Theirs to Keep - Maya Banks Page 0,27

he struggled to make sense of the situation and, hell, just to imagine it.

“That’s assuming she’d even ever agree to such a thing,” Cade said evenly. “She still has a lot of issues to work out. All we know is that we want to be with her for the long haul. It wouldn’t be easy with just one of us. But if both of us are involved? It’s going to be ten times as hard.”

“No shit,” Merrick muttered.

“Is that all you’ve got to say?” Cade asked in frustration. “I’ve put it all out on the line. Me, us, her, our friendship.”

“This is heavy shit, man. I mean, I can’t wrap my head around it. I know such relationships exist. Hell, there was a damn documentary on one of the cable networks a few months ago.”

“Think about what it solves,” Cade said quietly. “I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. Our partnership. Your career. We’d have to be extremely careful to keep this private. The thing is, Elle trusts us both. I think she feels something for both of us. Maybe I’m reaching here, or maybe it’s wishful thinking. But I think we could make this work, as bizarre as it may sound. You and I already trust each other. We’re as close as brothers. I’m not going to screw you over, and I know you won’t screw me over. If we were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and trying to salvage a very sticky situation.”

He took a deep breath and plunged ahead.

“Trust is key in a relationship like I’m proposing. We can’t be stupid, jealous bastards. We have to know going in that we’re basically a family unit and that we have to work together, not at opposites. We have a common goal. We both care for Elle, and we both want to see her happy, safe and protected.”

Merrick nodded. The more Cade talked, the more this craziness was starting to make twisted sense. Or maybe he was just scared shitless that he’d lose in a showdown, and this was his chance to hedge his bets.

“I don’t know what to say,” Merrick admitted. “I wasn’t expecting something like this.”

“You were expecting worse,” Cade said grimly.

Merrick nodded again. “Yeah. I’ve been dreading it. If it were any other girl, I’d back off, you know? I’d say no woman was worth a lifelong friendship, a partnership and a vested business interest.”

“But she isn’t just any girl,” Cade finished.

“Yeah, exactly. She’s…” Merrick broke off even as the firm realization took hold. “She’s the one.” And he knew as he said it that it was the irrevocable truth. Somehow speaking it aloud gave it more strength. It solidified what he’d been grappling with for months now. It was a relief to get it out, to say the words, for Cade to know where Merrick stood.

His pulse was pounding in his head and chest like a freight train roaring down the tracks. He stared back at Cade as the enormity of their discussion hit him like said freight train.

“Now you know why I’ve been doing so much thinking about this,” Cade said in a grim voice. “Because I feel the same way, and I know you do too. One of us has to lose, and I don’t want that. I don’t think Elle wants it, even if she doesn’t know exactly what it is she wants.”

“You’re telling me you would be okay with…sharing…her with me?” Merrick asked in disbelief.

“What I’m asking is whether you’d be okay with sharing her with me,” Cade said. “I know what I’m okay with. I don’t know what you are. I’ve had several months to make peace with this. I don’t see an alternative. At least not one that offers us all a chance at happiness.”

He was right. It was insanity, but Cade was right, and Merrick couldn’t even wrap his brain around it. Didn’t know how to respond. What to say. How to even agree to such a bizarre proposition.

“We don’t know if she’ll ever go for this,” Merrick muttered.

“Of course we don’t. But how stupid would it be for me or you to even mention it to her if we weren’t in agreement ourselves? If we do this, we have to present a united front, and we have to be damn convincing. She’s not going to want to cause trouble between us. I think she’d up and disappear on us if she even thought this would strain our relationship.”

“Christ.”

“Yeah, exactly. We have to be careful, man.