Three Christmas Wishes - Krista Wolf Page 0,17

if it seemed overwhelming,” Brock said. “From the start we all knew we liked you. We all knew one or more of us would probably make a move. The one-for-all thing was supposed to be a deterrent, to keep from putting you in an uncomfortable position. But the way things went, it just seemed to do the opposite.”

I paused, considering his words for a moment. As crazy and convoluted as the whole idea sounded, I could see how it was originally intended to make sense.

“So what was the bet about, then?” I asked.

Brock looked at the ground. Valerio took over.

“It was stupid and spur of the moment,” he said. “But once we started… well, you know. We figured whoever was best at it would be the one who gets to ask you out.”

“Asking you out was sort of a foregone conclusion,” Brock agreed. “But we had to decide who got the honor. It’s not like we could all ask you out.”

I stood for a moment, scratching the back of my head. All of a sudden I blurted:

“Why not?”

The guys stared back at me like the question was crazy. Which it probably was.

“Why not what?”

“Why couldn’t you all ask me out?” I repeated. “I mean, you all came over. You all decorated the tree and had dinner with me. You all kissed me. And you all participated in the other stuff, too.”

I could feel myself turning red, despite telling myself not to. I couldn’t help it.

“So what’s stopping the three of you from asking me out?”

Holy SHIT Sloane!

My pulse was pounding again, mostly because I had no idea where all this was coming from. It was just sort of spilling from my lips. Going directly from my heart to my mouth, without passing through my brain to filter anything out.

“You’d actually want that?” asked Brock. “You’d be okay with it?”

“Maybe,” I said, tempering my response. “I mean, you were worried about overwhelming me. I get that. But you’re also making some assumptions, too. For example, how do you even know I’d be overwhelmed?”

“Are you saying you weren’t?”

I thought for a moment, then answered. “Actually, no.”

My ears started ringing, as a rush of new blood flowed through my body. I didn’t know what I was saying, really. Only that, for once in my life, I was saying whatever I honestly wanted to.

“Rather than tell you which one of you ‘won’, why don’t you let me take you boys out?” I asked, out of the clear blue sky. “That solves the problem of which one of you gets to ‘date’ me. Plus, it also solves another potential problem.”

Valerio’s mouth was open, his face crossed with an almost comical astonishment. But Brock raised a curious eyebrow.

“And that would be?”

“Well,” I said, feeling the butterflies explode in my stomach again. “Let’s put it this way. You guys made me feel really, really good last night. And because I hate to be indebted to someone…”

Stepping forward, I moved between them until our bodies were close. Letting my voice go low and seductive, I smiled wickedly.

“… maybe I should be given the chance to return the favor.”

Fourteen

SLOANE

“You sure you can’t come down to the foundry?” I asked. “We can shoot the shit, get all caught up. And you can tell me about your trip.”

On the other end of the phone, my friend yawned. I couldn’t tell if it was real or fake.

“Sloane, I’m exhausted,” said Lynne.

“You wouldn’t even have to do anything,” I cut in. “I just need someone there.”

“I know, but—”

“I’ll load you up on coffee,” I promised. “Really good coffee.”

Lynne chuckled into the phone. I knew her vices. Like any best friend, she knew mine.

“I’ll even tell you about my new…”

What was I about to say? New guy? It’s not like I could tell her what really happened. She’d never understand.

Or maybe she’d understand, but she’d never look at me the same, ever again.

“You’re new what?”

I paused, realizing I hadn’t even told her about my breakup! Lynne and her boyfriend had spent the last ten days in Curacao, enjoying the sun-kissed Caribbean. It was a much better weather situation than the outskirts of Buffalo in the winter.

Not boyfriend, my memory reminded me sharply. Fiancé. Remember?

Oh yeah. Who could forget that?

“Sloane?”

I shook myself out of my trance. “Hmm?”

“What were you going to say?” Lynne asked. “Your new what?”

I hadn’t told her about my breakup over the phone because I hadn’t wanted to mess with her vacation. Lynne was a good friend. The type who would’ve called