I couldn’t help my shy smile and the heat suffusing my cheeks. “Yeah.”
“So it’s more than a one-time thing?”
I swallowed. I wanted it to be, but there were so many variables, Rusty’s opinion being one of them. But he’d had faith in me. He’d known we’d be okay if we talked about it. I needed to have the same faith he did and open up to him too.
“I love you. You and Travis are the most important people in my life and always will be—”
“But you want to see where it goes with Carina.”
I exhaled. Then I nodded. “I do. But not at the expense of us.”
His gaze met mine, fear tightening his features. He asked, “What does that mean?”
“I want to tell her about us. I want to be able to do exactly what we’re doing now without having to hide it from her. I don’t want to put any of you in that position. I can’t. I won’t.”
His eyebrows hiked up, and his eyes widened fractionally. “You want to tell her?”
“I do. We didn’t say anything about the three of us last night. But, like I said, I want to tell her. If she’s not okay with us, it goes no further. We’ll get a divorce or annulment or whatever we have to do to undo this mess, but first I’ll get her a hotel and help her plan the next leg of her trip.”
“But if she’s okay with us, then you want her to stay here.”
I shrugged, trying to play down how much I wanted that. I just knew that Rusty and Carina would become fast friends if they had the chance to get to know each other. “Maybe. Yes.”
He bit his lip. “What does Travis think?”
“I haven’t broached it with him yet. Coming home to you was my only priority this morning.”
He nodded but didn’t give me any other hints at what he was thinking until he finally spoke.
“I love you,” he said slowly, and I knew there was a “but” coming. “I love Travis too. If Carina makes you and Travis happy, then I want you to be able to see where it goes. But….” He blew out a breath and his shoulders fell. It was as if he was curling in on himself. “I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered. “I’m scared she’s going to replace me.”
“No. Never.” I cupped his face and pressed my lips to his, trying to tell him without words how much he meant to me. To us.
I licked along his bottom lip, and he opened to me. When we tangled our tongues together, it was a reminder that he was in my heart and had been from the moment I’d walked into that bedroom in the frat house so many years ago.
When we finally broke apart, I whispered, “I love you. I always will. I don’t ever want our relationship to change.”
“I can’t promise I’m going to sleep with her,” he warned.
“I know. I’d never demand that, especially since, you know—” I shrugged, trying to lighten the mood. “—your bodies are your own.”
His lips turned up in a small grin. “Let’s take it slow. Talk and see where everyone’s at.”
“I’d like that.”
I hugged him close again and breathed him in, grateful that this man was in my life. I loved him more than words could convey. Travis too. My future with Carina was uncertain, but I had both Travis and Rusty. It made me the luckiest man on the planet.
thirteen
Carina
“Youwanttocheckout the horses?” Trav asked as I stepped out of the car.
He’d left the big SUV parked in the driveway behind a beat-up old Dodge that looked completely out of place in this picture-perfect ranch. The gardens were manicured, every single blade of grass trimmed to perfection. Flowerbeds ran the length of the veranda, and big trees dotted around the homestead provided some much-needed shade in the summer heat. It was cooler than in Vegas, but after having spent a few hours in air-conditioning, the warmth was a shock to the system.
I gestured to the boot of the SUV. “Should we put the bags inside first?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Leave them. We have plenty of time.”
