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He hooked a finger under my chin and raised my mouth to his, laying an equally hot kiss on me.
Well, then.
Focusing on dinner was not going to be easy.
I poked my head into the kitchen and found Rand and Cross deep in conversation about New York sports teams and their coaches. But as soon as they saw me, they went silent. Their gazes running over me turned my legs to jelly, forcing me to steady myself with a hand on the countertop.
“Hey,” I said, trying to act cool and collected, but knowing I was probably bombing, miserably.
“Hey?” Cross said. “Is that all I get?” A giant smile spread across his face.
I ran to throw my arms around him. How could I not? I loved this man.
I loved them all, actually.
Shit. What a mess.
I turned to Rand and greeted him with the same enthusiasm.
“Bubbly?” he said, handing me a flute.
I pulled up a barstool next to Cross and was flanked by the other two guys.
“You know me so well,” I said after a sip of heavenly champagne.
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Rand said with a wink. “I guess we all do, on different levels.”
“What’d you make us for dinner, man?” Marlon asked.
“You’ll see. In fact, head on over to the table, and I’ll bring out the grub,” Rand said.
But it was hardly grub. Christ, a gorgeous man who could also cook? This was dangerous.
He appeared with a large ceramic dish and served us what was probably the most incredible lasagna I’d ever had. The noodles melted in my mouth, and his homemade tomato sauce was better than anything I’d had in any Italian restaurant in New York—and that was saying a lot in a place with an Italian joint on just about every corner.
The dining room was silent for several minutes as the guys devoured their meals. I couldn’t blame them—I wasn’t speaking, either, that’s how good it was.
So I jumped at the opportunity to speak to all of them at once.
“Guys,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I want to say something to all of you. I pushed my chair back and stood for emphasis. It must have worked because everyone put his fork down and gave me his full attention.
“Thank you for being so awesome about supporting my dreams to be a designer on my own, and especially for helping me through the break-in of my apartment. You’ve all been so generous and kind.”
I looked down at my champagne for a moment.
“Really, I’m not sure I deserve all this.”
“Kealy—” Marlon started.
“Wait, wait, Marlon. I have to finish, first.”
He nodded and sat back in his chair.
Fuck, just say it.
“I don’t think I can be shared by the four of you. I just don’t think it would work for me. So, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to choose one of you. I’m not sure how I’ll do that, but I care about you all, and I hope at least one of you feels the same way towards me.”
“Kealy,” Rand said, “you don’t have to do this—”
“But I do, Rand.”
They looked around the table at each other, and in spite of my just having finished dinner, the pit in my stomach grew.
I was going to be responsible for hurting some, or maybe even all, of these men.
