Chapter Thirteen
Kat smiled as she carried in a tray of drinks, all balanced perfectly on her hand.
“Impressive,” Garrison said.
Kat beamed at the praise and spun. “I was a waitress to put myself through school. There are some skills that just never quite go away.”
Their banter didn’t bother Sunny, but maybe that was because Garrison’s arm was draped around Sunny, and she didn’t feel any sort of sexual tension between Kat and the men. Instead, Kat seemed like the little sister she liked to say she was.
Her house was what Sunny would have expected upon meeting the woman—small, chaotic yet somehow welcoming. It was one side of a duplex in a complex with perfectly manicured lawns, despite how expensive those were to maintain in the desert. Even though it was much smaller than where Sunny lived, she’d bet it cost a bundle more given the location in a tourist area.
“Did you decide on your costume for next month?” Kat asked as she moved the cups from the tray to the table.
Sunny peered at Connor, uneasy with the question. The next costume night was weeks away, and she hadn’t discussed anything about a future with the men. She couldn’t deny that the last few days had been…interesting.
That’s an understatement.
In reality, they’d been amazing. Confusing and scary at times, sure, but also absolutely life-changing. She’d found a contentment and happiness she’d had no idea could exist in her life anymore. She’d relaxed, found solace in leaning against Garrison as he read in the evening, or going on walks with Trent when he often spoke almost nonstop, letting her get a good view into his mind, or when Connor would put on an animal documentary and pull Sunny into his lap.
She’d slid into their home and their lives with so little trouble, and while she enjoyed being there, she wasn’t sure what that meant long term.
What would happen when they got word back to discover that Tanner was right where he’d been before?
It was a question that had kept Sunny up at night. Right now, things were simple. She stayed with them out of a concern for her safety. It was like wearing the costume to Sanctuary—it wasn’t real.
So when the risk passed, when this wasn’t a temporary thing they were doing, could she accept it as real? Could she decide to stay, to continue something with the men if it were just them?
A squeeze to her side brought her attention to Garrison, who looked at her with his eyebrow lifted.
All three of the men were too observant, but Garrison was somehow the worst for it. He caught every stray thought of hers and had claimed the other night that they ran across her features like a movie.
Instead of explaining anything that was in her head—she didn’t want to have that conversation at all, but for sure not in front of Kat—she gave him a half-hearted smile.
He pressed his lips together but nodded, as if to tell her he got what she was saying, even if he didn’t like it.
Kat sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, her glass between her palms.
Whatever Kat had concocted was overly sweet, yet kicked Sunny in the stomach when she swallowed from all the liquor.
Yep, it was exactly like Kat herself. Sunny coughed for a moment after taking a sip.
“I like to make my drinks strong,” Kat said. “We can’t have alcohol at Sanctuary, so when people come over, I feel like we need to make up for that.”
Connor sniffed at his cup, then shook his head and set it down. “We need a designated driver, and it looks like that’s me.”
Kat put her finger on the extra drink she’d set on the table and pushed it toward him, the glass having a blue rim unlike the other. “While I’m not anywhere close to one, I can make a virgin. I figured one of you would be the responsible one instead of just crashing here for the night, so I was prepared.”
“You don’t have nearly enough room for us to crash here,” Trent pointed out as he glanced around her tiny living room.
“Sure I do. Think of it like a game where you fit the boxes together. Besides, if you all manage to fit on a bed, I’m sure you could make it work.”
And that time it wasn’t the alcohol that made Sunny choke.
Yes, she was aware that Kat knew she was sleeping with the men. She’d even played with them in the club in public. However, knowing something and saying it out loud were two very different things.
Garrison thumped his hand against her back to help her cough up the alcohol she’d inhaled at Kat’s comment, while Connor gave the other woman a glare.
“You can’t be mad,” Kat said, a pout to her voice. “That was funny.”