This open-air market is three city blocks by seven city blocks and has three families who own most of the businesses in the space. Those families have been here since the inception of Sabine Valley. That’s why the first thing Abel Paine did when he staged his coup was to come here and declare his intentions to the Phan, Rodriguez, and Smith families.
A smart move on his part. No one holds power in the Raider faction without Old Town’s blessing.
I lace my fingers through Broderick’s as we stroll down the street. Shiloh catches a glimpse of that and starts to move away, but I grab her hand, too. “Where are you going?”
“You’re sending a message,” she says softly.
Broderick has slowed. He’s not looking at us, but he shifts a little closer to me as if he doesn’t want to miss a single word of this. I drag my thumb over Shiloh’s knuckles. Now isn’t the time or place to tell her what I realized last night, but I’ve always been a little too impulsive for my own good. “I care about you, Shiloh.” A nice, generic statement that won’t send her rabbiting away. “I have no intention of publicly claiming Broderick without you being involved.” When she still hesitates, I can’t help pressing. “Do you care about me?”
“Yes.” The word is almost lost in the sound of people walking and talking and shopping around us.
“Then what’s wrong with letting everyone know?” I speak just as softly as she is, and for once I can’t inject my voice with any bravado. As much as I don’t want to pressure her, a part of me can’t help wanting her to claim this.
To claim me.
For a moment, I think Shiloh is going to keep arguing, but she sighs and slips her hand into mine.
Maybe it should be awkward to walk down the street with the three of us, but it just feels horrifyingly right. I knew I was in over my head after last night, but this just confirms it. I’m entirely gone for Shiloh and half gone for Broderick, stubborn fool that he is. I…like him. Even when he has me climbing the walls—maybe especially when he has me climbing the walls.
We take our time, pausing to explore a few of the trinket shops before we end up in the center space with the handful of food trucks and restaurants. The intersection has picnic tables situated under carefully constructed awnings that keep out the worst of the weather and offer plenty of relief from the late-summer heat.
Shiloh extracts her hand from mine and gives us a sweet smile. “I’ll go grab some food.” She’s gone before I can offer to go with.
It’s just as well. Broderick and I have something to discuss. I sink onto the bench at the nearest table and pat the spot next to me. “Sit, husband.”
“I’m not—” He cuts himself off and sighs. “You know what? Forget it.” He sits next to me, thigh to thigh, and drapes his arm over the table behind me. “This for show, or you have something to say?”
I watch Shiloh weave through the late lunch crowd to the nearest food truck. “Both.” I take a deep breath. “Last night was a lot of fun.”
Broderick’s arm goes tense behind me. “I had fun, too.”
“I’d like to keep it up.” My words try to stick in my throat, something like self-consciousness making my skin heat. “The three of us, I mean. There’s no reason not to keep enjoying ourselves, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we both care a lot about Shiloh.”
“Right. About Shiloh.”
I try to look at him, but the sun is in my eyes, and I can’t read his expression properly. There’s absolutely no reason to look into it. Just because he’s sitting so close, smelling so damn good, and also doesn’t want me dead… None of that means he actually gives a damn about me. After working so hard to get under his skin and torment him for three weeks, I’m lucky he’s not trying to throw me in front of a bus.
He wouldn’t succeed, of course, but it’s the thought that counts.
That uncomfortable feeling beneath my skin gets worse. “Look—”
“Monroe.” He twists his body toward me and catches my chin in a light grip. I still can’t see him with the glare in my eyes, but his voice deepens. “We make one hell of a team. Do you agree?”
“Yes,” I say cautiously.
“We’re in agreement that we both want Shiloh, and we’re both willing to share.”
“Yes,” I say again. It never even occurred to me to keep Shiloh to myself, not once I realized that she returned Broderick’s attraction. We fit well, but I’ll admit that I have a whole lot of fun when Broderick is involved, too. The power dynamics become so fluid, and our interactions just hit me in all the right spots. I’m not one to put labels on things; I’ve enjoyed monogamous relationships and polyamorous ones. Whatever fits everyone’s needs and ensures we’re having a good time is what I’m into.