by Zoey Thames
“Do you mean flying or having people hand me proposals begging for money?” Dan said, grinning. “Because I’ve funded more than my share of projects that caught my eye. As for flying across country, I do it more than I’d like. I was actually scared of flying when I was young. Now I do it so often, I don’t bat an eyelash. Besides, I have a really great flight crew.”
Crap. There was no way to recover from that one. He wanted to groan and slap his forehead almost as much as he wanted to pummel Dan for spilling the beans. What was the man thinking?
“You…own a private jet?” Josie asked. Her eyes were wide, and she was standing motionless, watching Dan with an intensity that betrayed the emotions she was feeling.
Finally, Dan realized the quicksand he’d stumbled into. He sent a wary glance Lucas’s way before he answered. “Um. Yeah?”
Josie turned from Dan back to him. She put her hands on her hips and stared up into his eyes. “I don’t suppose you own a jet too?”
It was one thing not to tell her about his private jet when it never came up in conversation. It was another thing entirely to lie to her about it, especially now that she was looking into his eyes and asking. “I do.”
He watched her expression change. It didn’t happen all at once; the change was gradual. Her eyes darkened, grew worried and angry as they narrowed, first at Dan, then at him. Her cupid bow mouth—the same lips he’d reveled in kissing only a short time ago—slowly turned down into a frown. Both of her eyebrows drew together in a fierce scowl.
He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he no idea how to pull back from this nosedive. They had held back the fact that they were billionaires from the moment they’d met her…and it was too late to go back now. He’d always envisioned introducing her to the truth gradually once he’d come to trust her. Once the three of them were in a relationship together. He’d start with fancy presents. Exotic trips. Mention some of the charities he and Dan had created. She’d realize they were rich, but the staggering amount of wealth they’d accumulated so far in life would always remain a shock to some degree.
Hell, it was a shock to him, and all that money belonged to him.
But because he drove a Harley and wore leathers and didn’t go in for the high-end bling, he knew she’d assumed he was only a normal, working-class guy. Dan’s Ducati was far more expensive, but unless she knew about bikes, she probably wouldn’t realize just how pricey his ride was. And Dan dressed in riding leathers, the same way Lucas did when they took their weekly road trips. Also, they regularly came to eat at this diner instead of five-star French restaurants. He couldn’t blame her for drawing the wrong conclusion.
On the other hand, part of him was annoyed by her reaction. Why was this such a big deal? It was nothing to get furious about. Hell, you’d think she’d be happy to find out her Prince Charmings were both filthy rich. And it wasn’t as if they had directly lied about it to her. There had been no plan to dress up like Hell’s Angels to fool her. When attending charity dinners or business meetings, six thousand dollar suits were required. When putting rubber to the road, leather was what they wore for protection.
“So you both own private jets.” Her voice was flat and without emotion. But her eyes had filled with hurt. “Exactly how rich are you?”
“Hey now,” Dan said. “It’s not like that. We don’t sit around counting our money like Scrooge or anything—”
“How rich?” she demanded.
Lucas looked her right in the eye. “I made my first billion before I turned twenty-one.”
“Oh, God. Oh, my God.”
“This doesn’t change anything.” Dan took her arm gently, sounding alarmed and confused by her reaction. “I don’t know why you’re upset—”
“Because it’s a lie,” she snapped. “You’re different people than the Dan and Lucas I thought I knew. The ones I’d been falling for…for going on six months now. You don’t talk like rich people. You don’t dress like rich people. All right, yes, you’re the best tippers I’ve ever had…but it isn’t as if you bought me a car or anything—”
“I would’ve bought you six cars,” Lucas said, cutting her off, determined to have his say. “If I thought you’d accept them. But the time wasn’t right for that kind of thing. You’d think I was after something. That I wanted something in return. And you’d be right to have your suspicions. I do want something. I want you.”
“That goes double for me,” Dan added. “I don’t like to throw my money around. It changes how people see me. I wanted you to like me, to like us, for who we really are.” He smacked his hand against his leather jacket. “This is who we really are. This isn’t some costume we put on every Friday night.” Dan touched the trail of scars on his jaw and neck, the way he always did when the thought of those marks bothered him. “And to be honest, I wanted to see if you’d like me, scars and all.”
Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes teared up. “I would never… Dan, you’re gorgeous. In every way. I don’t even see those scars when I look at you. How could I see them when I’m too busy staring into those blue eyes—?”
She caught herself and stopped, but Lucas wanted to kiss her for those words. He wanted to hold her tight in his arms and simply kiss her until she understood how much he loved her for saying such a wonderful thing to the man who meant everything to him.
Unfortunately, right now she looked as if she’d rather punch him in the nose.
“No, I’m not going to let myself be distracted by your eyes,” Josie said, sounding as if she were talking to herself. Then her gaze hardened again, and her mouth tightened into an angry slash. “So what is this to you? Slumming? Are you toying with me? Is this some kind of test you put all your women through before you fuck them?”
Her words and the pain in her voice hit him like a slap. Without thinking, he reached for her, wanting to pull her into his embrace, but she moved backward, and he immediately stopped. He was too big a guy, too intimidating, and he was always very careful around women not to inadvertently alarm them. He would cut off his own hand before he ever hurt her. Although he didn’t like her moving away from him when he only wanted to make things right, he also understood that her anger wouldn’t be soothed away that easily.
Dan looked stricken. The charming, laidback air he usually radiated had vanished completely, replaced by a solemnity that was unlike him. “No test. Please, Josie. Give us some credit.”
“Why should I? I laid all my cards on the table. God, when I think back to all the blabbing I’ve done about myself… Those Saturdays when you came in and it wasn’t busy and I practically told you my whole life story. And then my entire family’s story.”
Lucas wanted to explain everything, but he was clearly running out of time. He wanted to tell her how those lazy Saturday conversations had been one of the ways they’d known with ironclad certainty how good a person she was. How hard she worked. How they’d learned of her love of cooking and creating new food dishes and how proud she’d been when the owner of the restaurant took a chance on her menu ideas.
But how did you suddenly tell someone you’d known for months that, “Oh yeah, I could buy the entire town of Junction Falls if I wanted and still have enough money left over for my own private island?” Money, having it, not having it, changed how people viewed you. Was he a bastard for not wanting her to judge him, make assumptions about what kind of man he was based on how much money he had or the things he owned? He wanted her to fall in love with him and with Dan simply for the men they were, without power and money getting in the way.
And that wasn’t wrong.
He opened his mouth to tell her all of this and more. But she shook her head, looked him in the eye, and said, “I think you both should leave.”
Her voice was cold. It pierced his heart like an icicle and froze him.
“I won’t leave things like this,” he said. “Not after all that has happened tonight. I’m not going to let it all be undone by a misunderstanding—”
/> “It’s not a misunderstanding.” A tear gathered at the corner of her eye, then ran down her cheek.
He ached to wipe that tear away. The need was deeply ingrained. It wounded him deeply that they had hurt her. Damn it. Enough second-guessing himself. He reached out and tenderly brushed the tear from her skin.
She allowed him to do it. But the instant he withdrew his hand, she straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and stared at him steadily. “Men have been lying to me most of my life. The last relationship I was in…he lied to me all the time, about every little thing. But most heartbreaking of all those lies was when he lied about loving me. Now I learn you both kept who you really are from me for all this time, as if this were some kind of game. Or like I was some kind of prize you had to jump through hoops to win. But a girl only has one heart in life. Mine can’t take any more lies. Not lies for love, not lies for anything.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “So please. Please just go. I just…I’m really trying not to cry right now. And if you’re gentlemen at all…or if you have the least bit of feelings for me…you’ll do as I’m asking and go.”
His heart felt like it was made of glass and dropped off a sixty-story building. From his expression, Dan felt exactly the same way. But what could he say or do now? She had effectively cornered him. He desperately wanted to make this right, but she was calling on him to be a gentleman and honor her request. How could he deny her now, even though every fiber of him wanted to refuse?
Helplessly, he locked eyes with Dan. He could see his lover’s heartbreak and distress in those blue eyes, clear as day.
“We’ll go,” Lucas finally told her solemnly. “We’ll go because you asked. I’m sorry we hurt you. I regret that we weren’t forthright with you, but now isn’t the time for explanations or justifications.” He leaned toward her the slightest bit, deepening his voice, leaving no doubt as to the absolute sincerity of his words. “But this isn’t over, Josie Smith. There’s no way on earth we’re going to let you get away from us that easily. You’re worth too damn much to us both.”
She didn’t reply. She watched them with those big hazel eyes of hers, her skin so pale, hugging herself and standing away from them. Having her standing so far from them was like a kick to the guts. He needed her in his arms again. He wanted to comfort her. To tell her that everything would be all right and then prove it to her. And to hear Dan making her laugh again, bringing back her sunny smile. He loved her laughter. Her lips. Her gentle soul.
Because he felt that way, he did as she’d asked. He turned around and, with Dan at his side, walked back to the motorcycles. He felt like he was walking around in a daze or a dream as he went through the motions of securing his helmet and starting up the bike. As they rolled out from the side lot to the main parking lot, they saw her little red sedan make a left turn onto the highway.
She was headed back to Junction Falls, while they were headed back to their place in Raleigh.
It was a long ride home.
* * *
It was almost three in the morning by the time Josie fumbled out her keys and let herself into her small apartment on Pine Street. She didn’t even have a dog or cat there to greet her and raise her spirits. First, she couldn’t afford the monthly addition to her rent the property management company tacked on for owning pets. And second, because she worked so many odd hours, it would’ve been cruel to leave a pet who loved her locked up all day and alone in the apartment. But that remained one of her goals: get enough money together to get a new place that was pet friendly, get herself a dog, a cat, heck, even a hamster, and cut back on her hours enough so she could take care of the little guy.
Too bad it didn’t look like that would be happening anytime soon.
She started to sob as she made her way to the fridge. She was an ugly crier too. Her nose turned as red as Rudolph’s; her eyes grew bleary and bloodshot. So first thing on her list tonight was to avoid all mirrors. Second thing on the list was cooking up some comfort food. She wouldn’t feel an ounce of guilt either. After all that had happened, she damn well deserved something good in her life. And she had lasagna she’d premade for Saturday dinner that would be perfect.
It was tough to prepare the lasagna because her eye faucets were leaking like crazy and her nose was running. She ended up shredding fresh parmesan while making the most unattractive snuffling noises and leaving trails of big fat tears on her cutting board. But you know what? Who cared? She didn’t have to impress anyone anymore. Josie Smith with the big ass and the thick thighs didn’t need to put on airs or hide who she was. She just spilled out into her life, same as always.
Why had they kept such a big secret from her? Those two perfect men… She didn’t care about their money. Since she didn’t have any herself, how the heck could she miss that kind of crazy lifestyle in the first place? But one thing she needed was honesty. She needed to be able to trust. And yes, she wasn’t stupid or deluded. She could understand why they might not have wanted to bring it up. Even why they might want to test out the women they pursued, to weed out the crazy, gold-digging ones who were only after their money. And Dan, when he’d talked about his scars…she had almost lost it completely. How could such a sweet man be so stupid? And Lucas, she could see how much he wanted to set things right, to take charge and fix things. But things wouldn’t need fixing if he’d only trusted her a little to begin with.
If they’d so casually lied about who they were, hidden their true lives, then how could she trust they wouldn’t lie again? That was what men did: took what they wanted, no matter what they had to say or do to get it. They’d wanted her, so they’d caught her. And she’d been a willing and happy target of their seduction. She refused to feel guilt over it or hate herself. It had been a wonderful, mind-blowing moment, now soured by the truth she’d discovered afterward… The lie itself hadn’t been huge or even direct. They hadn’t told her they were only normal guys; she’d assumed it. She didn’t need a rich man. She needed a man she could trust. Finding one man who fit the bill was rare enough, but the odds against finding two were astronomical.
But like always, the odds hadn’t been in her favor.
For her, the only thing she’d ever been after was trust. She’d lost so much of it. With Dennis and his lies about his work, about his buying rounds for his buddies with her grocery money, and his lies about how he truly felt about her. Her boyfriend before Dennis had lied about cheating on her with a girl who worked the shoe rental counter at the Bowl-R-Rama. It seemed like everywhere she went, someone was lying to her, either outright or by omission. It didn’t make her angry. It only made her tired and heartbroken.
She watched episodes of Dr. Who on Netflix until the oven timer dinged. Then she had a big, hot helping of her homemade lasagna, her own recipe and a personal favorite.
For a while, she didn’t even cry.
That was, until she finally went to bed around four thirty in the morning and cried her pillow damp. She was thinking of what could’ve been. Remembering how they’d made her feel. Like she was priceless. Like she meant everything in the world to them. As if she belonged with them forever.
How much of that had been real and how much of it had been lies?
She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she remembered her dreams. Dan was holding her. Lucas was kissing her. And she felt as if everything was right with the world.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lucas woke with one thought in his mind: what a disaster. And after that thought came the next: what did he intend to do about it?
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful, but he wasn’t feeling it. He and Dan barely spoke over coffee. Yesterday had been a mess of last-minute preparations for their respective trips, neither of them in the mood for it after all that had happened with Josie.
He couldn’t escape the feeling that everything in their lives had exploded, driving the three of them apart just as they’d come together. As though the three of them were some volatile mix of chemicals that reacted s
o violently they scattered the remains of their love in all directions. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake these dark thoughts troubling him as he stood on the balcony outside their bedroom window and clutched his coffee mug as if it could save him.
Dark thoughts or no, he already felt his determination bubbling up from deep inside. Readying him for the next move toward getting what he wanted. And what he wanted was Josie. Here. With him and with Dan.
Lucas had faced challenges before. Companies on the edge of ruin. Stock prices tumbling. Public relations problems. Toxic company culture. There wasn’t a single challenge he’d backed away from. No obstacle he’d failed to confront head-on and conquer. When he set his mind to something, he could be a bulldog about it. So he freely acknowledged Friday night had rocked him back on his heels. First the incredible experience they’d had with Josie, something he would never—could never—forget. Then the fight that had left him on the ropes. But damned if that would be how their story together ended. He was determined to set things right again and keep them that way.
After they had everything packed and prepped to go, Dan made him breakfast. Cheese omelets with salsa. They ate on the balcony, enjoying the cool morning air and bird song together. But being on the balcony kept stirring up memories of their incredible night with Josie.
Dan set down his mug of coffee and stared at it. “I’m sorry.”
“Wasn’t your fault,” he replied, putting a comforting hand on Dan’s shoulder. “She was going to find out eventually anyway. Maybe we were wrong to hide it.”
“I’d say we were wrong. It was a perfect night until I opened my big fat mouth and shoved my boot in it.”
“Don’t put this on you. Maybe I wanted too much to have someone simply accept us for who we are. Who we really are. Not what money makes us.”
“So you think that if Josie had known how rich we are, it would’ve changed how she thought of us? How she…behaved around us?” Dan shook his head. “She’s better than that.”
