Lovers. Eve still couldn’t believe it. She unobtrusively pinched herself under the table. Yes, this wasn’t a dream. It was real.
It was real enough they needed to make some decisions. And if she didn’t steer them in that direction, they’d continue to babble on about football and endorsements and workouts, and whatever else men talked about, all the way until dinner.
She cleared her throat to get their attention. “So…like I asked before, where do we go from here? Where are we even going to live? Of course, I am assuming we are moving in together?”
“That would be the next logical step, I guess. So we’ll live…” Ren paused in thought for a moment. “In my house.”
“My place,” Cole said at the same time.
“I hate this penthouse,” Ren exclaimed.
“I hate that dark and gloomy house of yours. And who owns a mansion without a pool!”
Ren snorted with disbelief. “I live on a lake!”
“That’s not a lake! That’s a pond on steroids.”
Eve watched the two of them go back and forth like a ping-pong match. Finally, she interrupted. “Well, that settles it; we’ll live in my house.”
Ren’s mouth dropped open before he closed it with a snap. “We can’t live in that shoebox of a house. There’s no way—”
“No. I meant the beach house. It’s large enough for all of us. I can sell my ‘shoebox,’ as you call it.”
“But it’s so far from the city. I like being in the thick of things,” Cole complained.
“And I like having all the garage space for my car collection.”
Eve wanted to hand them both tissues for all the crying they were doing, but threw up her hands instead. “Fine. I’ll live in the beach house. You live in your own homes. You can come visit me.”
They quickly shut up. The guys looked at each other. Cole scratched his head, and Ren tugged at his earring.
“Well…” Ren started.
She shrugged. “No. I don’t want to hear any whining. We all live together or none of us lives together.”
Cole whistled. “Damn, now we know who’ll be wearing the pants in this relationship.”
“Take notes, boys, because here is how it’s going to be. We will all move out to the beach house. We’ll find an empty warehouse or old cannery to rent so you can store all your toys, Ren. We’ll keep Cole’s place in the city, in case we want to stay overnight for a show, or dinner, or whatever.”
“Or if one of us needs a break.”
“That too.”
“I love that house,” Ren said pensively.
Eve gave Ren a look and a raise of her eyebrows. “What do you love more? Cole and me? Or your house.”
Ren pretended to think hard about the answer. “I want to be with you two. I realize there’s no comparison. It’s a house. Living with you two would make a place home. I’ll be happy wherever we end up. As long as it’s together.”
Cole came around and put an arm across Ren’s chest and his chin on Ren’s shoulder. “Awwww. How sweet. You are the sweetest!”
Ren shook his head and pushed away from him. “Stop.”
Eve pinned her lips together, fighting back the laugh so wanting to escape. “Cole may be trying to get under your skin, Ren, but he’s right. That was really sweet.”
Cole snapped his fingers and perked up. “We need to declare our love to the whole city.”
“Like a press release?” Ren frowned.
“No. Now. Right now. Shout it to the whole world. Come here to the railing.”
Eve lifted a brow at him. She wasn’t a fan of heights. And getting close to the railing of a balcony that was umpteen floors up was not on her to-do list any time soon.
“Have you lost your mind? No one will hear it.” Ren shook his head.
“We’ll hear it. Well, and the pigeons. And maybe some neighbors below me.” Cole held out his hand to Eve.
She froze. Her gaze bounced between his hand and the edge of the railing.
Ren came over and rubbed her back. “Cole, she just turned white and is now green. I think we’ll have to pass on this announcement of yours.”
Cole shrugged and turned to face the city. He slapped his right hand over his heart, threw his left arm toward the sky, and tilted his head back.
Eve didn’t know if he was going to belt out a song or quote Shakespeare.
He crowed, “The world is my oyster, and I’m too hungry to eat just one.”
Ren laughed and shook his head. “Damn, Dix, but that was just…wrong on so many levels.”
When Cole stepped away from the railing to help to clear the table, Eve let out a relieved breath.
“I think we’re the oysters,” Eve said to Ren. She gathered empty containers and patted Cole on the shoulder as she walked by him into the house. “Stick to football. Sadly, you’ll never be a thespian.”
Cole rushed after her. “Hey, I can act! I’ve been in plenty of commercials.”
Ren followed him in, his hands full of plates and silverware. “You were only there to be the beefcake.”
“One day I might be in a reality show just like you were.”
Ren looked at him seriously. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. It was miserable.”
Eve couldn’t wait to hear that story.
Chapter Sixteen
Eve rolled over with a groan and hit something solid. She opened one eye. Cole. On the other side of her Ren stirred at hearing his “We are the Champions” ringtone start once again. He let out a curse, searching the nightstand for his cell phone. A lamp teetered dangerously as he felt around the table’s surface.
He barked out a grumpy “What?” into the phone.
Then he was quiet. After a few moments, Eve rolled toward him to watch his expression as he listened to the person on the other end.
He was not pleased at whatever the caller was telling him.
Finally, he said, “Fuck. Yeah. Okay. I’ll call you back.”
Eve sat up. “Everything okay?”
Ren released a long breath. “Shit. Someone grab a laptop.” Ren reached out his hand impatiently. “Or a tablet. Something!”
Eve elbowed Cole, who grunted and turned his head with a sleepy yawn. “What…”
“Hand me your iPad,” Eve said.
Cole gave her a little smirk. “It’s right there. Come crawl over me and get it.”
“Now’s not the time, Cole. Hand me your iPad,” Ren said, a little more demanding than Eve.
Cole pushed himself up with a perplexed frown. “Did I miss something?” He snagged his tablet and handed it across Eve to Ren.
Eve watched Ren swipe and press and tap on the screen until he found what he was looking for. He cursed.
He turned the iPad to show them.
Pictures of her and Cole, and her and Ren, were plastered all over the screen with the headline: IS THIS MYSTERIOUS WOMAN STEPPING OUT ON ONE OF THESE SUPER BOWL CHAMPS, OR BOTH?
Before she could even read the first line of the article he pulled up another one: IS “LONG-ARM” LANDIS BEING TWO-TIMED BY HIS GIRLFRIEND?
Then another one: NO RESPONSE FROM COLE DIXON ABOUT THE WOMAN SEEN ON HIS ARM. Had Cole even been asked? Probably not, or he would have said something.
And another: DID COLE DIXON STEAL HIS BEST FRIEND’S GIRL?
All of them included pictures of them as couples, but never the three of them together.
Eve groaned inside. Now that things were falling into place between the three of them, was this media hoopla going to screw it all up?
Cole shrugged a shoulder. “Those pictures were from weeks ago.”
“No, look, not all of them.” Eve pointed one out to Ren. “That one was from the other day. You and I meeting with the real estate agent.” She stared at the photo of her and Ren coming out of a café. They had met with the agent to discuss her listing both of their homes. They were holding hands and smiling at each other.
Eve leaned closer to examine another photo. It was
of her and Cole kissing, Cole’s arms wrapped around her. She couldn’t even remember where it could’ve been taken. She groaned, running a hand over her face.
Cole grabbed the iPad from Ren and swiped through some of the pictures. “Hey, that’s a good one of me!”
“Jesus, Dix.” Ren tore the tablet back out of his hands and turned it off.
“Well, we could deny the rumors or simply admit them publicly. Pull the wind out from these paparazzi’s sails,” Cole said, now more seriously.
“That simple, eh?” Ren asked, his lips pressed into a tight line.
“Yeah, why not?” Cole questioned.
“I agree with Cole. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder all the time for photographers in the bushes. And I certainly don’t want people thinking either of you are being played by the same woman. Which, by the way, just happens to be me.” Eve frowned.
“Well, are we going to face this head-on? Or are we going our separate ways to avoid this whole thing?” Cole asked, knowing full well Ren wouldn’t pick the second choice, but trying to encourage Ren to get on board with him and Eve and be open about their relationship.
“Hell no,” Ren said fiercely. Eve relaxed a little bit at his answer.
“Right. So we need to deal with this one way or the other,” Cole said.
“Once again, Cole is right.” Eve agreed. “We need to approach this on our terms.”
Cole gave her a look. “What do you mean ‘once again’? I’m right a lot.”
Eve rolled her eyes and patted his thigh over the tangled sheet. “I know you are, baby.”
“Well, whatever we decide, all three of us have to be on board,” Ren said.
Eve once again agreed. “But I’ll go along with whatever you two decide. The only reason these people are even interested is because you two are famous. I’m a nobody.”
Ren played with a long strand of her hair. “You’re not a nobody. Don’t say that.” He leaned over to kiss her temple.
“You know what I meant.”
Cole chimed in. “I’m all for going public. Get them off our back.”
Ren was quiet as he stared at the powered-down tablet in his lap.
“I’ll call Dan back. I’ll have him set up a press meeting.”
“A press meeting? Really?” A feeling of dread came over Eve. “Do you really think that’s necessary? Won’t they just get bored after a while, until a new story comes along?” She couldn’t imagine standing in front of a bunch of gossip rag writers and whoever else shows up to those types of things to explain to the world about their relationship.
When Cole mentioned going public, she’d thought that meant maybe a press release or having their agent send out a statement. That sounded a little more reasonable.
Eve had never wanted to be in the public spotlight.
I guess I should’ve thought of that before I tried to hook up with two pro football players. Out loud she said, “Are you sure you want to do this? Don’t you think this may get the spotlight targeted on us even more?”
Cole gave her a slight squeeze. “Welcome to our world. This is one of the unfortunate consequences of being a part of it. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
“I’ll call Dan and run this by him. This is nothing new to him since he’s also Ty’s agent.” Ren gave Eve a reassuring smile. “We’ll see what he has to say and go from there.”
Within two days they stood in the lobby of their agent’s office building. Dan was already outside at the entrance to the building, in front of a podium full of microphones.
Eve was amazed at how many sports television stations, newspapers, and magazines were interested in this story. It always surprised Eve how interested people were in other people’s lives. She understood it was part of the life of being a public figure, whether a politician, an actor, or a sports star.
Her husband had always been humble about being a doctor, preferring to help people rather than worrying about being rich or in the spotlight.
Dan peeked his head in the door, “C’mon. They’re ready for you,”
Eve took a shaky breath.
“I’ll take the lead and field the questions,” Ren said.
Of course, he would. He wanted to be in control of this interview. His plan was to keep it “short and to the point,” as he had said.
“Ready?” Ren asked them.
The three of them gave each other reassuring smiles, as well as “I love yous”. They linked arm in arm, Eve in the middle, flanked by her two adoring men. They were about to tell the whole world they loved each other…
They pushed the double doors open and stepped out to a barrage of camera flashes.
Loose Id Titles by Jeanne St. James
Brothers in Blue: Max
* * * *
The DARE MÉNAGE Series
Double Dare
Daring Proposal
* * * *
The RIP CORD Series
Rip Cord: The Reunion $ The Weekend
Rip Cord: The Ever After
Jeanne St. James
Jeanne St. James loves to write about an Alpha Male (or two) who knows what he wants, when he wants it, and how to get it. Nothing turns her on more than a man in uniform, whether it's a police officer, a Federal agent, or even a pro football player.
She started writing when she was about 13 years old and found it great therapy. Over her high school years she wrote her first book, a raw, young adult novel about a young girl growing up in a gang. Alas, that manuscript is now forever lost (which may be a good thing, actually). During this time she read loads of books, most of them historical romances and contemporary category romances. She fell in love with the genre and has been writing ever since.
Jeanne now concentrates on erotic romance. Why? Because it’s a blast. There’s nothing like a hot, spicy romance to get your juices flowing. But she still likes the HEA (happily ever after) ending. She believes a romance can involve more than just a man and a woman, so she writes ménage a trois, and, occasionally, stories including two men. Love and sex can be sizzling in any combination!
Her first published erotica piece was a fantasy short story in the July 2006 issue of Playgirl, which was titled “The Hot Ride.”
Links to reach Jeanne St. James:
Main website: http://www.jeannestjames.com/
Blog: http://jeannestjames.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeannestjames
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/JeanneStJamesAuthor
Dare Menage 2: Daring Proposal Page 16