by Autumn Reed
He chuckled and held me tighter. “No, but I can’t stop thinking about what you were up to a few minutes ago. It’s taking every ounce of my self-control not to drag you into my office and have my way with you.”
“Oh,” I breathed, finding nothing else to say. I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to the idea, but it didn’t feel like the right time. Not only was I determined to keep an eye on Chris, I didn’t want to make light of my first time with Shane. Though I was in Nicholas’s arms now, it felt like this night belonged to Shane.
He pushed my hair aside and pressed his lips against my neck. “You and Shane looked happy. I’ve never seen him like that.”
His words filled my overflowing heart with just a touch more joy. “Really?”
“Really. I hope you finally see how good you are for us…with us.”
I let that sink in and realized that I did. All of the doubt and worry had been eradicated. We were good together, and now that I knew it, I would do everything in my power to keep them.
“I do.”
His lips tipped, but his eyes turned serious. “Not quite there yet, Cinderella. I mean, there’s got to be a proposal and a puffy white dress before you get to say that.”
I felt my face grow hot at his words, but I couldn’t let myself dwell on them. If my current relationship with three men was akin to a thunderstorm, the idea of marriage was a Category Five hurricane. Even if we, miraculously, reached that stage someday, it was legally impossible for me to marry all three of them.
Was I okay with never walking down an aisle surrounded by my family and friends there to support me in my union with my one true love? Would I resent giving that up? There was too much to consider, so I didn’t. That was undoubtedly a problem for another day.
Over Nicholas’s shoulder, I noticed Chris headed our way…alone. He sat in the chair nearest to us, seeming to slump in defeat.
“What happened to your sorority girl?”
“Once I admitted that I’m still in high school, she conveniently got a text from her friend and went back inside.” He shot me a dirty look. “Thanks a lot for that, by the way. If I knew you were going to start acting like our mother, I would have just stayed home.” He spoke with typical brotherly irritation, but the faint quirk to his lips let me know he wasn’t too annoyed.
“I brought you to one of the most popular clubs in Vegas. Don’t I get points for that?”
“If we ignore the fact that you only agreed because your boyfriends talked you into it, sure, you get a few points.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling.
While Nicholas asked Chris about his plans for college, and they discussed school basketball rivalries, I had the distinct feeling of being watched. Assuming Shane or Cole had arrived, I let my eyes wander over the patio, but I didn’t catch sight of either of them. Most likely, they’d been pulled into club business, and I’d have to go hunt them down in their offices.
Still feeling uneasy, I scanned the area again and noticed a familiar form at the bar. Was that Jason? He appeared to be alone, and when he glanced my direction, I waved, but he didn’t respond. Rather, he stood and quickly disappeared inside the club. Was I wrong? Or had he just not seen me?
Either way, I wasn’t going to worry about it. If he saw me with Nicholas, oh well. At least I didn’t have to go into the newspaper office until next week.
Standing, I tugged on Nicholas’s hands. “Let’s go dance.” I looked over at Chris and grinned. “I even promise not to spy on you for a while.”
He rolled his eyes but smiled. “Gee, thanks, sis.”
The next few days flew by, and I’d never loved my boyfriends more. They treated Chris like one of the guys and helped fill up our time with outings in and around Vegas. I was also pretty sure they’d snuck him into several casinos while I decided to work on my externship project instead of going out one evening, but since no one got arrested, I decided not to worry about it. Nicholas even drove us to Hoover Dam and somehow used his architecture background to make the trip educational as well as fun. Take that, mother.
Now it was Thursday morning, and I was sad I’d be driving Chris to the airport in a few hours. He’d gotten along so well with the Ts, I was certain he’d return home singing their praises. Though the thought of my mother’s response to that gave me a sense of satisfaction, I was really just pleased they’d hit it off.
“Want to take the dogs for a walk with me?” I asked Chris, who was playing yet another video game. I wouldn’t have been surprised if, between the three of them, Cole, Shane, and Nicholas owned every game and system on the market. My brother was in teenage boy heaven.
“Sure.”
We’d been walking for a few minutes when Chris cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I made that joke about you moving to Utah and popping out a bunch of babies. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Hoping to mask my surprise, I looked over at him but continued down the sidewalk. “It’s fine, Chris, and completely understandable. I kind of sprang the whole thing on you.”
“Yeah, but I want you to know that I’m cool with it. I mean, yeah, it’s kind of weird, but also not, you know?”
“You really don’t think it’s too weird?” I asked, honestly curious. I’d kept waiting for him to give me a hard time about the Ts, but he hadn’t said a word since arriving. Although I’d noticed him watching me closely with each of them, it felt like he was trying to understand, not judge.
He tugged on Ace’s leash to keep him out of a tempting-looking flower bed. “I don’t. Now that I spent time with all of you, I kind of get it. They’re best friends, and they are really nice to you. I hate to say it, but the four of you are kind of cute together. Like you’re a family unit already.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Just don’t forget about me and Dad. Mom, on the other hand…” He shrugged, like he wouldn’t mind forgetting about her himself.
“I hope she doesn’t give you too much grief when you get home.” We’d managed to avoid the topic for the last few days, both happy to ignore the mother-sized elephant in the room. But I didn’t want him to think I didn’t care. Or that I wouldn’t stand up for him, if needed.
His grin widened until it looked more evil than happy. “If so, I’ve decided to tell her that I’m planning to collect girlfriends during my college years. Three doesn’t seem like enough, so I’m shooting for five. One for each weeknight. That should do it.”
“Chris!” I punched him in the arm but couldn’t resist laughing. “Don’t you dare. She’ll murder you and then me. It won’t be pretty.”
“But I’m sure our double funeral will be lovely,” he said dryly.
“Undoubtedly.”
I paused to cross the street and stopped abruptly when I noticed a dark SUV barreling toward us, driving way too fast for the residential neighborhood. It wasn’t until the SUV passed, without slowing, that I realized I knew that vehicle well.
“Was that Nicholas?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” I replied, hearing the confusion in my tone. What the hell was that about? I’d never seen him drive recklessly, and I would have expected him to at least stop and say hello.
We headed back to the townhouse, and by the time we stepped through the front door, my confusion had turned to worry. Nicholas was naturally even-keeled. Other than the scene with his father at his sister’s engagement party, I couldn’t think of a time he’d lost his temper.
Cole hopped up from the couch as we entered. “Hey, I’m glad you’re back. I thought we could stop for lunch on our way to the airport.”
I watched him closely for signs of distress, but he seemed his usual, cheerful self. “Is Nic okay? We saw his SUV, but he didn’t stop.”
Cole’s eyes darted away for a fraction of a second, just long enough for me to recognize that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was either a lie or an evasion. Seriously, what was going on?
“He’s fine. He just had to go take care of some business
stuff, and Shane left early this morning for a meeting.” Cole looked to Chris. “They told me to tell you goodbye and that they’ll see you at Emma’s graduation.”
“Okay, cool. I’ll grab my bag so we can go.”
I wanted to take Cole aside and ask him what was really going on, but he immediately disappeared with the dogs. Deciding to let it go, for now, I checked the living room and kitchen for items Chris might have left behind, finding his favorite baseball cap and a pair of earbuds.
Hiding them behind my back as he descended the stairs, I asked, “Did you get everything?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, good. I’d hate for you to leave anything behind,” I said as I casually put on his cap.
It took him a few moments to notice what I’d done, but when he did, he practically tackled me to the ground as he tried to steal it back. I smashed it against my head and held tight, unwilling to let it go. Though he was bigger than me, I was more determined, and I thought I might actually get away from him…until he started tickling my sides. Then, it was hopeless.
“Um, do I need to break this up?”
Cole’s amused voice distracted me enough that I finally loosened my grip, and Chris was able to tear the cap away from me.
As I stood and brushed imaginary dirt from my clothes, Cole stared at me and my brother with confusion. “All of that for a hat?”
Chris nodded vigorously as he placed the beloved baseball cap on his head. “You don’t understand, man. It took me years to break it in. Years.”
I smiled and gave him a tight hug. Spending these last few days together, without our mother hovering every moment, made me realize how much I actually missed my little brother. Not that he was so little anymore. He was an adult now, and it finally felt like we could be friends. It was nice.
Chapter 9
Cole was his usual charming self over lunch, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. As soon as we dropped Chris off at his gate, I reached for my phone to text Nicholas, but I answered an incoming call from Simone instead.
“Hey, Simone. What’s up?”
“Emma, are you okay?”
“Yes,” I answered, suspicion creeping into my voice. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
I glanced over at Cole and noticed that his easy smile had dropped to a grimace, and my stomach dove. What the hell is going on?
“You haven’t seen it, then.”
Feeling irritated that I seemed to be the only person out of the loop, I bit out, “Seen what?”
“I’m texting you the link now. Are you alone?”
“No, I’m with Cole. We just dropped Chris off at the airport.”
“Is Cole driving?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll let you go, but call me if…when you need me.”
I opened my mouth to ask her to spit out whatever it was when I realized she’d already hung up. Sighing, I opened her message and followed the link to her favorite gossip blog. Seriously? She was that worked up over stupid celebrity gossip?
I started to close my browser but stopped when I saw the headline, dread settling in the pit of my stomach. I re-read it three times before finally scrolling down to check out the article.
Naughty Goldilocks and the Three Sex Gods: A Fairy Tale Story, Vegas Style
If you weren’t already convinced that Las Vegas is, indeed, the city of sin, today’s “Juicy Tidbit” will cement it. In this sordid tale, a sweet, innocent girl from small-town Indiana moves to the big, bad city for the sole purpose of pursuing higher education. And, boy, does she receive an education (wink, wink).
As the story goes, Emma Harris, a senior journalism major at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has managed to hook herself a trio of lovers. Our darling little Goldilocks must have tried out their beds and decided all three were “just right.” I must say, she’s one lucky bitch, considering the men in question—Nicholas Hayes, Shane Oliver, and Cole Reid—are not only drop dead sexy, but they are also the owners of Loft25, the hottest off-Strip club in Vegas.
And if that salacious morsel isn’t enough to get you salivating, this one will: Nicholas’s future brother-in-law announced his candidacy for Congress a mere hour before the story broke. Coincidence? Not likely, since James Lowell is running on a conservative, family values platform. Good luck with the race, Jimmy Boy. Last time I checked, most of your constituents weren’t the open-minded, welcoming type.
Emma, on behalf of women everywhere, you deserve the ultimate “you go, girl.” I’m not sure how you managed to snag three rich, successful, smokin’ hot bachelors, but well done. I’ll just be over in a dark corner reevaluating my life now.
By the time I made it through the article and accompanying photographs of me with the Ts, my hands were shaking so much, I could hardly hold onto my phone. I let it drop to my feet and pressed my hands against my mouth, unsure whether I was stopping myself from screaming or vomiting.
A warm hand grasped my shoulder, and I jerked my head up to find Cole peering at me, his brows pinched in concern. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him looking so serious. It wasn’t a good look for him.
Glancing out the window, I finally realized that Cole had pulled into an empty lot and put the car in park. Even though I hadn’t said anything yet, he’d known I would be upset. He’d known about this, what…all morning?
Cole tried to pull me into his arms, but I pushed against his chest, resisting. “How could you not tell me?”
“We wanted to wait until Chris left before breaking the news so you could enjoy your last few hours with him.”
Though I understood his reasoning, I shook my head, still reeling from what I’d read. “I don’t understand any of this. Why didn’t Nic tell me James is running for Congress? Who leaked the story about our relationship? And why? Just to derail the race?”
“I don’t know, Em,” Cole said softly. “Let’s head back to the townhouse. Hopefully Nic will be back and can explain it to you himself.”
I nodded and then turned to stare out the window. When Cole reached for my hand, I allowed him to take it, knowing I’d been lashing out at him when none of this was his fault. Nicholas was the only person who could answer my questions, and I wasn’t even sure if he’d want to talk to me. Would he blame me for all of this? Would Kat? I imagined their mother’s reaction to the news her beloved son was involved in the torrid foursome and shuddered. What a disaster.
The irreverent words of the gossip site article kept swimming through my mind, and I didn’t know whether to be more humiliated or angry. Things had been going so well, and now…now, I didn’t have any idea what would happen. Not that I should have been surprised. Ever since meeting Cole, Shane, and Nicholas, it had been a constant dance of one step forward and two or three steps back. Except, I had a sinking feeling this might put us more like a hundred steps back.
When we reached the townhouse, Nicholas and Shane still weren’t home. Even though I knew it was a terrible idea, I opened my laptop and searched for my name. It was obvious that there were now pages and pages of results stemming from whatever news article started this whole thing. I honestly didn’t even want to know what any of them said, but I found myself clicking on one of the links anyway.
Avoiding the text, I skimmed down to the photos. Now that I was over my immediate shock, I realized the pictures had all been taken in the last few days. There was a shot of me and Shane in a restaurant booth, his arm tucked possessively over my shoulder. Another showed me and Nicholas holding hands while he leaned down to whisper something in my ear. Though it wasn’t apparent from the photo, I knew we’d been at Hoover Dam at the time. The money shot, though, was one of the four of us in front of the Bellagio Fountains. I was standing between Shane and Nicholas while Cole stood behind me, my back to his chest and his hands resting on my waist. All three of the guys were touching me, and everyone looked completely comfortable and happy.
Someone had been following us for days.
Alt
hough Chris had been present during all of those events, thankfully he didn’t appear in any of the photographs. Out of everything I’d seen and read in the last hour, that was the only thing I could be grateful for. At least the bloodthirsty reporters had left my brother out of it. And, yeah, I realized the irony in my thoughts considering I was mere months away from completing a degree in journalism.
I checked the photography credit, then ran a search for the photographer’s name. It seemed that he regularly did work for The California Insider, a newspaper known for posting gossip as news. Was the photographer the one behind the story, or did someone tip him off?
I set my laptop aside and curled up on the couch, burying my head in a pillow. I would have asked myself when my life became so complicated, but I didn’t need to—I knew the answer. Yet, I wouldn’t change anything even if I could go back to that fateful night in December and never step foot into Loft25. The embarrassment over having my relationships with the Ts be so publicly outed in no way overshadowed how much I cared about them. Loved them. But would they feel the same?
I opened my eyes, disoriented, and it took me a few moments to remember I was on the couch at the townhouse. Although I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, the absence of daylight told me it had been at least several hours. I stretched then froze when I heard voices coming from the direction of the kitchen.
“Why the fuck would he do this?” Cole asked in an angry tone. I could tell he was trying to speak quietly but was failing. “Now is not the time to disappear on her. Us.”
“I don’t know what you want me to tell you,” Shane replied, sounding tired. “He’s not answering my calls either. Kat hasn’t heard from him. He’s not at the club. He’s not at Xavier’s. I honestly have no idea where else he would go.”
“Goddamn it. I’m going to strangle him when he shows his face again.”
“Get in line.”
Nicholas was missing? I understand him being upset about the media coverage—this was his family they were messing with. But it wasn’t like him to go off the grid. Then again, how would I know? This was the first personal crisis he’d faced since I met him. Maybe this was his modus operandi under the right, or wrong, circumstances.
