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She smiled. Knowing he understood her concerns was one thing, but still wanting to help others took her already high respect for him up to a whole other level.
“But we’ve pulled this business together in only a few months and I know we can do more. People are having to choose between paying their rent and utilities or buying food. Others, like Mr Moss, have houses that they can’t afford to or aren’t able to maintain for other reasons. I just think maybe I could volunteer a couple of hours a week to help people do little things around the house, do a shop for them, that sort of thing—”
“On one condition,” Ava said, pulling away from him to look Cole in the eye. “That I can do it too.”
His eyes lit up, and his grin was like the sunrise after a dark night. “Yeah? I don’t know how to organize it.” Cole pursed his lips, but Bryce was there, turning his face.
“I do. The team has resources for us to help get involved in doing charitable work. They were totally into it when I told them I wanted to talk about cyber bullying. I know they’ll love to get involved in setting up something of our own too.”
Seventeen
Bryce
December
T
hey were staying in a fancy hotel for the night. It was a dual celebration. Their tenth house had settled the day before, the money landing in their joint bank account, and the charity ball that he’d hosted the night before had gone off without a hitch—except for how awkward it had been with Mr Denyer.
He’d tried to talk Ava into selling their latest property to him for cost. He’d wanted it, but hadn’t moved quickly enough, their agent lining up the purchase before the property even hit the market. Ava had refused politely. He wasn’t happy, but he’d conceded graciously. It only got awkward when Bryce repeatedly felt eyes on him and he’d search out who it was, only to meet Mr Denyer’s gaze over and over. Each time, he’d flash Bryce a smile, lift his glass in a toast or give him a polite nod and each time, it got more awkward.
He couldn’t wait to get out of there by the end of the night.
The lift upstairs to their hotel room was the start of a change of tide though. By the time they pushed through the door, Bryce was so wound up that he’d taken great delight in stripping Cole out of his penguin suit and Ava out of her red silk floor-length gown. Bryce’s own suit was strewn all the way through the hotel room to the foot of the bed. Both his lovers were sexy as hell dressed up and even better out of it, and he’d shown them both just how much he appreciated every inch of their delectable bodies.
Bryce propped himself up on his elbow and peered down through squinted eyes at his partners sleeping peacefully next to him. Cole was in the middle—in Ava’s usual spot—the big spoon to Ava’s little one. He pressed a kiss to Cole’s shoulder and slid out from under the sheet. It was going to be another warm day, the sun already pumping out heat even though it was relatively early.
He did his business in the bathroom before ducking under the warm shower spray and quickly scrubbing himself clean. His stomach rumbled loudly, curling in on itself. The meal at the fancy fundraiser had been amazing, but most definitely on the tiny side. They’d been too preoccupied to do a late-night Maccas run, and he was regretting not eating now.
He and Ava traded places when he opened the door, his girl only stopping to plant a smacking kiss on his lips before she shut the door. “Morning,” Cole mumbled, lying face down on the bed, the pillow he’d shared with Ava on his head.
Bryce leaned down and pressed a line of kisses along his shoulder, speaking quietly when he said, “I’ll get you some water and painkillers.”
“I’m okay, just feelin’ a little seedy. Too much bourbon and not enough food.” Bryce couldn’t agree more, but he’d stayed mostly sober, only having a drink or two to loosen himself up for the speech. He had another motivation too—he got handsy when he was drunk and announcing his sexuality and his relationship with Cole in front of a room full of people wasn’t in the plan.
Bryce fetched him a bottle of water, cracking the lid open before he tossed his wet towel at the end of the bed and slowly lowered himself next to Cole. He handed him the bottle and rubbed his back. “Once you’re up, have a shower and we’ll get some food.”
He looked up nearby coffee shops and read the reviews—Grounds had the best rating and it was only a couple of blocks away.
It didn’t take long for them to hit the street and only a few minutes later, the welcoming aroma of excellent coffee and breakfast food beckoned to them. He pushed through the door to the café and did a double take.
“Mate!” Liam, his football bud from back home, a player for the Gold Coast team strode over and gave Bryce a back-slapping hug. It was great to see him, but his enthusiastic reaction had gotten peoples’ attention and he’d been hoping to fly under the radar.
He wasn’t ready to go back to treating Cole as a friend just yet.
Liam touched the woman he was with on the elbow, and Bryce took her in. She was tiny, both short and petite. A good head shorter than Ava. But she also had presence. She may be the size of a mouse, but she didn’t hold herself like one. Her hot-pink hair stood out, announcing her arrival, and her smile drew him to her. His initial impression said she would be smart too. Behind the smile were keen eyes that seemed to take in everything. He couldn’t explain it, but Bryce just knew she would be able to tell a lot about someone just by their body language.
“Addy, this is Bryce. He plays for Easts. I was a senior in the training camps when Bryce was coming into them. He was my little buddy,” Liam babbled, and Bryce snorted out a laugh. It was true, but only as far as their ages were concerned. Bryce was a few years younger than Liam but even before he’d hit his teenage growth spurt, he was both taller and broader than Liam. It suited both of them, though. Liam played on the wing. He had to be fast and duck and weave between the defensive line to score and to be able to keep up with the other side when they were on the attack. Bryce was on the front row too, but he was the brick wall that no one wanted to run into.
“Addy’s a good friend of mine,” Liam explained, but the tiny twist in his lips had Bryce blinking, replaying the moment in his head, trying to put his finger on whatever it was that Liam had inadvertently let slip.
“Great to meet you,” Bryce responded automatically while his brain caught up.
He couldn’t help the googly-eyed smile that no doubt lit up his face when he thought about who he was with. They lit up his world. “This is my girlfriend, Ava, and our roommate, Cole.” The words were bitter on his tongue, a harsh contrast to the loved-up warmth of having his man in his arms all night. Usually he got the privilege of cuddling Ava, but Cole had needed them both the night before. He tried not to show it, but he’d been miserable being introduced as their flatmate over and over again. That was why their clothes had landed in piles on the floor as both he and Ava reminded Cole of just how important he was to them.
Cole touched the small of his back, a subtle move that no one else would have noticed and stepped away. Bryce kept the smile in place even with the frown appearing again on Cole’s face. “How long are you here for?” he asked, knowing he couldn’t do anything to soothe Cole.
“Just until tomorrow night. Addy’s boyfriend and I fly back so I can train on Monday, but Addy has another week here after that.”
