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“We’re going away,” he finally tells Harlow. “Just us three for two nights. We’ll be back Sunday afternoon, but until then, it’s us and no one else, Angel, relaxing and drinking and relishing in our little bubble.” Her face lights up as he talks, and by the time he’s finished, she has the most radiant grin plastered across it. Yep. I’d do most things to make her look that happy.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Harlow
I can’t believe they’ve done this for me. Something dangerously warm and comforting fills my chest, and I want to bottle the feeling. I didn’t even know it myself, but it’s exactly what I needed. Ezra places his phone into the holder on the windscreen, and I assume it’s his satnav showing, but it looks more like Pac-Man than directions.
“What’s that?” I ask, nodding toward it.
“It shows where the Guards are. I thought, as we have a drive ahead and it’s getting late, I’d use the precautions.” My brows rise, but Sawyer doesn’t look surprised.
“Shows where the Guards are? How does it do that?”
“It’s not important. Let’s not talk about them until Monday morning,” he says, leaning over to drop a kiss to the corner of my mouth, and I’m happy to agree to that. As curious as I am to know how, where, and when Ezra got that technology, I’m way more eager to pretend the Seconds don’t exist at all.
Ezra pulls away and we listen to music on the drive, go to the drive-through to grab food en route to our mysterious destination, and I buzz with excitement the entire time. They won’t tell me where exactly we’re going, and it’s dark by the time we get there, so I don’t see much when Ezra jumps out of the car to check in, just a glimpse of an office set in front of alotof trees.
“You okay?” Sawyer asks, and I turn to face him in the back seat.
“Yeah. Thank you for this. It means a lot.”
“It was Ezra’s idea.”
“I’m sure both of you planned it,” I insist.
“I’ll go along with any idea he has to make you smile,” he says simply, which of course makes me smile. In that moment, looking at his achingly handsome face with his sincere eyes locked on me, I want to blurt it out. The way I feel about him, and maybe always have. But it’sSawyer, and he deserves so much more than a rushed confession in the back of the car. Also what does that mean for Ezra? I can’t love him already. It’s not possible—I’ve known him for a couple of weeks. So he makes me feel cherished and supported andmyself... that’s just lust and infatuation, right? But then why does it feel so similar to what I feel for Sawyer?
The door opening startles me, and Ezra climbs back in. He drives into the trees rather than away from them, and we wind down a long path, the headlights illuminating the sea of trunks and leaves. He parks in what feels like the middle of the forest we were on the outskirts of.
“Home sweet home.” He grins, and they both jump out, making their way to the back of the car to grab the bags while I gape at the lit walkway in front of us. Sawyer opens my door, and I blink up at him as he holds his hand out for me. I climb out of the car, and he immediately slings his arm around my shoulder and walks me along the walkway. It rises gradually away from the ground as we approach the entrance, and by the time we get to the front door, we’re amongst the leaves. Ezra slides the key card against the door, and it clicks open, welcoming us to the coziest little den I’ve ever seen, and I instantly fall in love with it.
We walk straight into one large room with a large fireplace in the corner, sofas surrounding it, and a small kitchenette on the opposite side. There are a couple of doors coming off the main room, but the glass ones directly in front of me hold my attention.
I walk over to them and slide the doors open, the sounds of the forest filling the silence as I step out onto the little balcony. A closed hot tub sits ahead, and in the darkness, there’s not much else to be seen, but it’s so peaceful I can already feel myself relaxing here.
“It’s like a tree house for grown-ups,” I breathe.
“Yep,” Ezra replies softly, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “Welcome to our bubble.”
These guys. People search for partners like them for years and years—a partner who listens, is supportive, and is forever searching for ways to make you happy. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have two of them. I spin in his arms, running my nails against the short crop on the back of his head.
“Thank you.” There’s so much more I want to say, but this will have to do for now. It seems enough for Ezra anyway.
“You’re welcome. Sawyer’s lighting the fire, and we’re waiting for you to pick the film.”
“Of course he is.”
It used to be his job in the winter when we were younger, and now he has to light any fire he sees, even if it’s nowhere near cold enough to need one. I let the guys pick the film, because I know as soon as we settle down in front of the roaring open fire and I’m tucked between them, I’ll be asleep within five minutes.
***
When I open my eyes in the morning, I’m still between them both, but in bed this time. They’re both still asleep, but I can see the early morning light filtering into the room, and I’m desperate to check out the view. I use the bathroom and brush my teeth, but neither of them has woken up when I come back out, so like a child, I jump onto the end of the bed, jolting them like it’s Christmas morning. Their eyes fly open, and I feel instantly guilty. I should have let them sleep.
“What happened?” Sawyer asks in his husky morning voice.
“Oh, never mind. Sorry,” I mutter as I climb back between them and lie down. He turns to his side and winds his arm around my waist.
“What’s going on, Angel?”
