His jaw tightened until it ached. They’d figure something out. He and Keegan always did. Hell, they’d managed to create a multimillion-dollar company from nothing and not argue about the little shit. They saved those arguments for the big stuff, the projects they worked on. And those arguments always got worked out.
They’d work this out, too.
***
Why the fuck weren’t all the dry ingredients in the same damn cabinet?
Yeah, it was a stupid-ass thing to be pissed off about, but Christ almighty, why the fuck was the flour in with the canned goods and the sugar in the cabinet with the dishes?
And did Erik not own a nonstick frying pan?
Fuck.
Well, he had seen a cookie sheet somewhere so scones it was.
Grabbing the ingredients from their various and unorganized spots, he dug into his memory for his grandmother’s recipe.
The simple routine of measuring and mixing and kneading helped him regain his stability.
He’d been shaken when he’d left the bedroom. He still hadn’t figured out why exactly.
While the scones baked, he started the coffee machine, willing it to go faster. He needed at least a gallon this morning if he was going to be at all sociable.
And he wanted to be sociable.
He didn’t want to fuck this up for Erik. Didn’t want to give Jules any excuse to leave.
Grimacing, he grabbed a mug out of the cupboard, wanting to be ready the second the pot filled.
All right, so maybe he didn’t want to fuck this up for himself, either.
But how the hell were they going to work this? Wouldn’t either he or Erik eventually be a third wheel? Did they take turns being a third wheel?
Maybe it’d be best if he did what he’d planned all along and stepped out of the picture.
Erik needed her—
No, that wasn’t giving Erik enough credit. The guy had come through a major ordeal without losing his sanity or his strength. Yeah, he’d basically become a recluse but everyone had issues, right?
But just because he’d gone through hell and back, did that mean Erik should automatically get dibs on everything?
“Christ, you sound like a two-year-old,” he muttered as he finally poured himself a cup of steaming caffeine. “She’s not a toy.”
Jules had her own mind, and if she wanted to date both of them, or even just have sex with both of them, that was her choice.
Right?
So did they make up a schedule and put their initials on the dates they wanted to take her out or did they just skip the whole dating thing—
Wait, they’d already done that.
He shoved a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. Christ, they’d fucked this up but good.
So how the hell did they get it back on track?
The timer dinged and he glared at it. He needed more time to think, damn it.
But his avoidance delay was over.
Time to be a grown-up.
***
The first thing Jules noticed was the smell of warm pastry. Then fresh coffee.
Her stomach grumbled loudly just as she realized she wasn’t in her own bed. There was a warm, naked body behind her and one gorgeous guy setting a tray on the table beside the bed.
“You missed your calling, man. You should’ve been a chef.”
Erik’s voice was pitched low enough that it wouldn’t have woken her if she’d still been asleep.
“That smells amazing.”
Opening her eyes, she shifted onto her back so she could look up at Keegan, who was reaching for one of the three mugs on the tray.
Surprisingly, he met her gaze head-on. “My grandmother’s scones recipe. She was an amazing cook.”
“Maybe you could teach me that one. I’m always looking for good recipes.”
“Sure.” Keegan nodded as he reached for Erik’s t-shirt that she’d been wearing last night and handed it to her. “If you’d like.”
Pulling the shirt over her head, she’d released her hair from the neckline and threw it over her shoulder. Usually she braided it before bed but last night… She hadn’t thought about it. Ugh. She didn’t want to think about how it looked now.
“Here, lean forward.”
Erik piled pillows behind her so she could sit upright before he slid from the bed. Her gaze automatically went to his naked backside. While scars marred his skin, it couldn’t hide the fact that the man was all lean muscle beneath. After he’d pulled on his boxers, he sat back on the bed next to her and reached for the mug Keegan held out.
The next few minutes were quiet as they drank coffee and ate amazingly good scones.
And totally avoided any and all conversation.
She tried not to let the silence get to her, tried to pretend like sharing breakfast in the morning after sharing a bed all night with two guys was normal.
But it wasn’t. At least not for her.
After two scones and a cup of coffee, she’d had enough. And it didn’t seem like either of the men were going to start the conversation.
“So now what?”
Neither of them looked surprised by her question and neither pretended not to understand what she meant.
Then again, neither of them had anything to say either. Erik took another swallow of coffee, his gaze shifting from Keegan then back to her. Keegan kept his gaze on her.
“I guess that depends,” Keegan finally said. “What do you want to happen now?”
That was the half-million-dollar question now, wasn’t it?
She sighed, trying to put what she wanted to say in coherent form. “When I took the money that night…I didn’t think I’d ever see either of you again. I mean, why would I? We had sex, you gave me money, and I left. A simple transaction—”
“There was nothing simple about that night.” Keegan’s tone held an edge of frustration she totally understood. “I— We never intended—”
“Yes, we did,” Erik cut in. “Admit it, Keegan. You knew from the moment you saw her you wanted more than a one-night stand. And so did I. And the minute you realized that, you went into martyr mode. You sacrificed your feelings for mine.”
Now Keegan looked directly at Erik, a frown settling on his features. “What the fuck are you talking about? I didn’t sacrifice anything. Christ, tonight I practically hunted her down like a stalker.”
Erik nodded, short and sharp. “I know. And then you dragged your sorry ass home and almost drank yourself into a coma because you want her so badly and you think you shouldn’t because I want her. And poor Erik, he needs all the help he can get. Right? I’m so fucking scarred and pathetic that no woman would want to be seen with me. Oh, but wait. Here’s this beautiful woman who doesn’t seem to mind that he’s damaged. So what if I can’t think when I’m around her, I’ll let him have her.”
Jules had to make a conscious effort to close her mouth. It’d been hanging open in shock.
Erik wasn’t pulling any punches and Keegan looked like he was about to keel over if he took too many more.
They’d argued about some of this last night, before they’d been derailed by sex. Again.
And Keegan just stood there and took it. She wanted to stand up for him, wanted him to stand up for himself. To challenge Erik like he had last night. She understood why Erik was pissed about the way Keegan treated him. Erik didn’t want to be broken anymore, but Keegan kept the illusion alive.
It was a vicious cycle.
Did she really want to be caught in the middle of this drama? Was it worth it?
“Do you really want to fight over her like a pair of dogs with a bone?” Keegan finally answered Erik’s accusation, his voice a barely audible snarl. “Because that’s what this is beginning to look like.”
“Stop it. Right now. No more.”
Once again, they turned toward her, mouths snapping closed, eyes narrowed.
Erik had a haughty look on his face, one that suited him, and Keegan’s determination
showed in the rigid line of his lips.
“Is it always like this between you?’
They exchanged a look that didn’t include her at all. Neither of them answered. They just turned back to her, still silent.
Not letting her in.
She shook her head. “If you can’t even answer that simple question, how can we move forward?”
Erik’s gaze narrowed. “So you’re saying you’re willing to try?”
It was her turn to pause, to think carefully about what she wanted to say.
Did she really want to do this considering the conservative area they lived in and that people already had judged her to be a slut? Then again, what was one more black mark on an already soiled record?
Do you really want to give them up? Or are you ready to pull on your big-girl panties and go after what you want?
“Yes, I’m willing to try. But are you?”
The men glanced at each other and she wondered if they’d thought she’d never agree and that would be their way out.
Then Keegan said, “Dinner tonight. Seven o’clock. We’ll pick you up.”
She hesitated for a millisecond before her chin lifted.
“I’ll be ready.”
Chapter Three
“And you’re going out with two men? Not just one man who’s bringing another along as a friend?”
“Yes. Two men. They’re friends, they own a business together, and they both want to take me out.”
Jules’ mom gave her “the look,” the one Jules recognized from her childhood.
She’d seen it thousands of times as a teenager as she’d smashed through boundaries, convinced she knew what she was doing, and gave a (sometimes) implicit middle finger to whoever told her she couldn’t do something.
Amazingly, her mom still spoke to her, still loved her.
“And you’re going where?”
“I’m not sure.”
“And what do they do for a living?”
Tricky, tricky. Her mom was no fool. She knew this had something to do with their debt being paid off and Jules wondered, for about the millionth time, if she should just come clean about where the money had come from.
Slipping simple gold hoops through her ears, Jules glanced at her mom in the mirror.
With her dark brows raised and her arms crossed over her chest, she looked pretty much the same as she had when Jules was a teenager, not buying her excuses for why she was late getting home.
Her mom knew there was a hell of a lot more going on than just a date.
“They run an electronics company.”
She didn’t plan to add that they ran a multimillion-dollar electronics company.
Slipping her feet into red pumps, she turned to check her reflection in the wall mirror in her bedroom, the walls still sporting the black and purple paint she’d christened them with in her senior year of high school. Actually, she still loved the color combination. “I’ll have my cell. Don’t worry.”
Her mom gave her the “other look,” which basically meant “Yeah, right.” Another expression Jules was familiar with.
Her mom worried about everything and had since Jules had been born, apparently. Not that she didn’t have good cause to worry. Her husband had been cheating on her. That lump in her breast had been malignant. And Jules had slept with two men to get the money to pay off their debt.
Turning to face her mom, Jules leaned in for a hug, so happy to feel the strength in her mom’s arms as she returned the hug. For a couple of years, Sara had barely been able to lift her arms.
“Julianne, you’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you? If you were being…forced to do something you don’t want to do. You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“Yes, Mom.” She infused her tone with just enough teenage boredom that her mother actually laughed. “I’ll be fine.”
Sara gave her another tight squeeze before taking a step back. “I’ll always worry. Mothers never stop.”
“I know. It’s just…complicated.”
Complicated didn’t begin to describe what she felt for Keegan and Erik. Or what she’d done to get the money. Or the first night they’d spent together. Or last night and this morning. Or even this dinner.
With a sigh, her mom walked to the doorway then turned and gave her a weary smile. “Everything’s complicated, honey. Some things just take a little more work. You have to decide if it’s worth it, I guess.” Her expression turned serious. “And don’t think for a minute that we’re finished with this conversation. I want to hear all about this date tomorrow.”
Which was her mom’s not-so-subtle way of asking if she’d be home tonight.
Jules just said, “Don’t wait up for me. I’m not sure when I’ll be home.”
Or if she’d be home at all tonight. Would they ask her to go home with them?
Did she want to go home with them?
Oh, god, yes.
“All right, sweetheart. Just…be safe.”
With a little wave, her mom disappeared and Jules sank onto the edge of her bed.
Damn it, she needed to tell her mom the truth. The secret weighed on her like a boulder around her neck.
After she’d paid off their last credit card and the final bill from the hospital, she’d briefly considered telling her mom she’d won the lottery but that would’ve been too easy to check.
She’d come up with a version of the truth. A very wealthy man had offered her the money in exchange for a service, which she’d assured her mom had not been illegal, dangerous, or life-threatening.
Her mom had been stunned speechless and had tried to get Jules to tell her everything, but Jules had held her ground.
Would her mom be horrified at what she’d done to clear their debt? Would she understand that Jules had had every intention of turning the money down if she hadn’t been attracted to the man who’d offered her a half-million dollars to sleep with him?
Would her mom think less of her when she found out she’d actually slept with two men for the money? And that it’d been the best sexual experience of her life?
Would her mom understand why she was attempting to pursue a relationship with those same two men, not because they’d saved Jules and her mom from poverty and despair but because she actually liked them?
Glancing at the clock, she realized it was one minute until seven and the guys would probably be on time.
Standing, she made sure her dress wasn’t wrinkled. She’d gone with basic black, tailored and elegant enough for dinner with two millionaires. She’d bought it at an outlet but the style was classic enough that it’d aged well. And she knew she looked good in it and the red, spike-heeled pumps set it off perfectly.
She’d fit in wherever they planned to take her, unless it was one of the chain restaurants near the mall or a dive bar in downtown Reading. And she didn’t think either of those possibilities was going to happen. Not with Erik along.
As she headed toward the front room of her mom’s one-story ranch, the doorbell rang.
Crap, she’d wanted to be there to open the door before her mom could badger Keegan with a thousand questions. She didn’t figure Erik would get out of the car.
So she was shocked when she realized both men stood in the living room, shaking hands with her mom.
Standing in the shadows of the hall that led to the bedrooms, she let herself stare.
Oh my, her guys cleaned up fine.
Keegan wore a dark suit with a white shirt. Erik had paired gray pants with a black shirt. Neither of them wore a tie, and the couple of undone buttons at the tops of their shirts made her want to undo the rest.
They looked sleekly casual and elegantly handsome and oh, so very rich.
Her mom was making a valiant effort not to stare at Erik’s scars, focusing on his eyes instead. Her smile was strained, though, and she could tell her mom wanted to reach out and hug him. That’s just the kind of person she was and Jules wouldn’t wish her any other way.
Th
ey’d barely gotten beyond basic greetings when Keegan noticed her. His gaze locked on to her in the shadows, as if he had x-ray vision, drawing her out to them.
“It was nice to meet you both,” her mom said when Jules joined them. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, dear. Have a good time.”
The way she said that last bit, Jules could’ve sworn there was a question mark on the end of it. But her mom headed toward the kitchen with a smile and a nod.
“We made reservations for Judy’s On Cherry. Okay?”
From working in the catering business, she knew the food was amazing, though she’d never eaten there before. Too pricey for her budget.
“Of course. I’m fine with wherever you’d like to go.”
“Then we should get going. Our reservations are in fifteen minutes.”
The car sitting out front shouldn’t have been a surprise. The BMW was new and black, sleek and smooth. Just like its owner.
Erik handed her into the front seat while Keegan got in the driver’s seat. After Erik slid into the back, Keegan pressed the pedal to the floor and they took off.
Or that’s what it seemed like. She’d never ridden in a car that practically glided along the road. And it was so well insulated, she heard no outside noise. Even the engine purred.
The radio pumped out something that sounded like Sinatra, and the leather seat conformed to her body like a lover.
She watched Keegan’s hands on the steering wheel, strong and long. In the rearview, she saw Erik watching her. When their gazes met, she smiled and saw his mouth curve upward in response.
“Your mother looks well.” Keegan’s voice broke the silence. “How long has it been since her last treatment?”
“Almost eighteen months and there’s been no recurrence of the cancer.”
“That must be good to know.”
“It is. It’s just…I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I know a little something about that.” Erik’s voice held an edge, but not hard enough to cut. As if he was consciously dialing it down.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She liked his edge. She didn’t want him to be a different person for her.
“So what are her plans now that she’s cancer free?”
An Indecent Proposition Part III Page 5