Over the Edge: The Bridge Series: Book Three

by Meredith Wild

  “Speaking of celebrating,” Maya said playfully. “Now that you two skipped out on the usual wedding drama, we can expect some baby news soon, right?”

  I widened my eyes, anticipating Darren’s discomfort on the subject, but he seemed unaffected. Maya was on a roll tonight, but I was glad the focus had shifted away from me for the time being.

  Darren pointed his fork in Vanessa’s direction. “Talk to her. I keep trying to knock her up, but she wants to wait until she has a year in at Youth Arts.”

  “It’s a nonprofit. If I’m out for any length of time, it’s going to take a toll on the organization. I took on a lot of responsibility when I accepted the job, and obviously there’s been a lot to manage in recent months.”

  He shook his head. “Never met a woman so damn committed to work.”

  Vanessa rolled her eyes. “We had a four-month engagement. I think you can be a little patient.”

  My mother had vetoed just about every wedding plan they’d suggested and subsequently sucked the romance out of the entire planning process. Deciding that one Bridge wedding in a year was enough, they’d opted for something quick and simple. Darren had whisked Vanessa off to Spain for a romantic, albeit unexpected, elopement followed by an incredible reception in New York that even my mother couldn’t complain about.

  Maya rubbed her hand over her belly. “Well, hurry up. Baby Bridge is going to need a cousin.”

  “Noted,” Darren said.

  The conversation moved to less touchy topics, from the rapidly progressing renovation to fresh stories from Darren’s calls on the fire department. After an hour, I was full, slightly buzzed from the wine, and ready for my bed.

  Maya stood up with her dish, but Cameron rose quickly, taking it from her. “I’ve got it. You go sit and relax.”

  She smiled, and he bent to give her a peck on the lips.

  “Love you,” she whispered.

  One by one, everyone started moving to clean up, but Cameron exiled everyone to the living room. I cleared my plate and went to join them, when he called my name.

  I circled back. Cam was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, with a dishtowel slung over his shoulder. We shared many of the same features, the dark hair and blue eyes, but he was nearly twice my size. Tall and padded with muscle from years of dedicated hours at the gym. If I didn’t know him so well, I’d be frightened of him, from his size alone. Especially now when greeted with his stony expression.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “You tell me. What’s really going on with Will Donovan? Should I be concerned?”

  I hesitated a second. “Concerned about what?”

  His nostrils flared slightly. “I don’t know, Olivia. Maybe you sleeping with our investor?”

  Blood rushed to my cheeks. I wasn’t in the habit of talking relationships or sharing any of the dirty details of my personal life with my brothers. I’d be content if they just assumed I was a virgin for the rest of my life, and I guessed they probably would be content with that lie too.

  “Do you think you might be jumping to conclusions a little bit?”

  He whipped the towel off his shoulders and began wiping down the counter. “I wasn’t born yesterday. And the way Maya keeps prying, seems like she’s got the right idea too.”

  “Why is this anyone’s business?”

  He paused to level another hard stare my way. “Because it is business, Liv. You shouldn’t be complicating it with personal shit like this. Whatever you’ve got going on with him, I don’t like it.”

  My embarrassment quickly morphed into indignation. “I hate to burst your bubble, Cam, but whatever I have ‘going on’ with Will is really none of your concern. Kindly butt out.”

  He leaned in a fraction. “As long as we have a working relationship with him, I think it is my concern. I don’t want you getting involved with him.”

  I brought my hands to my hips and worked my jaw. He could be so pigheaded sometimes. I silently prayed that my nephew showed up soon so both he and Maya would get off my case. I was having a hard enough time figuring out what the hell was going on with Will without the added complications.

  “You don’t want me getting involved because he’s an investor. Is that your only reason?”

  “He’s mixed up in things that you don’t need to be dealing with.”

  “Is this about his dad? Will has nothing to do with that.”

  He scowled. “How do you know? You believe everything people tell you now?”

  I was the one to lean in this time. “Oh, so his money’s green enough to fund our project, but because his dad’s in trouble, I can’t have anything to do with him? I mean seriously, Cam, do you just make these rules up as you go?”

  “He’s not good for you.”

  “Who is?” My voice had dropped to a whisper. “Was Maya good enough for you? Was Vanessa good enough for Darren? What do you think Mom would say? No one’s ever going to be good enough, and you know it.”

  “We’re not going down that road again, I swear to Christ, Liv.”

  I held up a hand, silencing him. “I love Maya, okay? I pushed her away and I judged her when I should have given her a chance. I was stupid because I didn’t understand that your happiness was at stake.”

  He was silent for the first time.

  “I don’t know if this thing with Will is going anywhere, but I can’t deal with you guys hovering. I need to be my own person. I need to make mistakes and figure things out as I go. I don’t want to be led around by the nose anymore. That’s why I came here, remember? For a chance to start over and be me, not the person everyone else wants me to be.”

  He drew his hand over his face and sighed. “I’m never going to stop being your big brother, Liv. All my instincts tell me this is wrong.”

  I wilted, drained from the whole exchange. “Save your instincts for your baby, Cam. I’m a big girl. I can cross the street on my own now.”

  “This can’t affect the build-out or the business.”

  “It won’t.” I hoped I could absolutely keep that promise.

  “And he better not hurt you…” His hand turned into a fist.

  “I’m going to be fine,” I said, wanting to believe that, too.

  Cam turned away after a long moment. We finished cleaning the kitchen in silence. His concerns tumbled through my head. I wanted to be indignant, but I knew his words, even if gruffly and pigheadedly delivered, came from his heart.

  Cam had always been there for me when I was little. When Darren would pick on me endlessly, Cameron was always the compassionate one who would play with me and keep me entertained when no one else would. He was the ultimate big brother, always making me feel safe and protected. When he was deployed and I was in college, he wrote me letters, brief but heartfelt. The smallest gesture was enough to remind me that he cared, that our bond was still as strong as ever, even if he was battling his own demons overseas.

  I was grateful for Cam, and I always would be. But if I was going to carve out my own path here in the city and in this new life, I had to do it on my own. I had to make my own decisions and own my mistakes. Otherwise, the risk was worth nothing.

  The night ended early. Maya was tired, understandably so, and Darren had a look in his eyes like he wanted to hurry home and talk Vanessa into making a baby. After a nearly sleepless night in Will’s bed, I was ready to put the day behind me too.

  I walked around my apartment, tidying up as I went, tired but unable to really rest. I had too much on my mind, and even as midnight approached, I couldn’t slow down enough to sleep. I reached for my phone and contemplated calling Will. He’d asked me to, but I also didn’t want to come across as needy, even though I missed his presence already.

  I put my reservations aside and pulled up his number. He answered after the first ring.

  “Olivia.”

  “Hi,” I said softly. “Can you talk?”

  “Of course. I’ve been watching bad TV for two hours, waiting for you to
call.”

  I smiled. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. How was dinner?”

  I blew out a breath. “Awkward, to be completely honest.”

  “I rely on your honesty.”

  I didn’t reply, because I worried he was talking about what happened between Ian and me that morning. A wave of heat rushed over me, embarrassment mixing with the lust-fueled memory.

  “I can’t stop thinking about this morning,” I said finally, because something felt unresolved about all of it. I wanted to get past it and move on, one way or the other.

  He hummed quietly on the other end. “Me neither. I’d love a repeat performance tomorrow.”

  I smiled again, warming further at the memory of his mouth on me, licking me straight into one of the most incredible orgasms of my life. “I meant…before that.”

  He was silent a moment. “Ian?”

  I nodded, even knowing he couldn’t see me. “What would you have done if he’d kissed me? Tell me the truth.”

  “I would have laid you out on the island and eaten you like my last meal, same as I did this morning.”

  “I know we’re not exclusive—”

  “We are.” The abrupt way he said it left no doubt. “I’d planned to tell you once we passed the trial run. But I swear to God, if you let someone else into that luscious body while we’re together, I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

  “Okay, but if that’s what you want, why don’t you care that Ian…” What could I say? Came on to me, put his hands on me…

  “Because things are different with him.” His voice was low, like he was confessing a dark secret.

  “Explain that.”

  “This is really something we should talk about in person. If you come over, I can explain.”

  I hesitated, gauging my energy for a late-night ride to his place.

  “Right after I take advantage of you, of course,” he continued. “Savagely and repeatedly.”

  His was a tempting offer. Not only was I burning with curiosity, I was already craving his company. But that could be another scenario that didn’t leave me time to think. His lack of concern when it came to the attraction between Ian and me was troubling, and I was compelled to get to the bottom of it.

  “Just tell me, Will. I can handle it.”

  “I’d hoped to spend a little more time with you before this came up.” He sighed, and more seconds passed. “I told you I don’t do relationships, Olivia.”

  My heart sank a little, even though he’d been perfectly clear on those terms. Was I already starting to care more than I should? I waited, hopeful and anxious at once about what he wanted to tell me.

  “Ian and I have similar tastes when it comes to women.”

  “And…”

  “And sometimes we share them.”

  My heart fell, landing like a cold stone in my stomach. Any latent hope I’d had about getting to know Will better, about exploring our chemistry and wondering if it could possibly go anywhere, shattered. If my thoughts had been a jumble before, they were a whirlwind now.

  “Talk to me, Olivia.”

  I searched for words, but it seemed like he’d said them all. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t think I’m what you want—”

  “You’re what I want, okay? It sounds complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. This is why I wanted to talk about this in person. I can already hear you freaking out, and that’s not what I want.”

  I rose to my feet and started pacing around my room. “How am I supposed to respond to this? What do you want from me?”

  “I want you, Olivia. No one else exists for me right now.”

  “Right now.” I couldn’t hide the uneasy tone in my voice. Who knew what tomorrow would bring…

  “I haven’t been exclusive with anyone for a very long time.”

  “And sharing me with your roommate counts as exclusivity?”

  “I want you for myself, and I trust Ian to be with you if that’s what you both want. But he’s the only exception.”

  “This is completely insane. Do you realize that?”

  “If three consenting adults choose to spend time together—intimately or otherwise—I don’t see that as insane or deviant or whatever else you want to label it. You want to spend your life playing by someone else’s rules, go ahead, but I call that a waste of time.”

  He’d cut me off at the knees with that last comment, and I struggled for a reply.

  “I’ll be honest with you, Olivia. I don’t usually see women more than once or twice. Most of the time, the person I’m with accepts that for what it is and enjoys it. That’s not what I’m asking for, because I think I want something different with you. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since you walked onto the work site and started bitching at me about that fucking wall. And after spending most of last night inside of you, I can’t think straight right now.”

  “Me neither,” I admitted, feeling the smallest measure of relief that I wasn’t the only one who was totally mixed up at the moment. I sighed and dropped back down onto my bed. “Did you two like plan this already? Did you know this is what you wanted from me when you asked me to have dinner with you?”

  “Not really, no. I met you, I was attracted to you, and I acted on it. But Ian and I don’t observe boundaries like other people do. His attraction to you is obvious. And from the looks of it, you’re attracted to him, too.”

  I couldn’t deny that I was. My body reacted to his before my brain could talk me out of it, and it had been that way every time we’d interacted. Still, I couldn’t imagine myself seeing two people at once. Breaking away from expectation was an attractive notion, but how far was I willing to go?

  “What if I say no?”

  He was silent a moment. “Then we’ll figure it out.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He sighed again. “Come over and let’s talk about this. I can explain it better.”

  “I can’t tonight.”

  If I hadn’t just spent one of the best nights of my life in his bed, I could have easily dismissed all of it away. Never in a million years was I going to have two lovers. Sure, I was attracted to them both. The idea of them knowing about each other seemed unbelievable until I thought about how unfair it was when someone was left in the dark. Will wasn’t painting a picture of betrayal and heartbreak, though. This was open and honest, even if it was unconventional.

  “Then I’ll come to you,” he insisted.

  “No,” I said firmly. Never mind the rattling confession about sharing women with Ian. I couldn’t have Cameron run into him here and deal with the inevitable drama.

  I heard him curse quietly on the other end, and then the sound of ice hitting a tumbler. “Tomorrow.”

  The edge in his voice told me he wasn’t asking anymore. He was demanding, and even though I’d told him he couldn’t make those kinds of demands on me, I knew better. He had more control over me already than I cared to admit.

  But what the hell was I walking into? Even talking to him and entertaining this conversation was probably a step in the wrong direction.

  Maybe Cameron’s instincts were right and mine were all wrong. Didn’t change the fact that I wanted to see Will tomorrow, and I knew I would. I couldn’t deny the way he made me feel, and I couldn’t ignore my growing attraction to Ian either. I wanted to talk about this insanity until it made some sort of sense.

  Tomorrow, maybe it would.

  “Tomorrow.”

  Chapter Seven

  WILL

  I climbed the steps of Olivia’s Brooklyn brownstone, fueled by coffee, another restless night, and a burning desire to see her again. The call box showed three buttons. The second one was scratched out. Above, M. & C. Bridge, and below, O. Bridge, was scrawled in messy lettering. Before I could buzz her, the door opened. Cameron walked through, a satchel slung over his arm. He was dressed as I normally saw him, in jeans and an athletic shirt donning the Bridge Fitness logo.

&nb
sp; “Cameron, hey.” I smiled, like there was nothing at all uncomfortable about me showing up at his sister’s apartment at eight in the morning.

  He leveled a hard stare at me. “Can I help you with something?”

  I hesitated. I wasn’t afraid of being upfront with him about seeing Olivia, because I planned to see more of her. But after last night’s conversation, I had no idea what the future had in store for us. Things were tenuous, and instead of adding to the potential shit storm and admit I was here to see his sister, I could come up with a bullshit excuse about wanting to talk about the renovation. Except my hands were full with coffee and pastries from the bakery down the street. Not sure I could sell Cameron on that gesture being for him. Had to go with the truth.

  “I actually came to see Olivia.”

  His expression didn’t change. Without moving from the doorway, he created a wall between me and the woman who’d completely taken over my brain.

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

  “I hope not.” Cameron’s voice was low and unwavering.

  I knew in that moment that he cared a hell of a lot more about his sister than any potential repercussions his actions might have on his business. Even though he was an impediment to me getting what I wanted, I respected him more for it.

  He didn’t move, as if he were waiting for an answer.

  Did he want some kind of guarantee that I was going to do the right thing by Olivia? Did I even know what that meant? I’d never had to think about it too hard before. But the way he was protecting her now made me want to do the same thing for her, because deep down, I knew she was worth it.

  “There’s not going to be a problem,” I finally said, believing the words as I uttered them.

  Whatever happened between Olivia and me, I wouldn’t hurt her. I wasn’t going to fuck her and leave her, discard her and her feelings. I wasn’t going to take her heart and break it. Anything we did we’d go into with full disclosure.

  After another tense moment, he moved down the stairs and began his walk down the tree-lined street. I held the door, shifting my gaze from Cameron through the doorway that would take me deeper into this situation with Olivia.