by Jaci Burton
Page 40
Author: Jaci Burton
It was good to see old friends again. Since Diaz and Jessie had gotten married, they’d bought a house and didn’t hang out at Wild Riders headquarters that much anymore. Shadoe and Spence were talking about getting married soon, too, though Shadoe said she might string Spence along for another year or two, which made Spence growl and Shadoe laugh.
“Heard about your vacation,” Diaz said as AJ slid into one of the chairs. “You two manage to find trouble wherever you go, don’t you?”
“We try. ”
“Got a new bullet wound to show off, I hear,” Shadoe said to Pax. “That should impress the ladies. ”
“Uh-huh. ”
Shadoe’s gaze shifted to Lily, and then to Jessie, who shrugged and asked, “What the hell is up with you two? You’re usually the most talkative out of all of us and you’ve barely said two sentences. ”
“Just tired, I guess. ”
“It’s more than that, AJ,” Spence said, plopping his booted feet on top of the coffee table. “Spill. ”
AJ shrugged. “Nothing to talk about. ”
“I know that look,” Jessie said, leaning on the arm of the sofa, her arm around Diaz. “I never thought I’d see the day. ”
“I think you’re right,” Shadoe said. “Dear God, the mighty have fallen. ”
AJ frowned. It was always like this when the guys got together. Now that they all had women, it had gotten even worse. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. ”
“You’re in love,” Jessie said.
AJ didn’t answer.
“Oh, my God, you are. ” Shadoe looked to Pax. “How’s this going to affect your mighty twosome in the sex department?”
Pax didn’t answer, either.
“Holy shit,” Spence said. “You, too? Same woman or did you find two?”
“Am I missing something?” Ava asked.
Rick whispered in her ear. Ava’s eyes widened, then she smiled. “Sounds fun. ”
“Not on your life,” Rick said. “You’re a one-man woman. ”
“I miss all the fun,” she said, crossing her arms and affecting a pout.
“But Pax and AJ never did. ” Lily winked. “But I think their wildcat days must be over now that they’re in lurrrrrve. ”
“Don’t you all have places to go?” Pax asked.
“Not at the moment. ” Diaz leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “So . . . the old love bug finally bit the two of you, huh? And here I thought I’d be the last holdout. ”
“Hey. ” Jessie slugged him in the shoulder. “You fell hard and fast. ”
Diaz dragged Jessie onto his lap. “You seduced me. ”
She laughed. “Bullshit. ” But she kissed him.
The last thing AJ needed to be around right now was a couple in love. Or multiple couples in love. “Get a room. ”
“Hey, honey, you wanna talk about it?” Jessie asked, sliding off Diaz’s lap to come over and sit on the arm of his chair.
“No, I really don’t. ”
Shadoe stopped him. “We were just teasing you like we always do. We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. ”
He pulled her into a hug. “Feelings aren’t hurt. Now go cuddle with that moron you seem to love. ”
She grinned. “Okay. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Nothing a good workout won’t solve. ”
Shadoe nodded. “I understand. ”
AJ went to the gym to beat the shit out of the punching bag.
After he’d worked up a sweat for an hour or so, he decided even a physical workout wasn’t going to help.
“You miss her. ”
He grabbed a towel, not bothering to look at Pax. “Maybe. ”
Pax moved into the gym and took a seat on the metal chair. “Me, too. ”
Now AJ turned to Pax. “You love her. ”
Pax lifted his gaze to AJ. “Yeah, I do. So do you. ”
AJ leaned against the wall. “It wouldn’t work. She’s there, we’re . . . everywhere. ”
“They’ve all made it work. ”
“Who?”
“All our friends here. Mac, Diaz, Spence, Rick. None of them ever thought their relationships would work. Now look at them. ”
“That’s different. They’re different. ” AJ pushed off the wall and moved toward the punching bag again.
“Bullshit. They’re no different than you and me. They just wanted it bad enough to make it work. ”
AJ shifted his gaze back to Pax. “And you’re saying we don’t?”
“You and me aren’t really the most experienced when it comes to love. We’ve always made it about sex, deliberately choosing women who we know were only in it for the fun. Teresa wasn’t like that. She’s a forever kind of woman. ”
AJ yanked off his gloves and grabbed his water bottle, pulling up the chair across from Pax. “You want forever. ”
“Yeah. ”
“With Teresa. ”
“I love her. I know you do, too. We’ve spent our whole lives running from what scares us, afraid those we love won’t love us back. ”
“She let us leave. ”
“Yeah, she did. You know why?”
AJ sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Because she loves us. ”
TERESA SAT IN THE BACK OFFICE OF THE BAR DOING PAPERWORK, spitting out a curse when she added up the figures wrong for the fifth time in a row.
“Goddammit. ” She crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trash can. “Pull your head out of your ass, idiot. ”
“You yelling at that piece of paper or yourself?”
Joey stood in the office doorway.
“What do you think?”
“I think you’ve been a miserable, snarling bitch since AJ and Pax left a few days ago. ”
She stood and put the ledger away. “I have not. ”
“Sis, we’re twins, remember? I know you. Sit down and talk to me. ”
She slammed the door shut on the file cabinet and fell into her chair, rubbing her fingers over the throbbing ache in her temples.
“You love him, don’t you?”
She lifted her gaze to her brother. “I love them, Joey. ”
Joey’s eyes widened. He came in and sat in the chair across from her desk. “Both of them?”
“Yes. Both of them. ”
Joey laughed. “Tart. ”
Then she laughed. “Asshole. ”
“So what happened? You told them you loved them and they left anyway?”
“Not exactly. I did tell Pax I loved him, but it was a near-death situation. And I’m pretty sure he didn’t believe me. ”
“So basically you didn’t tell them. Why not?”
“They have their own lives, their careers. I didn’t want to hold them back. ”
“Sometimes guys need to know you love them. We make terrible psychics, Teresa. It’s just not in our genetic makeup. We like things simple and spelled out. Sometimes you even have to hit us over the head with it. ”
“And if I told them, then what? They would have just felt bad when they left. I couldn’t do that to them. We went into this knowing they were going to leave. ”
“I think all of you were afraid of being hurt, so none of you wanted to take that first step. ”
She arched a brow. “Giving love advice now?”
“I love you. I want you to be happy. ”
Her heart swelled. “I love you, too. And I am happy. ”
“Not happy enough. If you want them, tell them. Then figure out a way to make it work. ”
TERESA THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT JOEY HAD SAID, AND HALFWAY through her shift that night, she realized maybe he was right. Maybe she’d given up, let them go too easily.
God, she missed them, missed their scent, the feel of their skin against hers, the way they kissed her and touched her, the way they made her laugh. She ached inside fro
m missing them so much, and her bed was just so damned empty she hadn’t been able to sleep in it since they’d left.
She popped a couple beers for a customer, then pulled her phone out of her pocket, her palms sweaty as she contemplated calling AJ or Pax and asking if maybe they’d meet her this weekend. They might be on assignment in another state by now. Would they hate being bothered?
And when had she become such a coward? She’d survived rape, kidnapping and nearly being killed. She could damn well survive a fucking phone call and possible rejection. It certainly wouldn’t be the worst thing that had ever happened to her.
She punched in AJ’s cell number and waited, her heart in her throat as she heard it ring. And ring. And ring. No answer.
Stupid idea anyway.
“I’m right here, babe. ”
She frowned, certain he hadn’t answered his phone. Yet she’d heard his voice.
“Teresa. ”
Her head shot up, her heart slamming against her ribs as AJ and Pax stood in front of her. She practically leaped over the bar and threw herself against them, planting her lips on Pax, then AJ, kissing them both with all the passion and need and longing she’d felt but hadn’t said.
“I love you,” she said, wrapping both of them in her arms. “I love you both. ”
“I love you, too,” Pax said as he lifted her in his arms, then put her down and kissed her hard and deep, the kind of kiss she’d grown to love and expect from him. Then AJ pulled her to him and kissed her with that maddening softness that curled her toes.
“I love you, Teresa,” he said, the emotion in his eyes so real it made tears well in hers.
She searched for Heather and Shelley, who grinned and waved at her. Shelley came over and hugged her.
“Get out of here, you lucky bitch. I’ve got it covered. ”
She grinned and nearly cried from the joy welling up inside her. “Thanks. ”
Outside, she turned to them both. “I can’t believe you’re here. Why are you back?”
“For you,” Pax said. “We got back to Dallas and realized we couldn’t make our lives work anymore without you. ”
“We both fell in love with you. And we both should have said so,” AJ said. “But loving someone is hard. It’s risky. There’s a chance you’ll get hurt. ”
She laid her palm on AJ’s chest. “Yes, there is that chance. But it’s a chance worth taking. And I should have said something to both of you, too. I didn’t want you to go, but I was afraid to ask you to stay. I know you have a job that you both love, and I would never want to come between you and what you love. ”
“You’re what we love,” Pax said, hugging her so tight she thought she might burst with happiness. “Everything else can be worked around. ” He drew her away from him. “If that’s what you want. ”
“Yeah, this is up to you, Teresa. If you want both of us, that is. It’s not really a conventional type of relationship. ”
She linked her arms with theirs. “I’m not really a conventional type of girl. So this kind of relationship totally works for me. ”
“It works for us, too,” AJ said.
“Good. ” She pulled away from them and looked at both of them. “Guys, I don’t think I can wait until we get home. ”
AJ smiled and shared a look with Pax. “You want to do it right here?”
“It just so happens there’s a very secluded spot behind the bar. ”
“Show us. ” AJ motioned with his head for her to lead the way.
She took them to the back lot where the overflow parking was. Since it wasn’t a weekend and it was already late, the lot was empty. Behind the lot was a large oak tree and a rather sturdy fence with an empty field behind it, affording them plenty of privacy.