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“That’s right,” agreed Ezra. “We realized we made a huge mistake.”
“Several mistakes, in fact,” Cody corrected.
“So, we’ve come to say sorry.” Syrus flashed that captivating smile at her; the one she could never resist.
Ellie was quiet for a long time, getting over her surprise and realigning her thoughts into something more favorable.
“The thing is, we were…” Cody paused as if he were contemplating the right word to use. “… misled,” he finally finished.
“And manipulated,” Ezra said darkly.
“And downright lied to.” Syrus slammed his fist onto the table and made her jump. She might have expected such a thing from Cody, but not him.
She looked between the three of them. They all looked genuinely contrite, and it wasn’t as if she didn’t know how the sisters had manipulated everything.
She sighed. “Look, it’s fine. I accept your apologies.”
“So, you’ll come back then? Ezra asked hopefully.
Ellie reared back and held her palms up in front of her in surprise.
“Whoa! Now I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” The words that came out of her mouth did not match the happy dance that was going on inside her heart, but she ruthlessly tamped that down and led with her more logical mind. No way she was lining herself up for a second round withthe trifecta.No way, no how!
“Please,” Syrus cajoled. “We really want youtoo.”
She decided it was time to speak plainly.
“Look, I appreciate you came over and set the record straight. It makes me feel a lot better. But, I’m sorry, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not prepared to pit myself against three other women in vying for your attentions. You’ve got what you need. I’m just going to bow out gracefully.”
“Actually, Syrus sent them packing,” Ezra revealed. “Not that either Cody or I wanted them there after we found out what was going on.”
Unfortunately, that little slice of information didn’t make her feel any better. “Oh, I see. So, you’ve lost your first round of contenders, so you’re going for second best,” she said indignantly. She got up from the table. “Look, I think you better leave.”
All three of them jumped up.
“That’s not what we meant. Not how it is,” Syrus implored as both he and Ezra pushed their way over to her. He took one of her hands and his brother the other. The pair of them stood there looking at her in mute appeal.
“We just want you to give us a second chance,” Ezra said pleadingly, squeezing her fingers.
Like she could think properly with the two of them crowding her like this, all warm and close and smelling delicious and sending double the amount of tingles down her spine.
“Please say you will.”
Ellie closed her eyes against the easy lure in Ezra’s decadent milk chocolate eyes and Syrus’ intriguingly changeable ones and tried to get her head together.
She made the mistake of opening them and finding herself staring straight between the two of them at Cody. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. That striking blue gaze of his did all the talking for him, and she felt powerless to resist.
If they had worded it any other way, maybe she would have been able to stick to her resolve. If they had said they were willing to givehera second chance, she would have told them where to go in no uncertain terms.
But the fact that they asked her to givethemthe second chance had her melting inside.
Was it really such a bad idea? She loved the area and the ranch, and it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go or anything better to do. Plus, she had a very healthy attraction to all three of the brothers.
She wasn’t beholden to them anymore. She had options. She was no longer the homeless waif desperately looking for a roof over her head and willing to do what few sane people would do in order to stay off the streets.
If she returned with them now, it would be purely because shewantedto and there could be absolutelynoblaming it on her circumstance.
The the way she felt towards them really might be her biggest issue right now. Truth was, she wasn’t sure she could choose between them.
