They lapsed into a companionable silence as they whizzed through the twilit Kent countryside, and soon, Elias pulled the car onto another gravel driveway. Their hotel was a mock-Tudor mansion, easily visible in the glow of the bright uplighters dotted all around it. Mia supposed if one was the owner of such a beautiful hotel and restaurant, one would want to make sure people could get a damn good look at it, even in the dark.
“Wow,” she said. “Nice building.”
“I know, right?” Elias replied, steering the car towards a parking space near the front doors. “I hoped you’d like it. It’s handy for the circuit, but it’s also a beautiful building, and has the added bonus of having a Michelin-starred head chef in charge of the kitchens.”
“And you didn’t mention that before because…?”
“Because I didn’t want you to think we have to eat here just because of that,” he said as he pulled the car into the space. He parked, then engaged the handbrake and switched off the engine before turning to face her.
Mia chuckled and shook her head. Sometimes people could be too considerate. “Bloody hell, Elias, don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t need to pussyfoot around me. You and Alex have done a wonderful thing for me this weekend, and I’ll never forget it as long as I live. So if you want to eat in the restaurant here, just say that’s what we’re doing, okay? As long as there’s something on the menu I like—and I’m not a fussy eater—then everything will be fine.”
“All right, all right,” Elias replied jokingly, “I want to eat at this bloody restaurant!”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Come on.” She shouldered her handbag, then opened the door and got out of the car without waiting for Elias, then walked around to the boot ready to grab her overnight bag and camera.
The men soon joined her at the rear of the Audi, and the tailgate slowly lifted. She pounced on the camera as it came into view, then reached for her bag.
Alex stopped her. “Allow me.”
Barely preventing herself from rolling her eyes, she stepped back. He was being a gentleman, not pussyfooting. “All right. Thank you.”
He picked up her bag and the one she assumed was his own, before turning and heading for the entrance to the hotel. She glanced over at Elias, who’d collected the remaining bag. “Go on, Mia, I’m right behind you,” he said.
With a smile, she did as she was told, and walked towards the building with Alex in front and Elias behind.
Sandwiched between two men. Is this what it would be like if I went in for this whole sharing thing of theirs? And would that be a good thing or a bad thing?
Chapter Fourteen
There came a knock at Mia’s hotel room door just as she was slipping in her earrings. After spending the day in casual gear with her hair tied back and minimal makeup, it was nice to get dressed up. Since they’d had plenty of time before they had to be at the restaurant, she’d wallowed in the huge claw-footed bath using the hotel’s complimentary toiletries before getting cleaned up. “Just a second!” she called.
She checked herself over one last time in the full-length mirror, then, satisfied, put on her high heels and walked over to open the door, picking up her clutch bag on the way. As she’d expected, both Elias and Alex stood there. Continuing the sandwich theme, their rooms were on either side of hers. She couldn’t decide if that was amusing or ridiculous. “Hello, gentlemen. You’re both looking very dapper.”
They were, too. Like her, they’d been in jeans, casual tops, and trainers during the day, but had both now gone for suits, dress shoes, and ties. Elias’s was a more traditional plain black getup—though was doubtless designer—whereas Alex’s was dark grey with a subtle check pattern.
Alex stepped forward and held out an arm. “And you, Mia, look stunning.” He eyed her deep-red dress with obvious approval.
Elias mirrored his friend on her other side. She closed her hotel room door, popped the key card into her bag, then took both their arms, getting a strong sense of déjà vu. “Not that you didn’t look gorgeous earlier, though. I have a feeling you’d be beautiful even in a bin bag,” Elias said.
Mia couldn’t stop the laugh that spluttered out. “S-sorry, Elias. I didn’t mean to laugh, but… that is such a cheesy line.”
“Yeah, mate, you should leave the smooth talking to me,” Alex put in with a smirk.
Stopping suddenly, Mia jerked the two men to a halt in the process. “Whoa, whoa, Alex,” she said. “Don’t you go pointing the finger at Elias. You’re both guilty of coming out with cheesy lines, and don’t you forget it. Just because you’ve treated me to this once-in-a-lifetime experience, doesn’t mean that I won’t tell you how it is. Both of you. Remember what I said earlier about pussyfooting? Now do you think you could just cool it a little and try to act like normal human beings, instead of trying so hard to impress me, or whatever it is that you’re doing? Just be yourselves, all right?”
She blew out a heavy breath and continued walking, the two men striding along beside her in silence. Her heart pounded. Shit, where did all that come from? She hadn’t even realised their behaviour was bothering her so much. But then, perhaps that was because she was so confused by the whole situation—she hadn’t had the brain capacity to think about something else, too, never mind figure out her feelings on the matter. Maybe, instead of allowing herself to be drawn deeper into something she didn’t really understand, she should ask the questions that had been bubbling in her head ever since Alex had mentioned the sharing thing. At least if she knew the facts, knew where she stood, she could make an informed decision one way or the other.
And if that meant walking away, so be it. Even that was better than being in limbo.
“I’m sorry, Mia,” Alex said, fixing his striking eyes on her. “Elias and I are so used to taking the piss out of each other that I’m often guilty of not really thinking through what I’m saying. I just open my mouth and sometimes rubbish comes out. I can’t promise I’ll be a normal human being, because I can’t be that and be myself. But I’ll go for the latter, and if you don’t like it, well that’s me out of luck, isn’t it?”
“I apologise also, Mia,” Elias piped up when his friend was done talking. “You’re right, I’ve been trying hard to impress you and I’m obviously doing a terrible job of it. I’ll cool it, I promise, and if I do it again without realising, please do let me know. The last thing I want is to upset you.”
Mia nodded, pleased that they’d both apologised to her in their own way, but without apologising for the other. They hadn’t tried to put words in each other’s mouths. God knows they already had enough words between them without doing that. “Your apologies are accepted. Now, we’ve had a lovely day—shall we top it off with a lovely evening? I’m looking forward to finding out what the Michelin-starred head chef has to offer us.”
Murmurs of agreement came from either side of her.
“Good,” she said. “Then let’s go.”
Less than ten minutes later they’d been seated at their table by a very efficient waiter, who’d taken their drinks order, presented them with menus, then melted away.
The tables were round, which Mia was grateful for, because it meant neither of the men was directly next to her. This way, she could look at and talk to them both without getting neck ache by spending the evening looking from left to right like she was watching a tennis match. They’d been quiet since she’d told them off in the corridor upstairs, and she took advantage of the peace to thoroughly examine the menu. She needn’t have worried about there being anything on the menu she liked—even someone that was a fussy eater would find something to tickle their fancy within the varied selection available.
Her decision made, she closed the menu and put it down on the table, just as the waiter appeared with their bottle of wine.
He opened it with a loud pop, then proceeded to pour a little into each of their glasses. As one, the three sampled the wine, and nodded. “Very good,” the waiter said, then filled Mia’s g
lass first, before attending to Elias and Alex. “Are you ready to order food?”
Both men glanced at Mia. She nodded. “I am if you two are.”
Elias turned his attention to his friend, who inclined his head. “Great.” He flashed the waiter a smile, his dimples appearing. “Looks like we’re ready.”
The waiter turned to Mia, who’d already reopened her menu to remind herself of what she’d chosen. “Ladies first.”
“Thank you. I’ll have the grilled asparagus, poached egg, and Hollandaise for starter, the fillet steak with garlic and butter sauce, and triple-cooked chips for mains, and the figs parfait with almond tuille for dessert.” She closed the menu again.
“Excellent choice, madam. And for you, sir?” He turned to Elias.
Mia let her gaze and her mind wander from their table and took in her surroundings. The inside of the hotel was sympathetic to the building’s age, with traditional décor, furnishings, and artwork. It was stunningly beautiful. A piano was tucked away in the corner of the room, and the pianist treated the diners to subtle background music. It was all very classy.
Another point in the place’s favour was that the owners hadn’t tried to cram too many tables into the dining area they were in—they’d gone for quality over quantity. Exclusivity. Which made Mia wonder how Elias had managed to score them a table at such short notice. Surely a place like this, with its Michelin-starred head chef, would have a long waiting list. Probably better she didn’t ask.
She became vaguely aware of the waiter slipping the menu from in front of her and quickly turned to smile her thanks at him before he disappeared again.
Looking at the two men, she said, “This place is lovely. I can’t wait to sample the food.”
“Me either,” Alex replied, rubbing his stomach with a wry smile. “Great find, this, mate,” he said to Elias, “well done.”
“Thank you,” Elias replied, then took a sip of his wine. “Though I can’t really take the credit. A colleague of mine part owns it.”
Mia raised her eyebrows and flashed him a smile. “Ahh, so you didn’t just choose it for the proximity to the track, then?”
With a shrug, Elias replied, “A happy coincidence. I mentioned this weekend’s plans to my colleague and he offered to secure me rooms and dinner here, since it’s so convenient. It saved me some time, and it sounded amazing, so I took him up on his offer.”
“Fair enough,” Mia said with a nod. She snagged her own wine glass and had a drink. “Connections certainly come in handy, don’t they?” And the freedom to spend money however you choose, she thought with not a small amount of bitterness. She shoved the notion to the back of her mind—her situation wasn’t Elias’s fault, after all. All he was trying to do was show her a good time. She should be grateful.
Her feelings must have come through in her tone of voice as Elias’s reply was hesitant. “Ye-es, they most certainly do.” He looked as though he wanted to say something else, but remained quiet, probably for fear of pissing her off again.
Silence fell between the three of them, then, and Mia supped slowly at her wine and allowed the tinkle of the piano to filter into her brain and calm her down. What was she even getting so het up about? Elias hadn’t done a thing wrong here, and she’d already made the decision that she was going to find out more from the two of them about their sharing thing, as she’d internally dubbed it, so her irritation had to stem from somewhere else.
The answer came to her during the lull between the pianist finishing one piece of music and beginning another.
You’re annoyed because of the not knowing. All your life, everything’s always been so certain, so secure. And now you’re in a situation where you’re not sure if you’ll still own your family home and estate in a year’s time. As for your relationship status, well, it’s so confusing and unusual that even Facebook doesn’t have an option for it. Maybe you should email Zuckerberg and ask for a potentially-in-a-three-way-with-two-hot-guys-as-well-as-banging-my-gardener-and-maybe-dating-this-gorgeous-Asian-guy choice.
She snorted indelicately without meaning to, drawing stares from Elias and Alex. The startling realisation of just how fucked up her situation was, coupled with the incredulous expressions of the two men made a wide grin spread across her face. It was one of those times when a person could choose to either laugh or cry, and she chose the former.
Come on, Mia, she scolded herself. Don’t be all woe-is-me. This is a first-world problem of the highest degree. Stop wittering about all the what-ifs and behaving like a spoilt brat. You’re on a bucket-list weekend, with two sexy, smart guys that have the hots for you. You’re in a gorgeous hotel, about to have a meal prepared by a Michelin-starred head chef. Just enjoy the fucking moment! Surely the last few months have taught you that life is too short to wallow in worries. Despite all this marriage bollocks, Dad always wanted you to get on with your life, so that’s exactly what you should do.
Suitably chastised, she forced herself to smile again, finding, to her immense relief, that the physical action was having a knock-on effect on her mood. She’d committed to enjoying the moment, and the moment was pretty bloody awesome—what wasn’t there to be happy about?
Determined to do something about the awkward silence, Mia cleared her throat and reached for her glass to give a toast. It was then she realised that all three of them had nothing but dregs in their glasses. “Shit,” she muttered, “I think we need more wine.”
An amused glint in his eye, Elias signalled for the waiter, who appeared almost instantly. “Sir,” he said, a concerned look on his face, “your starters are just about to leave the pass.”
“No, it’s not that—although that’s very good news. Could we have some more wine, please? Another bottle of the same would be wonderful.”
“Of course, sir.” He gave a curt nod and hurried away.
“I’m so ready for some food,” Mia said brightly. “Perhaps not eating since this morning has made me… fractious. I’m sorry.”
“Perhaps,” Alex put in graciously, “lack of food has made us all behave a little out of character. I’m sure we’ll all perk up very soon.”
Flashing him a warm smile, Mia nodded. His comment had let them all off the hook and wiped the slate clean without going into specifics. He certainly had a way with words.
The waiter returned with their wine, quickly opening it and filling their glasses before whizzing off to collect their food.
“Oops,” Mia said, pulling a face. “I think our timing was bad there—poor bloke. We’re running him ragged.”
Elias chuckled. “We’ll leave him a nice tip to make up for it.”
Mia decided to wait until their starters arrived before proposing her toast. She didn’t have to wait long. The long-suffering waiter soon returned with their food, expertly carrying all three plates at once—a skill Mia had long admired in wait staff. She could barely carry a cup of tea without spilling it, never mind plates of food—and with one balanced on his forearm, no less!
“Thank you,” she said as he set her starter down in front of her. It looked and smelled delicious. Her mouth watered, and her stomach gave a growl. Luckily, nobody seemed to hear it—either that or they were too polite to mention it.
When the waiter had served all three of them and scurried away to his next task, Mia quickly picked up her glass. “Before we start—I won’t keep you long, don’t worry, I’m as starved as you two—I just want to propose a toast. I know it’s wine, rather than champagne, but still, the sentiment is the same.”
“The three of us seem to toast a lot together,” Alex said with a smile as the two men picked up their own glasses.
“Indeed we do. Surely that’s a good thing? Anyway,” she shot him a narrow-eyed look, “I would like to toast you, Elias and Alex, for showing a girl such a good time.”
“Us?” Elias said.
“Yes, you,” Mia replied. “We toasted me at the fundraiser, remember? So now we are toasting you two. Now do as you’re blood
y well told so we can eat, would you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Elias said quickly.
Smirking, Mia lifted her glass higher. “To Elias and Alex.”
“To Elias and Alex,” they repeated dutifully, though they looked a little uncomfortable about it. Ha, sweet revenge.
The three of them clinked glasses, then drunk deeply before returning their glasses to the table and digging into their food. The strange mood that had descended on them had well and truly dissipated, much to Mia’s relief, and they could get on with enjoying the meal, the drink and, most importantly, one another’s company.
Chapter Fifteen
“Wow,” Alex said emphatically, leaning back heavily in his chair, a satisfied smile on his face. “That was delicious. That chef deserves every one of his stars, in my opinion.”
Elias nodded, dabbing at his mouth with his napkin. Then he said, “I couldn’t agree more—on both counts. I’ll definitely be recommending this place. Mia? How was yours?”
With a smirk down at her spotless plate, she said, “I just about choked it down.” She winked, then finished off the swallow of wine in her glass and put it down. “Of course I’m being silly. Yes, it was perfect—all of it. Thank you, Elias.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He drained his own wine glass, then asked, “Anyone for coffee? Or shall we have another bottle of wine? Perhaps something stronger?”
Mia shook her head. “Coffee is fine with me, thank you. I don’t think I should have any more to drink, especially since I’m going to be driving an outrageously expensive car again tomorrow. Arjun would probably have me killed if I did anything to the Aventador.”
Alex huffed. “He would not. He fancies the pants off you. One glimpse of those baby blues and he’d be putty in your hands.”
“What?” she squeaked.
“Oh, don’t give me that,” he said, smirking. “He was checking you out this morning. Then when you took the car back earlier, I reckon that weird body-language thing the two of you had going on was about mutual attraction. He asked you out, didn’t he?”
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