Two Men and a Baby - Isla Olsen Page 0,35

at the aquarium on Saturday.

My head snaps around at her question, the information panel I’d been reading about the various fish in this particular tank completely forgotten. “What are you talking about?”

She rolls her eyes, shifting her hold of Chase as she says, “Oh, come on. Every time I see you two together it’s like you’re just waiting for me to leave so you can rip each other’s clothes off. The tension there is seriously off the charts.”

“Every time?” I ask, an eyrbrow raised. “You’ve met Josh twice.”

She shrugs. “Fine. Both times then.”

I reach out and take Chase from her arms because I can see from the way she keeps adjusting her grip he’s starting to get too heavy for her. “I should have brought my carrier,” I comment. “He likes being in that.”

“Stop changing the subject,” Laura says, following behind with the stroller as Chase and I move along to the next tank in the aquarium. “I’m totally cool with you guys being together, by the way. He’s a really nice guy.”

Letting out a resigned sigh, I turn back to Laura. “We’re not together. I want us to be but he’s still working out what he wants.”

“He wants you,” Laura says confidently. “The way he looks at you—it’s pretty obvious.”

I shrug. “Wanting me and wanting to be in a relationship with me are two different things.”

Laura nods in understanding. “It’s not because of Chase, is it? He seems totally cool about you having a kid.”

I can’t help letting out a soft chuckle. “He is. He actually handled it a lot better than I did at the start. So no, not because of Chase.”

“So what do you think is holding him back?”

“He used to date my brother so I’m pretty sure that’s the main issue for him.”

Laura’s eyes widen at my words. “Wow. Okay. I guess I can sort of see why that might be a sticking point.”

I shrug. “I don’t. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s something Josh needs to work through and I’m respecting that. But I don’t really get why it’s an issue. Dec and Josh broke up ages ago. Dec’s married now. Neither has any lingering feelings for the other. It’s just a non-issue as far as I’m concerned.”

Laura offers a sympathetic smile. “Well, for what it’s worth, I hope Josh decides to go for it with you. You guys would be really great together.”

15

Josh

“What do you mean, you have to think about it?” Ben asks from across the table after I’ve filled him in on the situation with Connor. It’s been a week since we slept together and I’m no closer to figuring out what I want than I was when he first asked me to define our relationship. “What is there to think about?”

“There’s plenty to think about,” I say firmly, although I’m aware the way my fingers tear at my beer label is probably giving away how unsure I really am.

“You have feelings for him. He has feelings for you. You have epic chemistry. He’s great in bed. Sounds pretty clear cut to me.”

I arch an eyebrow at him. He’s one to talk. “You’d think that, but aparently that’s not all it takes.”

Ben narrows his eyes and takes a swig of his beer. “We’re talking about you right now, Donovan. Why the hell are you running from this?”

“You know why.”

Ben rolls his eyes. “Because he’s Declan’s brother. That’s a really dumb reason, man.”

“It’s not a dumb reason. It’s a perfectly reasonable reason.”

“Connor doesn’t care. You know Dec wouldn’t care. No one who knows the two of you would care,” Ben insists. “The only person who’s making something out of this is you.” He sits back agaisnt the booth, eyeing me curiously. “Wait—does Con, like…remind you of Dec? Do they have the same moves? Do their cocks look similar or something?”

“What? No! Why are you asking me this shit? What is wrong with you?”

“So their cocks aren’t similar?” Ben persists.

I throw my head back in exasperation. “I don’t know! Declan and I broke up well over a year ago. I don’t think of him like that anymore. I definitely can’t remember the specific details of his cock.” I do remember it wasn’t pierced, though—that would be hard to forget.

“So you weren’t thinking about Dec at all while you and Connor were…you know…” Ben presses, one eyebrow arched.

“No, of course not.” I let out a heavy sigh. “Look, when it’s just the two of us and we’re hanging out or taking