Page 130 of Pucking Sweet

His smile falls. “Hey, come on. Your sister needed to be put her inher place—”

“My sister needed to be kept in the dark!” I snap. “Now she’s gonna turn this into the scandal of the century. Poppy the chaos monster strikes again. She can’t make up her mind, so now she’s stringingtwomen along—oh god.” My PR brain is already spinning out the likely scenarios.

Colton looks confused. “Poppy, what scandal? It’s not like we’re doing anything illegal here. We’re all consenting adults.”

“I’m sorry, but clarifying that we’re ‘consenting adults’ won’t ease people’s minds,” I reply. “In fact, don’t be surprised if my mother shows up in town with Pastor John to try to force an exorcism on me.”

“So, I’ll just take it back,” Lukas offers. “I’ll tell your sister it was a joke—”

“No,” I cry. “Oh my—do you wanna make it worse? Pathetic Poppy had no boyfriends, then she had two, and now she has none again?”

He groans. “Then what the hell do you want, Poppy?”

“I wanted this all kept quiet!”

He glares, arms crossed. “You want us to be your dirty little secrets? Poppy St. James is too good to be seen on the arm of a tatted-up hockey player, right?”

I shake my head. “That’s not fair. I wanted usprivate, not secret. We don’t even know what we are to each other yet, Lukas. I mean, ten minutes ago, I thought we were all going our separate ways.”

Colton’s eyes narrow. “Why did you think that?”

“Seriously?” I glance between them. “Do you not remember the beach? Oh, and Claribel told me about your little tortilla wrestling match too,” I add, hands on my hips. “You tease me, you chase me, youfuckme…but ever since Pittsburgh, you’ve both been so weird and polite and distant—”

“We’ve been busy,” Lukas counters. “You have too. I mean, Jeezus, Pop. We’re professional athletes in the middle of a new season. I hardly have time to wash my own socks, let alone manage a complicated three-way. And Cole and I had some shit to sort out first.”

My eyes well with tears as I slowly nod. “See, and here’s me twisting into a ball of nerves knowing I’m the ‘shit’ you’re sorting out. But you’re doing it without me. How is that fair? How am I supposed to know you’ve both changed your mind if you don’ttellme?”

“We just didn’t have time yet!” Lukas shouts.

“And then you go and tell me in front of my sister!”

“Enough,” Colton shouts over us. He puts a hand on Lukas’s shoulder. “Nov, that’s enough.” To my surprise, Lukas relaxes, giving Colton a nod. Colton turns to me, his hand still on Lukas’s shoulder. “Poppy, what are you scared of?”

I suck in a breath of surprise. “What?”

“So what if your sister knows? Fuck her. Fuck anyone who’s not in this room. If you’re that afraid of what other people think, you should leave now.” He steps to the side, gesturing to the door.

When I make no move to leave, he goes on. “Because we’re not afraid of this, Poppy. You’re right. We handled our shit away from you because our jealousy is not your burden to carry. We worked it through, and we decided that wewantthis. We wantyou. If you want to date us separately, that’s fine. If you want us together, we’ll try that too. We’ve never done it, but we’re willing to try. Foryou. But we’re only willing under the condition thatthis”—he gestures between the three of us— “is exclusive. Understood?”

Heart in my throat, I nod.

Emboldened, Colton steps forward, cupping my face with both hands. My hands go to his bare chest, instantly warming under the heat of his skin. His voice is low and fevered as his hands smooth down the column of my neck to brace my shoulders. “You want this kept quiet while we all figure out what we are to each other? We’ll be quite as the fucking grave. You want to sign the paperwork with HR and start wearing our jerseys to our games? I’ll buy a house and move you into my bed tomorrow. All options are on the table here. All eventualities. Have us together, have us apart, it’s whatever the fuck you want. But youwillhave us, Poppy. Because not having you is no longer a fucking option.”

“Colton…”

He lowers his face closer to mine, breathing me in before saying, “So what do you wanna do here, Poppy? We need to hear you say it.”

Lost in the sensation of having him so close, I recite the words already carved into the walls of my heart. “Colton, please, I want you so badly.”

He claims my confession with a searing kiss. Digging his hands into my hair, he teases with his tongue, sinking it deep into mymouth. I cling to him, weak and breathless as he takes what he wants from my lips, leaving me with nothing.

He breaks the kiss first. Pulling me by the hair, he turns me to face Lukas. Pressing his front to my back, he speaks in my ear, his breath hot on my skin. “What about Lukas? Do you want him?”

Lukas stands there, gazing down at me with such longing.

“Yes,” I say on a breath. “I want him too. So much.”

“Thenshowhim.” Colton gives me a little push forward, sending me stumbling in these wobbly heels into Lukas’s chest.