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“Huh? What?”
God, she was no good at this subterfuge stuff. Not that she was sneaking around, per se, but she just hadn’t wanted to discuss it all again with Charli so soon. She would, of course. She’d be damned if she started lying to her best friend for any reason. All she’d wanted was a few more days to bask in her newly reinvigorated love life.
And how.
“Paige Elizabeth Wilcox, I recognize that pink in your cheeks. You have a new lover. You better tell me all about it.” She grinned. “And him. Start with length and width.”
Awkward. So much awkward. It wasn’t like she could say, “Oh, you know all about one of them.” One of them. Because she had two guys.
She barely swallowed a laugh. That would never stop blowing her mind.
“Oh my word, Charli. Being married has made you an utter horndog.” To distract both of them, Paige moved away to fuss with the flowers. Some of them were starting to wilt.
Looked like that was becoming her role all the way around lately: freshener-upper. Especially when it came to herself.
“Nah, not so much. I was a horndog before, I just didn’t have a willing partner to practice with.” Charli boosted herself up on the counter beside the back door and waited expectantly. “So? Don’t make me get out the crowbar.”
Paige stroked a finger over the petals of a sh
owy pink rose. She could delay and deny as much as she wanted, but it wouldn’t buy her much time.
Better to stick with her honesty-is-the-best-policy motto. Sure, it was weird, and the timing majorly sucked with Charli just getting back from her honeymoon. But even if it was painful for her to hear—though Paige sincerely hoped it wasn’t—in the long run, it would sting less.
Assuming there was even a long run to worry about. Probably the whole thing would be over by next week, and she’d be left with her incredible memories and all the new clothes she’d bought to feed her recently acquired sexy dress fetish.
“It’s Drake and Colt.” She bit her lip and studied the flowers she didn’t dare look up from. She didn’t want to see judgment in her best friend’s face. Or worse, hurt. “Still.”
Charli’s swinging legs stopped moving. “For real?” she asked after a moment, her surprise clear in her voice.
“Is it that shocking they’d want me for more than one night?” Hearing herself, Paige shook her head and held up a hand. “Sorry. It’s just a sensitive subject. I guess because I still can’t really believe it myself.”
“This is what they do. They share a woman then move on when it suits them.” At Paige’s sharp look, Charli blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to burst your bubble, but if the past means anything, chances are good they’re just chasing orgasms.”
“So?” Paige shifted toward her and pressed her hip into the lip of the counter to keep from racing from the room. She’d always considered herself a woman who faced problems when necessary, but obviously that wasn’t the case because she’d do anything to avoid facing this.
Today or any day.
“So? Do you really want to be used and tossed aside by—”
“Hold it. Hold it right there. Who’s using me? From where I’m standing, I entered into this arrangement under my own steam. I’m attracted to them, and evidently they’re attracted to me. We’re friends. We don’t just fuck all the time.”
Charli blanched. “Seriously?”
Paige cursed and pressed her fingers to her forehead. Could she be any more tasteless? “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry if this is difficult for you. I wish to God Colt wasn’t who he was. Or I wish I could wish that, but I can’t, because who he is happens to be exactly the man I need right now. One of them anyway.”
“Well, darlin’, gotta say I’m glad to hear you say that.”
Colt’s deep voice skated over her nerve endings and Paige’s gaze flew to the doorway in concert with her plunging stomach. “Oh God,” she wailed, absorbing his grin like the body-punch it was meant to be. “Why are you here?”
“Two reasons. One, I wanted to talk to Char.”
Paige cast a glance at her bestie and tried to ignore the pang of envy. Of course he wanted to talk to Char. They were friends, in spite of everything. She’d never begrudge them that.
“Ugh. I just got back. Can we save the drama until after lunch at least?”
Colt laughed and walked forward to brush a kiss over Char’s cheek. “Have a good time?” he asked lightly, but Paige imagined she could hear other things in his tone.
Was he picturing her naked and sweaty with his brother? Did it hurt?
