“What did I deserve?” Lucy asked, her eyes soft and concerned.
“You deserved to be married. You deserved to have a man with a good job who could support you while you got your education.” He’d gotten through college as fast as he could because he’d wanted to come home to Bliss. And then she’d had a boyfriend, one of his best friend’s brothers.
“I only wanted you, Ty.”
“I should have stayed.” That seemed to be where he’d really gone wrong. He’d asked her to come with him, but he’d also known she had to take care of her family.
She reached for his hand again. “No. You needed that time. And you had a full ride. You couldn’t turn it down. I’m surprised you came back. You could have gotten a job anywhere.”
“But you were here.” He needed to make her understand. “My whole life was here. I missed you every second I was gone.”
Zane placed a glass of wine in front of her, and the heavenly scent of fried mozzarella hit him. He’d been nervous walking in here but now he was hungry.
Hungry for a lot of things.
“Your food should be out in about ten minutes.” Zane gave them a nod before walking back to the kitchen.
“So now you two understand each other?” Michael asked.
Lucy gave him a smile. “We do.”
“And you understand that Tyler’s long line of very brief sexual relationships was because he couldn’t have the woman he wanted,” Michael said.
He didn’t like the sound of that. “I wouldn’t say they were all that brief. I’ve got stamina.”
Michael shot him a frown. “I was talking about the fact that you didn’t have real relationships with those women.”
“No, he had relationships with their vaginas,” Lucy quipped.
He wished he’d chosen a different way to try to get over her. “But none in the last year.”
“So your stamina might not be what it used to,” Michael said with a snort.
That got Lucy laughing, and when her eyes shone like that Ty would take all the ribbing in the world.
Michael sat up, his shoulders squaring. “We need to talk about something else now that we’ve gotten that out of the way.”
He looked so serious, any hint of amusement fleeing. It made Ty nervous. “What do we need to talk about? Because we seem to be doing a whole lot of talking.”
“I think what Michael meant was that we didn’t talk about the important stuff,” Lucy explained. “I suspect he also thinks we talk too much.”
“This is something we definitely have to talk about,” Michael insisted. “You need to think about this. Do you still want me here? The two of you love each other. I care about you, Lucy. I even care about Ty, but you both need to understand that I’m not capable of loving anyone. There’s nothing soft and sweet about me anymore. So I’m going to give you a chance to get out of this. If we go back to Ty’s tonight and do what will likely feel awkward as hell at first, I’ll be involved, and that means I’ll be bossy and probably obnoxious about the both of you.”
This was his chance. He could get rid of Michael, and Lucy would be all his.
And he hadn’t been great at being on his own with her. They wouldn’t have had the talk they’d just had without Michael here with them. Lucy would still be keeping him at a distance, and that wasn’t what he wanted. He liked the friendship he was finding. He liked having someone to back him up. This was what the other threesomes had. They had a camaraderie he wouldn’t have if he was on his own.
He glanced over, and Lucy was obviously waiting for him to reply. “I don’t want you to go away. I’m starting to think we might not work without you, and I want us to work.”
“I do, too,” Lucy said quietly. She reached out to Michael so she had a hand on both of them again. “I want to try with both of you.”
Michael stared down at her hand before flipping it over and threading their fingers together. “Well, you were warned.”
He kissed her hand and held it for a moment more.
Somehow Ty thought the soft part of Michael was still there. It needed affection. That was all.
And maybe some serious sex.
Ty reached for the appetizer. He had the feeling he was going to need his energy tonight.
* * * *
Michael watched as Ty opened the door to his apartment and thought seriously about how nice it would be to have a cabin in the valley. One close to the town square so they could walk to Trio when the weather was good. Ty’s place was simple and comfortable, but there were four other units exactly like it on this floor, and that was too many people for Michael.