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Her fears were confirmed when Michelle settled back against her seat, a stony expression on her face. “Well, little girl. You wanted our attention, and now you have it. Once we get back to our room, you are in for a very, very long night.”
Uh oh.
Chapter 14
Michelle
They rode in silence the rest of the way back to the stables. Allie was still snuggled in on Nick’s lap, because Michelle hadn’t had the heart to make her move when she looked so miserable.
And, if she was being completely honest, she didn’t really want anyone close to her just then. Not when her gut was still churning with hurt and anger and worry, thanks to the both of them.
Why couldn’t Allie have just left it alone? Now, she had to find a way to tell her girlfriend she’d developed feelings for the man who was supposed to be nothing but a play partner, and she had no idea how Allie would take it. Or Nick, for that matter. Somewhere during the long, silent ride, she’d begrudgingly accepted that she owed him some honesty for her hostile behavior. Even if she still did want to punch him in his stupid, gorgeous face.
By the time the three of them had trudged through the bright, cheerful halls of the Ranch to their room, Michelle’s stomach had been tied into about a dozen knots. Her hands trembled slightly as she opened the door to the room and followed Nick and Allie inside, pulling the door shut behind her with an ominousclick.
In silence, they all stripped out of their heavy winter coats and hung them up in the small closet just inside the room. Turning to face Allie and Nick, Michelle clasped her hands in front of her and took a deep, bracing breath. “Before we address Allison’s behavior, I owe you both… an explanation, at least.”
“Finally,” Allie muttered, crossing her arms in an obvious sulk.
Before Michelle could reprimand her, Nick laid his hand on Allie’s shoulder, his expression stern. “Little girl, do you really think right now is the best time to be copping an attitude?”
Butterflies fluttered in Michelle’s stomach. Nobody else had ever talked to her girl like that, and if it had been anyone else, she would have torn them to shreds. And perhaps she still should have, but watching Nick in full Daddy mode… it was just really fuckinghot.
And she couldn’t argue with the results, not when Allie dropped her gaze to the floor, her shoulders slumping forward as pink color tinged her cheeks. “Sorry, Shelly.”
“Thank you, babygirl. Now, as I was saying, I owe you both an explanation.” Twisting her hands together, she drew in a deep breath. “Allie, I wasn’t completely honest today when I told you I wasn’t upset.” Nerves skittered up and down her spine, but she forced herself to continue. “The truth is, I had a really, really nice time with Nick last night. And when he turned me down for a second scene, it hurt. More than it should have.”
“Michelle...” Nick stepped forward, but she raised a hand to stop him. If he touched her now, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to say what she needed to say.
Swallowing hard against the threatening tears, she forced herself to continue. “It took me most of today to realize that the reason it hurt was because I was more emotionally involved than I should have been. Which isn’t fair to you, or Nick.”
“How is that not fair?” Confusion written all over her face, Allie lifted her head, looking from Michelle to Nick and back again, like she was following a tennis match. “If he likes you and you like him, what’s the problem?”
Michelle blinked slowly, her mind not quite processing what Allie was asking. “Well… because we can’t be together. Not like that. I’m with you, babygirl,” she added, pointing out the painfully obvious truth of their dilemma.
“Oh. Are you worried Nick won’t like me?”
“I—what?”
“Is Nick not a Daddy?” Frowning, Allie looked up at him. “Aren’t you a Daddy? I totally got Daddy vibes from you. But if you don’t wanna be a Daddy, then yeah, this isn’t going to work.”
Michelle felt like she was on an out-of-control roller coaster, with no chance of slowing it down. “Whatisn’t going to work?”
“Us,” Allie said, as if that explained everything. “The three of us. Together.”
“I need to sit down.” Stumbling toward the bed, Nick dropped down hard on the mattress, an unreadable expression on his face. “You want me to… both of you?”
“Well, yes. I don’t think I’d like it very much if Michelle didn’t share you.”
“Allison.” Closing her eyes, Michelle pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think you are several steps ahead of us, somehow. Where on Earth did you get this idea?”
“We’ve talked about it before.” Allie shrugged. “And I sorta thought Nick would make a great Daddy anyway, and you both admit you had a good time together, and you obviously like each other, so it just seems like the obvious solution.”
And it did make a strange sort of sense, laid out so plainly. But relationships were more than just logical next steps. They were messy enough with two people. Was she really willing to risk not only her own heart, but Allie’s as well, by bringing a third into their dynamic?
Across the room, Nick cleared his throat, pulling her and Allie’s attention toward him. “For what it’s worth, I haven’t been a Daddy before, but I have been wanting to explore that role for a while.”
“But… you said you didn’t want to scene with me again.” To her horror, tears filled Michelle’s eyes. “You don’t want me.”
