gets hurt, you call me. From now on, I’m your doctor. Got it?”
She stepped away and smiled when he playfully bopped her nose with his finger. “Got it, Dr. Beaumont.”
She turned toward Tony but hesitated, suddenly feeling shy—something he wasn’t having. He held his arms out, impatiently demanding his own hug. She grinned as she stepped into his embrace, his height and broad shoulders enveloping her, making her feel as small as Jasper.
He held her tightly, his large hand running up and down her back. He probably meant his embrace to be comforting, but it sent her mind straight to a dirtier place, and again, she dreamed of kissing him.
Kissingthem.
Her loneliness was getting the better of her. Time to get a grip.
She stepped away from him, shoving her growing attraction to these two men back into the fantasy land category, forcing herself to accept nothing would ever happen between her or either man, the two of them so far out of her league it wasn’t even funny.
They were both older, well established in their careers, and more experienced—both in life and definitely sexually. She’d lost her virginity to the asshole sperm donor and she hadn’t slept with anyone since. Jess was nowhere near getting her shit together yet, the wordshot messdrifting through her mind. She was a walking, talking dumpster fire, something Tony and Rhys had seen up close and personal.
Tomorrow, she would go back to just being their waitress and she’d try not to overindulge in naughty fantasies about them, though that was going to be difficult after today.
She glanced up at Tony’s face and frowned. She’d grown used to his alternating smiles and overprotective scowls today, so she wasn’t sure what to make of his grave expression.
“You’re acting like this goodbye is forever,” he mused.
“Oh, I know I’ll see you at the diner. It’s just…I wanted to say thanks. So, thank you.”
He nodded, but his features didn’t lighten.
“Good night,” she said, deciding she would be smart to cut this farewell short before she did something stupid, like try to kiss one—or both—of these men. Her arousal was off the charts and she really needed to get control of her libido. She wasn’t much of a wine drinker, but she’d had two glasses tonight, so that wasn’t helping her current state either.
It was one thing to indulge in this perfect night, where she could pretend she wasn’t homeless, wasn’t broke. But it would be another thing to allow herself to think she could ever change her fantasies about Rhys and Tony into a reality.
To make matters worse, she was seriously thinking aboutbothof them, not one or the other. As if that would ever happen.
Jess walked away, though she felt both their gazes following her as she left the room.
Jasper was still awake when she entered the guest room but just barely. She turned the television off and grabbed a book. She hadn’t read more than a few pages before he was snoring softly.
She rolled over and turned out the light, closing her eyes…then mentally deciding to hell with it.
She’d just keep breaking all the rules for this one night.
She drifted deeper into her mind, letting her fantasy out to play. She was sleeping on a bed soft as a cloud in a gorgeous bedroom.
Jess imagined Tony coming into the room and gently shaking her shoulder, his finger pressed to his lips, bidding her to be quiet and follow him. She’d let him take her to his bedroom, where Rhys would be waiting. They’d take turns kissing her before pressing her down on the bed. She imagined their lips and hands touching, stroking, caressing her until she cried out, demanding they take her.
