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I savored times like this—watching the sun set—as much as I savored our intimate moments.
We sat down next to her, me on one side, and Harrison on the other. Ethan took the big chair on the other side of Harrison. The sunset was at its peak, the sky streaked with color. Taylor’s expression was pure contentment, which triggered something deep inside of me. Like finally, everything in my world was perfect because she was happy.
The sun dipped below the horizon, and Taylor stretched out her legs and arms.
“That was so beautiful,” she said, looking at all of us. “Thanks for watching it with me.”
“I’m glad we did,” Harrison said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m glad we’re doing stuff like this. Relationship stuff.”
“Yeah.” She looked between the three of us, her eyes lingering on Ethan. “Speaking of that, should we talk about us?”
Ethan shifted in his seat, but his expression didn’t betray his emotions.
“I don’t know what it’ll look like,” Harrison said. “But I know I want it more than anything.”
“I do, too.” I held her hand. “The physical part is great, but I want it to be more than sex. I want it all—everything a relationship entails.”
Taylor’s eyes were bright and warm, even though she squeezed my hand hard, like she had when we were taking off.
“I think it could be just like this. All of us being your boyfriends.” Harrison’s smile broadened. “It’s not unheard of. And when it comes to us working for you, I don’t think we’ll get any shit for it. We’re more or less independent at this point.”
“I like that idea.” Taylor angled her body more toward Ethan. “What do you think, Ethan? Do you want to be in this relationship?”
Ethan drummed his fingers on his leg, staring off into the distance. The lines between his brows deepened. All of us waited patiently for him to sort himself out, but the longer he was silent, the more on edge Taylor appeared to be.
“I don’t know,” he finally said. “The more I think about it, the more wary I am about diving in. I’ve never been with a client before, much less one I’m actively guarding. And while I do care even more about you, Taylor, I don’t know if that would actually make me better at my job.”
Taylor’s expression fell. The subtle undercurrent in Ethan’s tone, like he wasn’t entirely sure of himself, caught my attention. His eyes flicked to mine, like he knew I was reading him better than he wanted to let on.
“So what’s going to happen, then?” Taylor asked. “I thought we had a connection.”
“We do.” Ethan’s eyes blazed with intense sincerity. “I don’t want you to think that we don’t. But I’m not sure if I can be in a serious relationship with you right now.”
“Then what are you going to do?” Harrison asked, his tone verging on annoyed. Was he sniffing out Ethan’s bullshit the way I was? “Hang around on the fringes, wishing you could be with her?”
Ethan’s mouth pressed into a line. “We’ll just have to see.”
“Yeah, we’ll see,” I said, trying not to smirk.
Ethan wasn’t going to last more than a few days like this. He’d already felt what a relationship with Taylor would be like, and he wasn’t going to give that up when he saw us with her. We just had to wait it out.
CHAPTER18
Ethan
Telling Taylor that I wasn’t going to be in a relationship with her alongside Harrison and Cody was so much easier said than done.
Neither Cody nor Harrison were affectionate with her when we accompanied her to the various events around the island, but when we got back to the room at night, it was a different story. They cuddled up together on the couch to watch TV, kissed her, goofed around with her.
The jealousy inside me raged—not of my best friends themselves, but of the positions they were in. I wanted to let go and dive into being with her fully, just like they were. To be a part of the club they’d given me an open invitation to, so to speak.
But something was holding me back, a barrier I couldn’t climb over.
I woke up in my bedroom the next morning to a clap of thunder and rain lashing against the windows. The normal bright, warm sunshine I’d gotten accustomed to for the past two days was hidden behind dark gray clouds. I rolled over and checked the time. It was early, early enough for Taylor to still be asleep. All the events that the brand held were usually later in the morning.
I got out of bed, did my morning stretches, and threw on a t-shirt and shorts. When I went into the living room to get a glass of water, I found Cody at the coffee maker, staring bleary-eyed at the pot as it filled.
“Morning,” he grunted.
