Page 75 of Delicious (Delicious #1)

Chapter Three

Marco

“Y ou knew he was here, didn’t you?”

I nod, reaching over to hold Des’s hand. “I did. I’ve been tracking him a little bit over the years. I knew you didn’t want to hear about it, so I kept it to myself. Randomly, I decided to look him up a couple of weeks ago and I saw on his socials that he was here. I called in a favor with Brent, and well, you know the rest.”

Des nods as he stares at the table.

“Are you upset with me?”

He lifts his head. “No. God, no. Thank you. I can’t believe I thought it would be better to block him out.”

“You did what you had to do. I took a wild chance tonight, believing in my heart that he’d want to see us as much as we’d want to see him, and I’m pretty sure I was right.”

“You’re always right.”

“I wish.” I lean across the table. “Did you see the way he looked at you? Did you see all that love in his eyes?”

“I saw a lot of things. Do you think…” He shakes his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up. He could leave again.”

“Let’s stay open to hear what he has to say. It’s been a long time and we both know how much can change. His plans haven’t worked out the way he hoped. Maybe he needs a soft place to land again. We can be that for him.”

Des nods, nibbling on his bottom lip. “I’m scared, babe. I don’t think I could handle it if he left us again. Maybe we should just keep it friendly for a while.”

“We were never capable of being only friends with him. The minute we met him… Do you remember?”

Des smiles as his shoulders finally relax. “How could I forget? That smile.”

“Kryptonite.”

“We were just about to leave that bar when we spotted him on the dance floor, moving like a charmer to a snake. It worked. He drew us in.”

“He sure did.”

“He was so beautiful,” Des whispers. “Young. God, we were all so young.”

“We’re not old yet, lover.”

“I guess not. He was always like a shot of espresso for us though, wasn’t he?”

“He was. We were the anchor he needed.”

“I don’t want to hope, but I can’t help it. I never thought I’d see him again. I don’t think anything has changed for me.”

“I know.” I scoot my chair closer to him. “That’s how you know we would always find our way back to each other. Love like this, what the three of us have, it’s special. Magical. I saw it in his eyes. It’s still there for him too. We can figure out the logistics.”

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” I look up and lean back as a man in a chef’s coat carrying two small plates smiles at us. “The chef made this for you. It’s a take on a chicken wing.” He says it as though he’s never heard of such an abomination before.

Des chuckles as the chef sets down the plates. “Enjoy.”

Before us is a small nugget of food, fried and drizzled in a sauce and sitting in what looks like blue cheese dressing. Des spears the meat with his fork and pops it into his mouth.

His eyes light up. “Ohmygah. It tastes just like a fancy chicken wing.”

I eat mine too, nodding as I swallow it down. “Delicious.”

After that, we receive a steady stream of small plates with tasty bites of food on them as each server explains to us what they are. I haven’t heard of most of it, but Des is in his foodie era, loving every minute of this experience, and that’s all I wanted anyway. It’s just a bonus that I found the lost love of our lives.

By the time we finish our bottle of champagne and are waiting for dessert, I can tell his nerves are calmer, even though we’re closer to being alone with Liam again.

“He looked so good,” Des says, staring straight ahead before fixing his gaze on me. “I like his hair longer.”

“I do too.”

“Do you think he likes me with a beard?”

“How could he not? You look hot.”

Des chuckles, clearly slightly buzzed. The dopey smile on his face is a dead giveaway. After all these years, Des is still so damn gorgeous. In fact, I think he gets better looking with time. With busy jobs we’ve both fallen off our gym routines, but that lost habit hasn’t softened his body at all. He’s built like a runner, all lean muscles and toned form. In the last year he’s grown out a beard, and it looks so good with his light eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“How hot you are. How sexy. How gorgeous happiness looks on you.”

He hums softly. “I thought maybe you were thinking about eating my ass later.”

I laugh softly. “I’m always thinking about that.”

Des glances over his shoulder at the kitchen. “Do you think…” He stops himself, shaking his head.

“I hope so.” I answer his unspoken question. “I can still remember his kiss.”

“I feel greedy, babe. I already have so much. I have you.” He drags his tongue across his bottom lip. “But I want him too.”

“We’ve talked about this, lover. We’re not greedy for loving him. We’re lucky we get to. We’re fortunate that our hearts are big enough to allow more love to flow in. It’s beautiful.”

“I know. I guess I mean…” He huffs, dragging a hand over his beard.

“Talk to me.”

Des stares off again; his thinking look. I wait quietly. When he’s ready, he’ll talk.

After a few quiet moments, he focuses on me. “Our sex life is amazing.”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“We’ve made it work, and I’m never left wanting.”

“I don’t need you to reassure me, lover. I know what we have, and I know what we’re missing. There’s nothing like…” My breath catches in my throat as my cock swells. “Fuck.”

“Like sinking into Liam’s warm body,” Des whispers. “The way he clenches around us, molded to us like he was made to be ours.”

I nod, swallowing hard. “That.”

“And the way he kisses us like he needs us to breathe. There’s nothing like it, is there?”

“Not that we’ve found. Liam is special.”

“Will we ask him to stay? You asked me at the start of dinner if we were on the same page and I said we were. Does that mean we’ll fight for him this time?”

“I think we should. We should tell him how we feel. Then it’s up to him.”

Des exhales slowly. “We have to try, right? That’s how we keep this. We lost him once because we didn’t fight.”

My eyes flicker past my husband. “He’s coming.”

Des sits up straighter in his seat, twisting slightly to watch Liam finish his approach. He does look good; stronger and older than when we last saw him, even though it’s only been three years. His light brown hair frames his face perfectly, highlighting his magnificent features. Des is right. We have to fight for him this time.

“I thought I’d deliver dessert myself.” Liam sets down two plates. “If I remember correctly, Boston cream pie is your favorite, Des?”

He nods, smiling warmly. “Yeah.”

“I whipped this up. It’s a vanilla sponge with pastry cream and a touch of chocolate mousse. It’s not traditional, but I hope you like it. Happy birthday, Des.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

He hands me a card with his contact details on it. “In case anything changes before I come over.”

“It won’t, Liam. We’re excited to see you later.”

Liam squeezes my hand. “I’m excited too. I never thought—” He stops himself, forcing a smile. “I’ll see you both later, huh? I’ll text when I’m on my way. Same house, I assume.”

“Same house,” I say, squeezing his hand in return. “Thank you for an amazing meal. It’s everything I wanted for Des.”

Liam searches my eyes before gently releasing my hand. “You know how much I love to cook for you both. It made my night too.”

With one final look, Liam turns and heads back to the kitchen.

I had hoped finding him would work out for us, and I think my hunch was right. By morning, if all goes well, Liam will be ours once more.