3. BUT THE TWO MEN
2. WHO LOVE YOU
1. ARE HERE.
She stared at the big block lettering, the words blurring when her eyes filled with tears. She pressed her ha
nd to the glass. They did the same.
And for the first time in a week, she didn’t feel numb at all.
She looked at their splayed hands, imagined those fingers linked, hands piled on top of each other. Bodies tangled in bed. Mornings full of laughter and teasing, stolen kisses, and naughty comments. Nights filled with warmth.
All along, she’d never really let herself think past getting back to Chicago. She wouldn’t allow her mind to go there. Any time she’d felt those feelings developing for these two men, she’d drawn it back in—like a border collie herding escapee sheep back into their pen. Don’t get attached, don’t get attached. It had become her mantra. But thinking about the two of them now—Colby with his kind eyes and solid presence, Keats with his cocky humor and giving heart—she knew she hadn’t kept it in check. Those sheep were hopping around in the wild with giddy feelings—hope, affection . . . love. Especially when the guys looked at her like they did. Like they’d love her forever if she’d let them.
They’d become so much more than the silly For a Good Time Call label she’d put in her phone. The thought of leaving them had been tearing her up for weeks. But she still hadn’t let herself consider the possibility of staying. Phillip had been such a looming threat overshadowing every thought of the future.
And beyond that, all this time she’d been looking at returning to her life in Chicago like the brass ring. The sign that she was A-OK again, fixed. But now it felt like an empty victory. When she imagined going back, she didn’t get excited about that fast-paced city life she used to lead. She felt . . . nothing.
So what would happen if she stayed here?
The question had been knocking around in her head the last few days like a Ping-Pong ball gaining momentum.
Was Leesha wrong? Could Georgia build a long-term relationship with Colby and Keats? Let this wonderfully strange, just-for-fun arrangement become something else? Become real and lasting?
The practical part of her brain always said no. How would three people even go about that? But another part of her rebelled against that. And when Leesha had outlined all the reasons why it wasn’t a good idea, Georgia had wanted to go into full debate mode. Who cared if the relationship wouldn’t fit into the mold of what everyone expected her to do? Her mother, who had taught women’s studies at Northwestern since Georgia was a kid, had always raised her to not give in to gender expectations, to make her own way. She could still remember the talks her mother had given her through her teen years. If you don’t want to get married, don’t. A woman doesn’t need a man to have a life. If you want kids, have them. If you don’t, don’t let anyone make you feel guilty about it. You find your own road to happiness, my girl. No one else can tell you what’s right for you.
Back then, Georgia had kind of rolled her eyes at her mother’s rah-rah, you-are-a-strong-independent-woman speeches. Mainly because despite her mother’s opinions, Georgia had always been a traditionalist at heart. She’d wanted the perfect fairy-tale life—Prince Charming in the castle on the hill. But now her mother’s words washed through her, raining water on the seeds Keats and Colby had planted. If she wanted to stay here, she could. She could have whatever kind of life she wanted.
She didn’t need some dusty fairy tale. She could make her own new, shiny one.
She didn’t need to be scared anymore.
She lifted her phone and hit For a Good Time Call.
FORTY-ONE
Colby wasn’t sure what to expect when he opened the door to Georgia a few minutes later. He and Keats had done what they could. They’d bared their feelings. Put it all out there. But even if Georgia loved them back, they were still asking a lot.
Even so, when he opened the door and saw her face, saw that brightness in her eyes, a weight that had been pressing down on him since he’d left her the day after the attack lightened a bit. He’d worried that when everything set in, she might be overwhelmed by it. That old fears would resurface. Or worse, new ones would come up. But he should’ve known better. He’d seen firsthand how unshakable and brave she’d been that night with Phillip. She hadn’t flinched. Their girl was softness built on steel.
Well, not their girl. Not yet.
Keats sidled up next to him, and Colby could feel the nerves vibrating off him. So much for being tough guys. They were goners when it came to this woman. She could knock them down in one swoop.
“Hey, neighbor,” Colby said, keeping his tone neutral in case she was coming over here to give them the big send-off.
“Hey,” she said, and glanced down at her feet like a nervous teenager.
He shifted his stance. “How’s the packing going?”
She smirked. “Leesha has tackled it like a sergeant implementing a military operation. I am a mere soldier in her plan.”
“You can hide over here for a while,” Keats offered. “We promise we won’t tell.”
She smiled then. “I am kind of sneaking over here. She doesn’t approve of you two hoodlums who are trying to persuade her friend not to go home.”
“We are, indeed, selfish, selfish hoodlums,” Colby agreed. “But we couldn’t let you go without telling you how we feel. Even if you’re still going to Chicago, we needed you to hear the truth.”