Page 24

My smile faded as I decided to be just as candid since I longed for a connection with her.
“Today is the anniversary of my twin brother’s death.” What a way to start my story, but the loss of Archer had been what shaped me into the man Skylar listened to.
“A twin…oh, I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered, sounding as though her heart ached along with mine.
“He was only two minutes older than me, and he never let me forget that.”
“Nora has me beat by a few minutes too, and yes, soooo yes, I feel that.”
I spilled my shit, leaving nothing out and tearing up a few times while discussing Archer’s leukemia, his rapid decline, and inevitable death. Even though she and Nora didn’t have the bond like Archer and I had, she understood my sense of loss regardless of my having four older sisters. There had been no one to even attempt to fill that void until Rhett had dropped from a tree and into my life.
Her empathetic sniffles on the other end allowed me freedom to express emotion knowing she empathized on a deep level—and that comforted me in ways Rhett hadn’t ever been able to.
“I wish I’d been there to wrap my arms around you too that night in the cemetery,” she said, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more.
“Same.”
Hope buoyed inside me as our conversation turned toward our longings and dreams, the real reason we’d uploaded a profile onto Missing Link. I chose to keep the fact Rhett and I were the apps owners to myself for the time being, since I wanted Skylar to like me for the man I was and not because I had the kind of money she’d never experienced in her life growing up on a farm in the plains.
Family came first for both us, even though neither of us had the best relationships with all our blood relatives. Loyalty to loved ones and friends were a shared close second.
Our desired futures lined up, and had I created a list to check off, we would have had glowing results.
Skylar dreamed of a home filled with love and children like my family of eight—then seven—had been. She hoped for two men already in a sturdy relationship to adore her, and she in return would spoil the hell out of them.
“I want to share in the love too, but…”
Immediately, I wondered if she wasn’t interested in sex outside attempts to procreate—and that idea soured my stomach.
“But?” I pushed when she didn’t continue, my fingers crossed I’d read her hesitation wrong.
“Um…well. Howbluntistooblunt?” she rushed the question like one quick, entangled word, and I bit back a chuckle.
Rhett was forthright with serious matters, but I had a feeling I would enjoy the hell out of whatever Skylar wished to share.
“You can be as open and honest as you want,” I told her. “In fact, I prefer candid discussions. They’re healthier than keeping everything inside.”
“Yes!” She exhaled loudly—but didn’t continue.
“So you want to share in the love, but…” I prompted and held my breath.
“I fantasize about seeing it play out in front of me too,” she rushed the sentence.
A jolt of lust hit my groin, veering my mind off the usual getting-to-know-you topics.
I cleared my throat, hoping for clarity and assurance of sexual compatibility since bringing a woman into our lives didn’t mean his and my relationship would be set aside. “So you’re a voyeur?”
“A what?”
Oh, the innocence of this woman. My dick thickened. “You would enjoy watching me and Rhett fuck?”
“Oh God,” she whispered and gulped.
I shifted to ease the tightness in my pants. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
She giggled, the sound more nervous than actual laughter. “Yes, please. Anything like that. Everything. I’m…not super experienced, but I’ve read enough spicy romance books that I don’t think my thirst for smut will ever be truly satisfied. Because let’s get real here. Even though I’m dying for a couple, there’s no such thing as book boyfriends in real life.”
“You read romance novels,” I said, grinning like a dork.