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I don’t know how I manage to slide off the table, but I do. I slip the nightgown back on as Luke watches me with a quiet mixture of confusion and disbelief. I can’t even look at him, my throat closing up with shame. What will Kellan and Fallon think?
“Avery.”
“No, I can’t. I’m so sorry, Luke. Good night.”
I run out of the kitchen, damn near tripping at the bottom of the stairs. Moments later, I’m in my bathroom, crying under the hot, running water of the shower, knees at my chest and heart beating way too hard. I feel awful.
It was beautiful. It was tender and passionate. It was everything I’d imagined it would be. Luke is just as good as Kellan and Fallon. But I can’t have them all. It’s not fair to any of them. It’s not fair to me, either. This was a terrible mistake.
11
Luke
It’s been two days since that incredible night.
Two days since I’ve been unable to get Avery out of my mind. I knew deep down from the moment I met her that she would have a lasting impact on me. I could see it in her eyes. It was written all over her beautiful curves. It was ingrained in each blonde strand and in the specks of gold lost in her blue eyes. It came off her like a scent, the kind of scent that drives a man to the kind of madness he’d never wish to heal from.
I shouldn’t be feeling this way. It’s wrong. It’ll end in misery. I know that, too.
But I’m already losing control.
“She hasn’t been out of her room much,” I tell Kellan and Fallon.
We’re having coffee in the study on the ground floor. We were supposed to go over the business aspects of our day, but the three of us are clearly and irrevocably enthralled by this woman and her lovely little girls. Our lives have changed, and I only hope they’ve changed for the better. They will leave, eventually, and this house will feel bland and empty in their absence. But maybe, just maybe, things will work out differently. It’s wishful thinking but it’s not entirely impossible.
“Yeah, Helen told us. She sticks to the Freeman place and with the girls,” Kellan sighs deeply.
“Have you seen her since the other night?” Fallon asks me.
I shake my head. “She doesn’t know we’ve shared women before,” I tell him. “She’s terrified and ashamed. But she couldn’t help herself. It was sublime.”
“I don’t want to say that Avery could be the one,” Kellan begins, “though we could at least entertain the possibility. She ticks every box.”
“She’s taking this hard.”
Fallon raises an eyebrow, staring at the coffee in his mug. “We should talk to her and ease her mind. She’s been through the grinder already with that prick of an ex-husband of hers. We’re supposed to give her peace and solace, make her feel safe.”
“You’re right,” Kellan concedes. “We’ll definitely need to sit her down and soon. The last thing I want is to drive her away.”
“She can’t go anywhere, not while Daniel is still on the loose,” I remind him. “And speaking of, we haven’t had much luck finding him yet. Those federal feeds haven’t yielded much, though my guys in computer forensics are still combing through the footage.”
“The BOLO hasn’t gotten us anywhere either,” Kellan says. “It’s fine. He’s alive and kicking and itching for revenge. It’s only a matter of time before he makes a mistake. The forensic psychologist said that much. Avery knocked him down a peg when she hit him and fled. His narcissistic ego can’t take the humiliation. He is compelled to come looking for her.”
“Yeah, and that’s what worries me. There are plenty of us, yes, and the mansion is highly secure. I just want to make sure we catch the fucker before he gets anywhere even remotely close to Avery and the girls again. They’ve had enough trauma to last them a lifetime.”
Fallon exhales sharply. “We should take her out to dinner. If we’re gonna have… you know, the talk about us.”
“I don’t know how she’ll take it,” Kellan expresses his concern. “I am well aware that we absolutely have to broach the topic with her, but I have to admit, I’m worried it’ll freak her out.”
“Well, you two shared her already,” I tell them. “So, it’s not the most foreign of territories for her. We just need to ease her in. I’m sure it’ll soothe her conscience once she understands how we operate. It’s not like this sort of relationship just pops up frequently in society. We do need to let her know it’s okay. That it’s what we want.”
The sound of rushed footsteps and girly cheers coming down the stairs has the three of us sitting up straight and ending the conversation as Annie and Miley clumsily rush into the study to greet us. Helen is close behind them, wearing her usual fancy emerald-green pantsuit and cream boots. Wanting some normalcy, Avery found a center that offered preschool and kindergarten and enrolled the girls. Helen is driving the little angels there today.
“Morning, Kel-lan!” Annie coos as she hugs his knee.
Kellan laughs and takes her in his arms, the two of them huddled in the plush armchair. I think he’s definitely Annie’s favorite. “Good morning, sunshine. How’d you sleep?” he asks.
“Like a baby,” Miley replies on her sister’s behalf as she goes over to Fallon. “Can I have a hug?”
