by Marla Monroe
“Love it when you blush like that,” Baldwin said.
“You’re embarrassing me,” she finally said.
“Just stating facts, babe,” Gabriel said.
“You hardly know me,” she pointed out.
“Know enough that you’re sweet and pretty as a flower,” Baldwin said.
Tammy shrugged but was saved from having to say anything more when the waitress returned with their drinks and took their meal order. Talk turned to general news around town. They told her about their house and how they’d just finished remodeling with the help of their friends.
“Got a sweet back deck with an outdoor kitchen for cookouts when the weather is nice,” Gabriel said.
“We like to cook out,” Baldwin said. “You’ll have to come over and let us cook for you.”
“That sounds nice. I love sitting outside when I’m off work. There’s a courtyard behind the apartment with chairs and tables. Randi and I sit out there and read sometimes,” she said.
“Randi?” Baldwin asked, narrowing his eyes.
“She’s my roommate. I should have introduced you to her when you picked me up, but honestly I was a little nervous,” she admitted.
“You can introduce us when we take you home. Is she the one you moved here with?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah. She works for the doctor here in town. I keep hoping a position will open up at the clinic so I can work there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful to have a job, but I really don’t like working where I do. One of the lawyers yells all the time and gives me the creeps,” she said, shivering.
“Sucks not to like your job,” Baldwin said.
“Jobs don’t open up around here very often. I keep my eyes open though,” she said.
“We’ll help you watch for an opening somewhere,” Baldwin told her.
“Thanks. I’d love to give my notice to them.”
She was saved from saying anything more by the arrival of their food. She moaned after the first bite of her salmon.
“This is so good.”
Gabriel laughed. “Glad you’re enjoying it.”
“How are your steaks?” she asked.
“Perfect as always. Only thing better is the ones we cook at home. Like we said, you’re going to have to let us cook for you one day,” Gabriel said.
“I’d like that.” She smiled.
They sound like they’re going to ask me out again. Do I want them to? Well, yeah. I guess I do.
Once they’d finished eating, Baldwin paid the check and they walked her out to the truck. Instead of opening the door right away, Gabriel pulled down the tailgate and lifted her to sit on it. Then they leaned in on either side of her.
“Won’t be many more days like today. It will start getting cold soon,” Baldwin said.
“Nights are already pretty damn cool,” Gabriel added.
“I know, right? Once it gets cold, there will be no more sitting outside to read,” she said.
“Have you ever sat in a hot tub in the winter with snow on the ground?” Gabriel asked.
“No. I’ve never been in a hot tub period,” she admitted.
“Hell, babe. We’re going to have to change that. We’ve got one at the house. You’ll have to experience it at least once,” Gabriel said.
“Nothing more relaxing than to sit back and enjoy a good beer or a glass of wine in one,” Baldwin said.
“It sounds nice,” she said.
She couldn’t imagine sitting in a hot tub of water in the winter. She knew a lot of people who had one and loved them, but having never been in one, she couldn’t understand the draw. Maybe it was an acquired taste like coffee or alcohol.
“So,” Gabriel began. “How about letting us cook for you next Saturday?”
Tammy smiled, her insides quivering a little at the thought of seeing them again.
I don’t need to get too attached to them. One of them is bound to back away after a while. She couldn’t date both men at the same time, and dating one then the other wasn’t a good idea either.
“I’d like that,” she said.
“How do you like your steak cooked?” Baldwin asked.
“Medium rare.”
“A woman after my own heart,” Gabriel said. “If you burn it you lose all the flavor.”
“So, we’ll pick you up next Saturday at say, one? That work for you?” Baldwin asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Bring a swimsuit so you can try out the hot tub,” Baldwin said.
“Unless you want to try it nude. That’s perfectly fine with us, as well,” Gabriel said with a wink.
“I think I’ll stick with a swimsuit,” she said.
“Had to offer,” Gabriel said.
Tammy laughed. She really liked them. She hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed before it was all over.
* * * *
Baldwin smiled over at Tammy. She was beautiful and sweet and good enough to eat. He would love to find out just how good she tasted, but they’d have to go slow with her. He could tell she hadn’t dated much.
Tammy seemed as though she could be perfect for him and Gabriel. She hadn’t once tried to pit one of them against the other. Of course, time could change that. She might not be as sweet as she appeared. They’d been played by women in the past. They’d all seemed great to begin with but had proven to be devious later in the relationship.
He and Gabriel wanted a woman they could share between them who would love both of them equally. That was proving difficult. They’d dated quite a few women in Billings before they’d moved. Though there were fewer women in Cozy, Montana, they’d bought land near their friends and together owned an entire mountain where they could live like they wanted to without nosy neighbors.
They had no doubt that the people in the little town wouldn’t approve of their way of living, but with there being so many of them, there wouldn’t be nearly as much backlash over the threesomes as there would have been if they’d moved there alone. Four of their friends had already found their women and had settled down. He and Gabriel wanted what they had and weren’t going to be satisfied with anything less than a woman of their own to share between them.
Could Tammy be that woman? Only time would tell. He, for one, wasn’t going to get his hopes up too much.
Who am I kidding? I’m already excited about her. She seems perfect so far.
Looks could be deceiving though. Women could change their minds in a blink of an eye. Most men were pretty set in their ways.
“Better get you home, hon,” Baldwin said.
“Yeah. I need to get ready for work tomorrow. I really enjoyed the meal though,” she said.
Baldwin helped her off the tailgate and Gabriel closed it. While he helped her up into the truck, his friend climbed into the driver’s seat. The trip back to her apartment didn’t take nearly as much time as he’d have liked it to. He enjoyed having her sitting there between the two of them. Her thigh was pressed against his from hip to knee. The only way it could have been any more perfect was if they’d both been wearing shorts, and he could have felt the soft smoothness of her leg against his.
He ached to hold her hand but didn’t think that would be a good idea yet. They’d just met her and had only been out once. Next weekend they could be a little more forward with her. He wanted to go slow and make sure they didn’t scare her away. Dating two men at one time wasn’t something just anyone could handle. He prayed she could.
They walked her up to her apartment once they’d parked out front. She used her key to unlock the door then turned to smile up at them.
“Would you like to come in and meet Randi before you leave?” she asked.
“Yeah, that would be great,” Gabriel said.
She opened the door wide and stepped inside, leaving it that way for them to walk in. Sitting on the couch watching TV was a pretty blonde woman. She immediately stood and stuck out her hand.
“Hi. I’m Randi. You must be Gabriel and Baldwin,” she said.
“Good to meet you,” Baldwin said after shaking her hand. “Tammy has told us that you two moved up here from Mississippi together.”
“Yeah. Fell in love with the area and knew immediately that we wanted to live here,” Randi said.
“We’re glad you did, or we wouldn’t have met Tammy,” Gabriel said.
Baldwin could see that Tammy was blushing again. “We’d better get going so you can get ready for work tomorrow. We’ll see you Saturday at one, right?”
“I’ll be ready,” Tammy said.
“Don’t forget the bathing suit, babe,” Gabriel said.
Baldwin couldn’t wait to see her in one. Hell, he couldn’t wait to see her naked, but that wasn’t going to happen yet. He kissed her on the cheek before he could talk himself out of it. Gabriel did the same thing, and they walked out of the apartment before Tammy could even react.
Baldwin smiled. She’d looked so shocked. He couldn’t wait to taste her sweet lips. He was sure they’d be better than berries in cream. He could tell that Gabriel was just as antsy as he was. Hell, he was hard as a rock and all they’d done was have lunch with her and give her a peck on the cheek.
“Think she’ll bring her swimsuit next weekend?” Gabriel asked.
“Don’t know, but I sure as hell hope so. Getting her into the hot tub will put us that much closer to her,” Baldwin said.
“Closer is definitely better, but hard on my fucking dick. I could pound steel with it right now,” Gabriel said.
“Me too, man. Me too.”
Chapter Four
“Well, shoot,” Tammy said as she dropped a file folder.
The contents scattered across the floor, and that’s how Mr. Bigsby found her bent over picking up the papers. He snapped at her to stop being so damn clumsy.
“I swear, you’re like a bull in a china shop. Dropping everything you pick up,” he said before slamming his office door.
Tammy sighed. That wasn’t true, but telling Mr. Bigsby that was a lost cause. Even though he’d been the one to hire her, he’d been her worst critic over the years. His partner never said much, but when he did it wasn’t in an angry tone. He was a good bit older than Mr. Bigsby, and Tammy figured he’d retire before too many more years.
The thought of being stuck with the other partner without him to make the day a little more bearable sucked. She really needed to find another job. She’d checked Sunday’s paper and there wasn’t anything advertised that would pay a decent wage, so she was stuck where she was for another week.
By the time Friday rolled around, Tammy was counting down the minutes until her boss said she could leave. Normally that would be around two or three. When two thirty rolled around, she began to get antsy that he wouldn’t let her off early for some reason. But, to her relief, he yelled out his door that she could leave and to lock up.
Tammy sighed and straightened up her desk before walking toward the door. She opened it, then remembered just in time that she’d forgotten her purse where she kept it in her bottom drawer. She’d been so relieved that he’d finally let her go for the day that she’d nearly forgotten it. That would have been terrible, as she would have had to knock on the door until Mr. Bigsby let her back in to get it. That she couldn’t deal with.
When she walked back across the office to get her purse, Tammy heard her boss talking to someone.
“I have the cash. You can pick it up in half an hour. My secretary is just now leaving. Knock on the door like always. Y’all are doing pretty damn good with your gun sales. I’m glad we’re doing business,” he said.
Tammy held in a gasp at her boss’s words. What was he doing? She was sure it wasn’t legal, whatever it was. Otherwise he wouldn’t be doing it on the sly.
I knew he was into something underhanded. I sure as heck don’t want to know what it is.
She pulled out her purse and slowly closed the drawer. Unfortunately, the drawer made a screeching noise as she closed it.
“Wait. I think she’s still here. Hold on.”
Tammy threw her purse over her shoulder and started across the room.
“What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to go home,” Mr. Bigsby snapped.
“I am. I just had to get my purse. I’ll lock up as I leave,” she said, trying hard not to appear nervous.
“Hurry up,” he said.
Tammy closed the door behind her and all but ran down the sidewalk to where she’d parked her car. Her hands shook so badly she was almost afraid to drive. What was he doing talking about money and guns? Was he selling or buying guns? Why? And who was he talking to on the other end of the phone?
Doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know anything. Whatever he’s doing, I’m better off not knowing about it.
All she had to do was act normal when she went in to work on Monday, and everything would be fine. He couldn’t know that she’d overheard anything. If he did, she wasn’t sure what would happen to her. At the least, he’d fire her for eavesdropping. She didn’t even want to think about the worst-case scenario. She shivered and kept a death grip on the steering wheel all the way home.
She decided to take a long bath to help her relax. There was leftover meatloaf in the fridge for later. She’d make a meatloaf sandwich after she’d had her bath. First, she uncorked a bottle of wine and poured a glass to take with her into the bathroom. Then she ran the tub with hot water and added bath salts to help her relax.
Five minutes later, Tammy was neck deep in the hot, soothing water, sipping her wine and listening to Nickelback on her iPod. When the water began to cool, she turned the hot on with her toe and dragged out her time a little longer. Finally she knew she had to get out or she’d have prune skin.
She’d just pulled on her favorite kitten-covered PJs when Randi got home. The other woman sighed and shook her head.
“Why are you always in your PJs on Friday nights? You should be going somewhere and doing something other than reading or watching mindless TV, girlfriend.”
“I’m going to Baldwin and Gabriel’s house tomorrow. I’ll be gone most of the day. I just want to chill tonight and not have to think about anything.”
“What’s wrong? What did Mr. Asshole say today?” Randi asked, putting one hand on her hip.
“Nothing any different from any other day.”
Tammy didn’t want to tell her friend about what she’d overheard. She didn’t want Randi to get mixed up in whatever her boss was doing. If she got into trouble for it, that was one thing, but getting Randi in trouble was entirely different.
“We’ve really got to find you another job,” Randi said, plopping down on the couch next to Tammy.
“Don’t worry. I check the paper every Sunday. As soon as something shows up, I’m applying. Got my résumé up to date and my interview outfit already picked out,” Tammy said with a laugh.
“I’m still listening for any news of an opening at the clinic.”
“Thanks. Something will come open. I just have to be patient.”
“Seems like you’ve been patient for a long damn time though,” Randi said.
“Yeah, right?”
“So, what are you doing tonight? Book or TV?” Randi asked.
“Book. You and Scott going out?”
“Yeah. I’ll probably spend the night at his place. If I don’t see you before you leave tomorrow, have fun, and if you’re not coming home, text me so I don’t worry, okay?”
“I’ll be coming home, Randi. I don’t know them well enough to get that serious,” she said with a chuckle.
“This is your second official date, girlfriend. At least get some heavy petting in. I want to hear details. I bet being with two men at one time has to be good.”
“You ain’t right,” Tammy said, shaking her head.
“Just saying.”
“You’d better go get ready, or Scott is going to have to wait with me in my kitty-cat PJs while you finish primping,” Tammy said.
“Heaven forbid.”
&nb
sp; Tammy laughed as her friend hurried into her bedroom to change. She scrolled through the books on her Kindle and chose a good biker romance. She loved them, loved the bad boys. She had just gotten into the book when the doorbell rang.
Crap, that was probably Scott, and Randi wasn’t ready yet. She sighed and resigned herself to being seen in her PJs. She opened the door and gasped.
* * * *
“Hey there, kitten,” Baldwin said with a grin. “I guess we caught you a little late to ask you to eat dinner with us.”
“Um, yeah. I usually veg on Friday nights. Um, do you want to come in? Randi is getting ready for her date with her boyfriend. He should be here in a few minutes.”
“Sorry we didn’t call, but we just thought on the spur of the moment that you might like to catch dinner with us,” Gabriel said. “Like your PJs.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got a frozen dinner in the microwave. Besides, I’m eating with you guys tomorrow, right?” she asked.
“That’s right. We’re picking you up at one. Can’t wait to show you the place,” Gabriel said.
The doorbell rang again. “That must be Scott.” Tammy walked over to the door once more and opened it.
Scott smiled, then frowned at the two men standing just inside the living room.
“Scott, this is Gabriel and Baldwin. They’re friends of mine,” she said. “This is Scott, Randi’s boyfriend.”
The three men shook hands, but before anything could be said, Randi walked out of her room dressed for her date with Scott. She said hello to Gabriel and Baldwin, then placed a chaste kiss on Scott’s lips.
“Ready to go, sweetie?” Scott asked.
“See you later, Tammy,” Randi said as they walked out the door.
“We should probably leave, too,” Baldwin said. “Didn’t mean to bust in on you unannounced. Guess we weren’t thinking. We were in town getting supplies and sort of thought of it last minute.”
“It’s okay. It’s nice to see you again.” Tammy smiled. She really did like seeing them again.
