first to disembark, since we were at the front of the plane, and every few seconds, Chase brushed against me. I was a live wire of nerve endings by the time we reached the gate.
Luke appeared a few minutes later, his gaze flicking between us, one eyebrow raised as he joined us. “How was your flight?” His tone was casual. Same as always.
My cheeks were red, weren’t they? Bright, tomato-colored... Now that Chase had reminded me I wore certain emotions on my face, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I started walking toward baggage claim, more to avoid their stares than anything.
Luke joined me, and Chase managed to wedge himself between us, to be by my side.
“Same as yours, but with better amenities.” Chase squeezed my hand.
Did Luke see that? Would he know? Did it matter? If Chase and I made this all official and long term, Luke was going to find out anyway.
He and Chase really...? My mind was on other things on the flight, but now, with it flitting back and forth between the two men, I was imagining them together. With me. Without me.
“What about you, Anne?” Luke asked. “Good flight?”
Incredible. Hot. You should have seen us. There was so much possibility in that response. “It was good. The extra leg room was nice.”
“Hmm. Cool.” Luke wandered toward a newspaper- and gift-shop, and we drifted that way with him. He didn’t dwell, instead falling into step on my other side and brushing his arm against mine.
Was that on purpose? Had he always made casual contact with me when we walked side-by-side? No. I would have noticed.
Then again, I’d convinced myself for years that neither of them was flirting with me. That Chase wasn’t interested. That Luke was just extra friendly.
“Rumor is some couple up in Business Class was practically fucking each other. Did you see them?” Luke’s question was calm. Casual.
If I’d been drinking, I would have choked. I could picture it in my head.
Chase traced his fingers over the back of my knuckles. “Practically fucking isn’t accurate at all.”
My body was on fire, and so was my face, but for very different reasons. I needed to find the closest hole to climb in and hide.
“Hmm...” Luke was saying a lot of that today. “I hope the show was good.”
Chase chuckled. “You like a good show?”
“All depends on who the stars are.”
“You would have loved this one,” Chase said.
Forget the hole. I needed to yank both of them into a corner and do something hot enough to land us on a porn site. Embarrassment was fading, replaced with that rush I felt when the stewardess asked us to stop. The potential of both humiliation and someone else getting off to the sight of the three of us together lingered on my tongue. I could feel Luke’s hands gliding up my chest, his lips on my neck. All while Chase worked his fingers lower, sucked on my throat—
“Annie?” Chase’s tone implied I’d missed something.
I shook the fantasy aside. It was hard to walk and clench my thighs together at the same time, anyway. “Sorry—what?”
“Sushi tonight? Chase knows a fantastic place.” If Luke was asking, was he going to invite everyone in the office?
I was turned on by the idea of an audience, but that was different than dinner with co-workers I barely knew outside of video conferences. “Work?” Wow, that came out dumb. “I mean, I’m not sure I know how to deal with a night off.”
Luke tickled his fingers lightly along my arm. “I’m ordering you to take tonight off, as your boss, and the three of us will go explore the city for a few hours.”
Yes, sir. The sassy retort froze on my lips. “Yes, sir.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that out loud. Too late to take it back.
We reached the carousel for our bags, and Chase slid an arm around my waist.
The gesture was warm. Comforting. Possessive. Was I okay with that?
“I didn’t realize the two of you were more than friends.” Luke’s tone was impossible to read. Then again, I’d been misreading it for a long time.
“We weren’t. Were?” And now I couldn’t speak. Did Luke think I’d been making out with him even though I was with someone else? “Just friends. We were just friends before.”
“We had a conversation on the plane.” Chase’s emphasis was distinct.
“Hmm.”
I was starting to really dislike Luke’s non-committal grunt. Mostly because I couldn’t interpret it.
“Did it go better than the conversation you and I had?” Luke asked
Chase