He glanced up at me, a pleasant expression on his face. That would take some getting used to. “Yeah, I’m great. You?”
“More than great.” Thea loves me. I still could hardly believe it.
“Good. I think we should be careful, though. We don’t want to overwhelm her. Maybe we should take turns staying here overnight for a while and see how it goes?”
I hated the thought of leaving Thea for even a night, but I saw his point. She wasn’t the type to jump into something like this with both feet. She’d dipped a toe—okay, maybe an entire leg—into the pool tonight, but she probably needed time to fully ease into it.
“I hear you, but can we start that tomorrow?” I didn’t think anything or anyone could drag me away from her tonight, and I had a feeling Tristin felt the same.
“Yeah. Good idea.”
We worked together to get the food ready and on the table by the time Thea came downstairs. Though the three of us—and Hayle—had been spending a lot more time together since the accident, we didn’t normally eat at the table like this. It was kind of nice. Like, I could see us doing this for decades to come.
Was that strange?
I wasn’t the kind of guy who thought much about the future. So, it should be strange. It just wasn’t.
“What are we going to do about your father?” Thea asked suddenly.
Tristin set down his fork. “What do you mean?”
“There’s no way he would be okay with this…threesome.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Threesome isn’t a dirty word, babe. You don’t have to whisper it.”
“It might not be a dirty word to you.” She gave me a pointed look that I chose to ignore. There were some things from my past she was better off not knowing about. “But, to most people, it’s downright filthy.”
“She has a point,” Tristin replied. “We do need a plan when it comes to Dear Old Dad.”
“Here’s a plan—tell him to fuck off.”
My brother scoffed. “Yeah. Because we’ve had such success with that in the past.”
I shrugged. “What can he do? Thea lives here now, in a townhouse I pay for with my own money. He can’t threaten her if he’s not around.”
Thea frowned. “That’s not exactly true—that he’s not around. He was here earlier today, and he had quite a lot to say.”
From the expression on her face, I already wanted to hunt my father down and kick his ass. But, since I was trying not to be that guy, I took a few deep breaths before saying, “Tell us what happened.”
Chapter Fifteen
Thea
After replaying the conversations with Vincent and Hayle over dinner, I needed a break. Not another hobble away on my crutches without paying attention to where I was going break. Just a go upstairs to my bedroom to be alone for a few minutes break.
Because, seriously, how had I gone from normal when Petra dropped me off to frustrated with Vincent, to pissed at Hayle, to confused with Tristin, to shocked with him and Leo, to beyond happy all in the matter of a few hours? It didn’t seem possible.
Neither did what happened in this very bedroom with Leo and Tristin. It wasn’t even so much the threesome action—which was incredible, obviously. It was their acceptance of me wanting both of them. I’d pinched myself three times during dinner to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
Unless that whole pinching thing was only a myth? If so, I didn’t want to find out. I wanted to squeeze my damn eyes closed and never wake up.
Except, if this was a dream, my relationship with Hayle wouldn’t be so screwed up. In the past, I’d tried to accept his loyalty to his father, even if I didn’t understand it. But, by manipulating me under Vincent’s direction, he’d gone too far this time.
And I wasn’t only pissed. I was hurt.
Reaching for my sketch pad and colored pencils, I let my hand say the things I would to Hayle, if he was standing before me.
I thought I meant more to you than that.
I thought our friendship was something more. That it was important.
I thought that, if push came to shove, you’d pick me.
Time passed as I lost myself to the sketch. Drawing had always been my release, but it was something more this time. It was a way to move on. Maybe Hayle and I would make up. Maybe we wouldn’t. But, either way, I wasn’t going to allow myself to dwell on what he’d done. I