Page 15

15

Spencer

I text Annie to meet at a sandwich shop down the street from her building. Miller and I got there before her and ordered our food. I asked him to sit on the other side of the shop so I could have my meeting with Annie and Blake, and he agreed without hesitation.

The front door opens, and all attention turns to the gorgeous blonde in a black pantsuit who commands attention in every room she enters and her equally beautiful brunette companion wearing a flowy burgundy dress accentuating her baby bump.

Blake bounces to me with a huge smile and hugs me around her belly. Annie follows with a more proper greeting, a handshake. She has more of a social persona to uphold than Blake, and I can understand her formality.

“Sit with Spencer, Baby. I’ll grab our food. We called ahead so it would be ready.” Blake turns toward the counter, and Annie takes her elbow before she walks away.

“Darling, you sit. You’ve been on your feet all morning. I don’t know how you’re six months pregnant and still walking in those heels.”

“How about you both sit, and I let my Labrador get the food.”

Blake giggles, “Your what?” She turns to see me flagging down Miller. “Oooh. Yummy.”

“Miller, can you listen for their food and bring it to us when it’s ready?” He nods in agreement, and we settle into the booth.

“Please tell me that hunk of a man belongs to you.” Blake gasps and her hands fly to cover her mouth. “Spencer, are you blushing?”

I groan and wonder if I’ve made a mistake asking to speak with them. Blake is the perfect amount of bubbly insanity to balance Annie’s seriousness. Once Annie’s submissive, their relationship shifted when they added Cole, Nicole’s brother, into it.

Annie was a patient of ours after she was involved in a major motor vehicle accident that involved two fatalities. Justin developed a friendly relationship with them, meeting Cole’s sister. Nicole was the best thing to ever happen to Justin.

My relationship with Annie, Blake, and Cole is nowhere near as personal as Justin’s, but the type of relationship they have is as close as I can get to what is currently happening in my life, and I need some advice.

Ignoring her blushing question I answer her other inquiry. “Yes. He’s one of the reasons I asked to meet you both.”

“ One …of. Is there more than one he that we need to talk about?” Blake is entirely too excited for this conversation.

“Three.”

“ Three?! ” Blake whisper-shouts and looks over her shoulder at Miller. “Tell me they all look like that?” She does a double take and stares at Miller a moment longer. The barista calls Annie’s name from the counter, and Miller stands to retrieve their food.

When he brings it to the table, Blake has stars in her eyes. Annie has been suspiciously quiet throughout the entire interaction.

“Ladies.” Blake swoons as Miller walks back to his table, but not before giving me his panty-melting smile. By the time Blake manages to form words and say thank you, Miller is seated again.

“Do I know him? Baby, do we know him? He looks so familiar. Is he one of Justin’s friends?” Blake rubs her protruding belly. “I swear this little one is sucking every last brain cell from me. My memory is terrible lately.”

“We do. And yes he is a friend of Justin’s. A co-worker. We met him at the dinner that Justin and Nicole hosted where she… Well, that was the past. Spencer, the other two men in question, are they also co-workers?”

“You’re very perceptive, Annie. Miller is a firefighter, Axel works at the ED as a nurse, and Lincoln is a police officer with the Chicago PD.” It doesn’t surprise me that Annie has already picked up on my reasoning for asking them to lunch. While Annie, Blake, and Cole had their struggles in the beginning, they have a very successful polyamorous relationship with twins already and another baby on the way.

“How long has it been going on?” Annie is a businesswoman who deals in facts. I hear mine and Miller’s name called from the counter, and he nods at me, letting me know he’ll get my food as well.

“It’s not quite going on as of yet, but I feel the signs are there for a potential relationship.”

“With all three?” Blake whispers as Miller approaches the table and gives me my food.

“Do you need anything else, ladies?”

“No, thank you. I appreciate your help, Miller.”

“Anything for you, Smithy.”

Blake squeaks at his nickname for me. “I need all the juicy details.”

I spend the next twenty minutes giving them any relevant details, including my situation with Katy and her blatant acceptance of whatever is going on in my house.

Annie listens with a stoic expression while Blake oohs and ahhhs. I don’t know anyone else in an unconventional relationship, and while our situations aren’t exactly the same, I’m confident that they have a unique view to share with me. I have three men vying for my attention. Annie and Blake were an established couple who added Cole to their relationship.

I’ve only had one experience with a relationship in my life, and it’s not something I ever want to repeat.

“So let me make sure I’m up to speed.” Blake takes a long sip of her strawberry lemonade, then sits back, getting comfortable with her hands on her baby belly, to review our conversation. “Hottie back there has a boyfriend who gave you a happy ending in your sleep. You kissed him in some Oreo cookie make-out session before you were interrupted. Where does guy number three come in?”

“Axel is the biggest flirt of them all, and while he’s never quiet about his feelings for me, it wasn’t until recently that I became aware his comments are more than just harmless flirting.”

“While my wonderful, fairytale fiancé here will tell you to jump in with two feet, you wouldn’t have asked us here if you didn’t have reservations.” And this is why I came to Annie. She won’t sugarcoat anything for me.

“I’m a complicated person when it comes to feelings. I don’t typically trust easily, but these three men have had my trust and respect professionally for years. Is it irresponsible of me to let those feelings cross?”

Annie nods in understanding. “I see your reservation now.” Cole had been Annie’s dog walker before their emotional relationship started. Similarly, she trusted him as an employee before a lover.

“Trust your heart, Spencer.” Blake’s statement rings with hearts and butterflies.

“ Listen to your heart, but trust your gut. If the two align, you’ll have the right answer.” Annie’s advice is sensible and reasonable and I respect it.

I clean up my area and stand to throw away my trash. We haven’t had a call all morning, and I feel we’re on borrowed time, and I want to be prepared.

The front door opens and a gust of wind almost blows the napkin off my plate. Backlit by the afternoon sunshine is a pair of boots, dark denim jeans, and a cowboy hat.

My breath ceases in my chest as my body instantly recognizes the man in the doorway. I’m frozen, standing at the garbage can.

“Everything okay, Spencer?” Blake places a hand on my back, trying to understand what’s happening. Does she not feel his presence? This man commands a room just by walking into it. His charisma and charm most likely manifested the perfect sunray as his backdrop when he walked in.

“Tucker.” I’m not aware I say his name out loud until his head turns in my direction. Or maybe I didn’t, and he heard the thoughts roaring in my head because right now, all I’m hearing is a freight train.

The man in question recognizes me and, without skipping a beat, comes barreling toward us. The trash I’m holding falls to the floor as one hand wraps around my back, and another firmly grips the back of my head.

The moment his lips touch mine, and the roughness of his beard skates across my cheeks, I’m brought back to the coffee shop a month ago. The kiss took me by surprise, both at the suddenness of it and the intensity that two strangers could share.

He draws me in closer as I hear gasps from Blake or Annie. As our tongues tangle and I melt further into this man who is still very much a stranger, I hear a loud crash behind Tucker. I can’t bring myself to pull away and find out why, but moments later, Tucker is ripped away from me, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh brings me out of my fog.

Blinking several times, I realize that Miller has Tucker on the ground, and the men are wrestling and throwing punches.

“Who the fuck are you? You can’t assault my woman and get away with it.”

“ Your woman? Fuck. Shit.”

Miller throws punches as Tucker deflects the best he can from his prone position.

“Spencer?” Blake snaps me back into reality. “He looks familiar, too. What is going on? I need to drink your water. These men are hot for you. Is that Axel?”

“No. That’s Tucker. He-he owns Midnight Moonshine.”

Tucker gets the upper hand and rolls Miller to his back, pinning his hands above his head.

“Shit, that’s how I know him. Why is that so fucking hot to watch?” And this is a prime example of Blake being the opposite of Annie. She speaks her mind. But I also have to agree, and so does my body; it’s hot.

“What the fuck is your problem, asshole?” Tucker’s southern drawl has my stomach fluttering and my core clenching. Miller tries to buck under Tucker, but the man is solid and doesn’t move. His attention turns to me, and his eyes soften.

“Are you okay, Little Miss?” Those are the exact words he asked me in the coffee shop the morning of the attempted robbery. I can feel my face flush as his attention is directed to me.

“Who the fuck are you?” Miller growls as he continues to struggle under Tucker.

Everyone’s attention turns to the door as the sirens sound, and two uniformed officers charge through. They draw their guns when they see the position of the two men on the floor.

“Hands up. Stand up slowly. Don’t make any sudden movements.”

One of the employees, a mousy-looking young brunette, slides up behind us. “Are you ladies okay? The cops got here as soon as they could.” I can hear the trembling in her voice and understand why she called the police.

Tucker and Miller shout slurs at each other as the officers put handcuffs on them.

“Fuck. Miller? What the hell, man?” I see Officer Westbrook clicking Miller’s hands behind his back. “Let’s go, gentlemen. You’re getting a free ride to the station, so we can sort this out.”

As Miller looks at me and says, “Call Linc,” Tucker turns to the officer pushing him out the door, and I hear him say, “Call Officer Lincoln Reed.”

Miller’s head whips to Tucker as quickly as mine. I forgot Tucker was Lincoln’s stepbrother, and it’s clear Miller has no idea who he is.