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Making her way into the kitchen, she could hear the two of them chatting animatedly about something that Holly couldn't quite make out, but they stopped talking when she walked into the room.
Nick and Jaxon were seated at the breakfast bar, and Holly made her way over to them, hoping things weren’t going to be awkward. "Good morning," she said, her voice soft and slightly husky from sleep.
"Good morning, beautiful," Nick replied with a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Holly felt herself blush, her heart skipping a beat. She wasn't used to men calling her beautiful so casually, especially not men as handsome as Nick.
She cast a quick glance at Jaxon, who was sipping his coffee and scrolling through his phone, wondering how he’d react to that. He looked at her, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. Holly felt her heart flutter in her chest, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Morning, sweetheart.” Jaxon set down his phone and focused all his attention on her. "You look like you got a good night's sleep."
Holly nodded, feeling her cheeks flush. "Yeah, I did."
Nick got up and held a seat for her, while Jaxon busied himself getting her breakfast. This morning, it was a selection of fresh fruit, Greek yogurt with honey, followed by cheesy, herbed, scrambled eggs on seeded toast.
Throughout breakfast, they both touched her freely, affectionately. The graze of fingers over her hand. The touch of knuckles on her cheek. Hair tucked behind her ear.
The endearments, the touches, both made it clear they were invested in the possibility of… something. Holly wasn’t that naive.
But damn, they weren’t making this easy on her.
They had just finished eating and had started clearing up when Kris stomped into the kitchen, his usual surly disposition bringing a cloud into the bright room.
He glared at her, slapping his daily newspaper down on the table with more force than necessary, and Holly stiffened, waiting for the inevitable.
She wished he’d stop these mood swings. They were making her head spin, and her heart pound.
Gorgeous one minute, distant the next.
Aggressive, then withdrawn.
She didn’t know how to handle him.
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded, glaring at the three of them as Holly remained rooted to the spot.
“Kris…” Nick placed his hand on Holly’s shoulder, his tone holding a warning which the other man ignored.
“Well, this is cozy, isn’t it?” He dragged his eyes up and down her like she was somehow distasteful.
Holly felt her heart freeze in her chest, and her mouth went bone dry. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
“You’ve certainly been busy since you got here, haven’t you,” he sneered, ignoring her attempt to speak. Not that she had any idea what to say.
In her peripheral vision, she was aware that Jaxon had stepped up beside her, shaking his head in warning at his friend, but Kris was vicious and unrelenting. “So, you’ve kissed all three of us. What’s that about, huh? Hedging your bets until you can get one of us hooked? Snag one of us and keep the other two dangling as backup in case it doesn’t work out?”
“Kris, stop it!” She heard Nick’s reprimand as if from a distance, followed by Jaxon’s snort of disgust.
Was that really what Kris thought? Did the others see it that way, too? They might, now Kris had planted the seed in their minds. Holly felt her eyes sting, a familiar pressure behind them, and she quickly blinked the tears that threatened away.
She didn’t want this. She’d been so focused on potentially causing a rift between Nick and Jaxon if she chose to have a dalliance with one of them that she’d completely disregarded Kris, which was a huge mistake given how volatile he could be. Holly hadn’t given a thought to how he’d react to any of this. That had been short-sighted of her.
And just like with Jaxon and Nick, Holly refused to cause a wedge between Kris and the two other men, either, regardless of how obnoxious he was. This was his home, too, and he clearly had a problem with her.
It was time to take the high road out of here and do the right thing.
But she wasn’t going to cower or hang her head like she was guilty as charged. Oh no.
Taking a deep breath, Holly found her tongue. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Kris.” She was proud of how level her voice sounded when her insides were quaking. “But no matter how you see it, that was certainly never my intention.”
