Frankie, she’d always been herself. The shy parts. The bold parts. The warmth. The affection. Hell, even her hostility when we were dicks.
But over the last few weeks, right in front of us, she’d blossomed. The woman glancing at me as she pulled on a pair of dark green panties and a matching bra was the result of that.
“Is it possible I can convince you to come back to bed?” Coop asked, and I glanced over to find him staring at her with the same raw emotion that was probably on my face.
The flush of pink to her cheeks as she laughed beckoned we join her. “Hmm, I would,” she promised. “But I’m starving.”
Flinging himself back against the pillows, Coop grumbled.
“You don’t have to get up,” I told him as Frankie dragged on an oversized shirt that was definitely one of mine. No complaints here. I almost hated the leggings as she tugged those on and hid those sexy legs away, but it was freezing outside, and while it was warm up here, who knew about downstairs yet.
“Yeah, yeah, you just want her all to yourself.”
No lie. “Yes, I do.” With her socks on, she slid Jake’s ring on her finger before facing me. Her hair was still damp, her face rosy and her eyes sparkling. She really was edible. I was still staring at her when she tossed a shirt my way.
Oh look, another one of mine. Apparently, I’d been leaving a lot of my clothes in here.
“Fine,” Coop muttered, dragging the blankets up after Frankie blew him a kiss. “You get an hour.”
I tugged it over my head and grinned at her. “Food?”
“Food,” she agreed with a swift nod. “And coffee.”
Yeah, I saw that one coming.
At the door, I glanced back at Coop. “Two.”
“Ninety minutes,” he yawned. “Final offer.”
Breakfast awaited us downstairs. Archie’s very silent staff had already crept in and delivered it. The counters were clean and sparkling. The coffee maker just required flipping on and it began bubbling. Frankie eyed the espresso machine and gave me a playful look.
Why not?
It took four attempts, but we managed a mocha with two shots of espresso each, whip cream, and she went hunting for sprinkles. The amused look on her face was worth it. Food stacked on plates and coffee in hand, we headed out to the living room. I got the fire going, and then she settled next to me with a blanket thrown over both of us. The tree lights gleamed, and the wood crackled.
“So, wanted me all to yourself, huh?” she teased as she took a sip of her coffee. The little foamy, whip cream mustache was adorable, and I grinned at her.
“I always want you,” I reminded her, and she grinned. “But yeah, just for a little while. This has been…”
“Amazing,” she finished for me. “And we still have another week here, Ian.” Yeah, we did. “I still can’t believe you guys did all of this.”
“A lot of it was Arch,” I admitted. “The guy really loves you.”
Her expression softened. “I love him, too.”
Yeah, I knew that, too. Even trying, I couldn’t find the earlier jealousy over the idea. She loved all of us. She was more than capable of loving all of us. And I loved her too much to let that ever be an issue again.
“I found a karaoke place about forty minutes from here…” I began.
“Yes,” she said, grinning. “When do you want to go?”
I laughed. “Whenever you want? I’m thinking not on New Year’s.”
“Probably better if we don’t. People get crazy on New Year’s.”
Yes, they did.
“But any other time?”
She nodded. “Whenever you want.”
“That was only half of what I wanted to talk to you about,” I admitted as she tore into her bacon. She’d downed half of her espresso, and that was after the cups of coffee we drank while we were figuring the machine out.
“What’s the other half?”
I glanced toward the stairs. It was quiet, and if the other guys were awake, they were giving us this time. I’d done the same when I’d spot her curled up with one of them. No one wanted to make a schedule per se, not while we were here. We’d have to do that when we got home, there was no escaping it. For now, I shoved that out of my head.
Here, we made time for each other to spend time with her. That didn’t change how much I enjoyed the time we were all together, but right now…