“She didn’t tell Kyle,” he said point-blank. He hadn’t stopped undressing, so he just stood in his boxer briefs. “I don’t know how he found out, but it wasn’t through her. I accept that. I believe that. It’s the truth.” He turned to the other man. “You can either accept it as that too, or it can be just me and her.” He put his foot down, not giving Adam any room to argue.
“If she wasn’t lying, then where the hell has she been since?” Adam protested. “If this wasn’t a scam, where was she?”
“You told me to fuck off,” I said uneasily, “so I did.” I shrugged. “What else was I supposed to do?” I asked him.
Adam opened his mouth to protest, then closed it again. He looked conflicted, his brows drawing together. “How did he know?”
I shook my head but shifted in the bed to make room for him. I hoped that would be enough of an invitation. I hoped hewouldn’t dig his heels in and keep blaming me for all of it. “I don’t know,” I admitted.
That’s when I realized this was how Shay felt. This sinking feeling, the disappointment in not being believed by someone that you cared about. “I don’t know,” I repeated, struggling to put a cap on my emotions. “It was a stupid idea from the beginning,” I continued, without looking up at him. “I didn’t think it would go like this. It was supposed to be fun so that I could rub in his face and laugh.” I looked between the two of them. “You were there. It didn’t happen like that, did it?”
“It didn’t,” he agreed, his jaw working. But it became apparent pretty quick that he was at a loss. He came to the bed and sat down beside me. He didn’t make any further effort to close the distance between us. “I don’t get it. We didn’t advertise. Who else could’ve said something to him?” He looked at Cam. “Darius?”
“Seems pretty counterintuitive for Darius to shoot himself in the foot like that,” Cam said as he came around the other side of the bed. He knelt on the bed so he was facing the two of us. “Didn’t he do part-time shifts in the garage?”
“Not since he became a contractor,” Adam heaved out. He took the pillow from behind me and adjusted it so he could lean back into it. “I don’t think he would do this,” he said finally, after getting comfortable. “He’s always been the type to keep a secret, and he knew about the three of us before he even got involved.”
“I don’t know if this is something we should dwell on,” I murmured. There was something comforting about being between them, and I didn’t know how to take that. “If it’s not the three of us and it’s not Shay . . . ” I paused and shook my head. “Then maybe it’s just really shitty luck.”
That seemed to be the universe’s MO for me. Things had just fallen into place where it looked like I might be happy, so everything needed to blow up in my face. I couldn’t havenice things. I leaned back against the headboard, my shoulders feeling heavy, and if I had been alone, I probably would’ve let it get to me.
“I didn’t think you cared,” Adam murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. “You came over once. That was it. Then you didn’t even bother to call.”
“I don’t get why you think she would after you told her to fuck off,” Cam said, exasperated. He reached over me, and with a hard tug, he pulled the pillow out from under Adam. He smacked the other man with it. “I already told you. If you push someone away, you can’t be mad when they stay away.”
“Stop,” Adam grumped, taking the pillow back only to throw it at Cam. “If you care about someone, if you want something, you’re supposed to fight for it. Right?”
“I was willing to fight Kyle,” I pointed out. “I got a job at the dealership thinking I could get Dad to give you back your job.” After I said it, I realized it probably wasn’t the best thing to tell him. I shook my head, trying to be gentle. “But I don’t think it’s something that would create a friendly work environment for you. Kyle’s been shitty with me since I started.” I bit my lip, weighing my words. “You can’t make people love you. No matter how hard you fight, no matter what you do, there’s no making a person do something.” I shrugged. “I wanted to fix the problem I created, but there was no making you want me.”
Adam folded his arms over his chest, but said nothing. Cam eyed him. “How drunk are you?”
“I’m not drunk,” he protested. “Had this entire conversation without sounding like a jackass.”
“Debatable,” Cam said with a shrug. “Go get your pillow and you can join us.” He picked his pillow up off the floor. “You’re not drooling on mine.”
“You’re still going to make room for me?”
Cam looked at me, both brows raised. He was letting me have the final say in it. “Yeah,” I said wearily. “There’s room for you.”
Adam nodded and got up, going to fetch his own pillow. It didn’t take long before the three of us were piled into Cameron’s bed. We lay shoulder to shoulder, neither man making an attempt to cuddle up with me.
The light was out, and silence stretched out. Of course, it wouldn’t be so easy for us to get back to normal. I’d still have to deal with the strain between us.
Adam puffed out a breath. “Are we going to use this as an excuse to have some fun?”
“It wasn’t in the plan for the night,” Cam said as he twisted onto his side. He shifted closer and tentatively put an arm around my waist. “I just wanted to take her out to dinner and just lay next to her.” His hand rested against my hip, his thumb slipping beneath the waistband of my panties. He didn’t push them down. “I didn’t have sex in mind today. I just wanted this.”
“This?” I echoed.
“You here,” Cameron clarified. “And, I guess, Adam, too.”
Chapter 9
Grace
Ahand squeezed my breast. It drew me up from the deep sleep I’d been in. I didn’t protest. I didn’t stop the hands that pressed my breasts together. I just let Adam fondle me. I was resting against Cameron, and from the heavy breaths he was taking; it was clear it wasn’t him touching me.
I shifted, and Adam moved with me, palming one breast to tease the stiffened peak. His hand pulled away so he could twist my nipple just enough to draw a moan out of me. The hand still gripping me loosened and shifted down my stomach. I pressed my hand against his, keeping him from drifting below my belly button.