“Quin.” Now it was my turn to warn her.
“Yeah?” Jesus, the look on her face was fucking killing me.
“We don’t care. Well, that’s not right. We do care. We care a lot, and we want you. We both do. If you’ll have us?” I stretched out a hand toward her, beckoning her.
“What?” The look of confusion on her face had my dick instantly hard. She was beyond fucking cute, and I loved her in a way I hadn’t thought it was possible to love another person. She flashed a look at Rome, and I did the same. He too had a hand outstretched to her. She still looked as though she thought the whole thing was some kind of joke.
“Quincy,” I urged, my voice a strained whisper. “Baby.” I took a step closer to her.
“Are you playing with me?” She looked a little like a scared rabbit approaching a sly fox’s den.
“No. We’re deadly serious. We want you, and we’re not just talking about sex this time.” Rome’s voice was thick with desire. I knew the feeling. He took a step closer, also.
“How long have you known?” Her focus flashed from me to Rome, then back again. She looked terrified.
“From the start.” Rome and I looked at each other as we spoke in unison.
“I knew there were feelings there, from the outset, but when I saw that you also had feelings for King, and then that developed into love, I decided to hang back. I knew you deserved better than whatever I could give, and King, despite pissing me off, like, ninety-nine percent of the time, is a decent guy. Plus, I figured that at least if you were with him, you’d still be in my life in some way.”
“Oh my God. And what about you?” She looked toward me.
“Same deal. I’ve known this douche canoe since his balls dropped, and I’ve never seen him care for anyone the way he does for you. It’s like you’ve altered his DNA or some shit. It’s a giant fucking cliché, but I guess they exist for a reason. You make him a better man.”
“Standing right here.” Rome was trying to be stern, but fighting the grin curling his lips.
“Don’t give a fuck. And the chemistry between the two of you? Wow. Anyone can see it’s more than just physical attraction. You have a connection that goes way beyond that. It’s visceral. And as much as it burned me to see that unfold, it also turned me on to the point of distraction. You’re fire together.” They truly were.
“I think I’ve known since day one on some subconscious level, but I didn’t want to admit it, because that would mean that there was a possibility that it wasn’t going to happen between us. Not only that, but acknowledging what was going on would have made me even more of a total selfish asshole for still pursuing you, when I knew the two of you were falling for each other.
“Plot twist—the ‘nice guy’ turns out to be a douche canoe, and the douche canoe secretly has a heart of gold. I bet you didn’t see that coming, because I sure as shit didn’t. But I guess he’s not the only one you’ve changed. I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve lost my mind when it comes to you—rational thought isn’t always an option.” A smile began to form at the corner of her mouth.
“You’re not a douche. Nobody here has played this the best way possible, and I need to put my hand up to my part in that. I knew I had feelings for you, Rome, from the start.”
“You know that wanting to kill someone doesn’t count as ‘feelings’ right?” I was only half joking.
She laughed this time. “I know, and once I got past the homicidal tendencies, I realized I had very different feelings for him. But that thought scared me, so when I started developing distinctly non-homicidal feelings for you, too, I ran with it, and it was so good between us that, like you said, it was kind of the perfect solution. I got to be with you, but still have time with Rome, too.”
“What scared you about loving me?”
She turned her attention back to Rome. “Are you kidding me right now? It would be quicker and easier to list what didn’t scare me. But in a nutshell, mostly I was terrified you’d hurt me, you know? That I’d fall so hard I wouldn’t be able to come back from it if you got bored of me one day, and just walked away.”
“Jesus. You don’t have a very high opinion of me, clearly.”
“No, it’s not that.”
“What is it then?”
Her brows creased, deeply. “It’s more that you’re this huge personality, and so vocal about the fact that nothing interests you for more than a nano-second. I just feared it would be the same for me. I didn’t think I’d be enough to hold your attention.”
Rome’s bark of laughter was startling. “Are you fucking kidding me? That’s a joke, right? Or you’re blowing smoke up my ass, so I don’t feel bad that you thought my best friend was a better option than me.”
“Nope. And nope. I’m deadly serious.”
“My God, woman. How can you not see that you’re more than enough to hold my attention? Fuck, if we’re putting all the realest shit out there, then I should tell you that you’ve done more than keep my attention. I’m borderline obsessed.”
Her laughter tinkled around the room. “Shut up.”
“You think I’m kidding?” He stalked closer to her. “I’m deadly fucking serious. I’ve barely been able to think about anything else since we met. The first time. And I definitely haven’t thought about anyone else.”
“Bullshit.”
“I swear to God. It’s no joke, and I’m telling you, if I could have snapped the fuck out of it at any point, you can be damned sure I would have, but apparently, that’s not how this thing works.”
“What thing?”
“Being teeth-grindingly in love with someone.”
“I make you grind your teeth?”
“Not you, me. I love you, which at times means I hate myself, and yeah, at this point, my teeth are nothing but ground-down stumps.”
“Sexy.” She was smiling broadly now.
“You are.” I took another step closer to her.
“Okay, so I love you both, and you love me back, to the point of causing a dental emergency. What the hell do we do now?”
“We keep on doing what we have been of course—loving each other.” I kept my voice low. We’d come so far that I didn’t want to startle her at the last hurdle.
“But how? We can’t just be a live-in throuple.”
“Yes we can.” I found it weird how often Rome and I were agreeing about shit, to the point where we were speaking at the same time. It was starting to freak me out.
“But—”
“Shut up,” I urged gently. “We’re doing this. Actually, no, it’s done.” Rome reached out for her hand, and pulled her hard to him.
Chapter 19
Rome
When she crashed into my chest, I had to take a breath. Everything about this woman winded me.
The startled rabbit look was back, and her heart beat a schizophrenic rhythm against my ribs. “I’m not ready.”
“You’re ready. But you’re scared. Now, shut up.”