Page 37 of Three Bossy Boyfriends (Honeysuckle Harbor #3)

Christopher

I watch as Evan comes across the living room from the kitchen with two glasses of ice water. He’s in only his boxers, and I appreciate the view from where I’m lounging on the sofa, also only in my underwear.

“Well, the ice cream might be a lost cause, but I put it in the freezer anyway,” he tells me, handing me a glass.

I smirk at him. “I’ll buy more ice cream.”

He wasn’t home when I got here after work, and I didn’t even let him get to the kitchen with the grocery bags before I hauled him in, kissed him, then bent him over the arm of the couch.

“Oh, I didn’t say I was upset.” He laughs as he sinks onto the cushion next to me.

I lean over and kiss him. “I didn’t say I was sorry.”

He grins at me, then says, “I have a question for you, and since you’re in a good mood, I’ll ask it now.”

I lift a brow. “It’s a question I need to be in a good mood for? Uh, oh.”

He shakes his head. “Not, uh, oh. I just want a yes.”

“Yes.”

He grins again, and I realize in that moment I want to spend the rest of my days making him grin like that.

“So yes, I can invite Finley over for brunch tomorrow?”

I don’t reply immediately, but my gut tightens. Not because I don’t want it. Because I want it so much. I take a long swig of water.

He turns to face me fully, resting one arm on the back of the couch.

“I know she said no last time. I know what she said about leaving and us being together. I know all of that, but…I miss her. Maybe if I call and make it just a friendly brunch invite, it will go over differently. You see her every day at the office, so maybe it feels more like you’re pushing for more than friends.

But I haven’t seen her in so long.” He trails a finger along the seam in the couch cushion.

“I’d like to think she misses me a little too. At least as friends.”

“But we don’t want it to just be a friendly brunch, do we?” I ask. I sure don’t.

I love Evan. He loves me. What we have is amazing. We’re essentially living together now and will be officially soon. Our life together is great, and I have no doubt it will only get better with time.

But we both think about, miss, and want Finley, too.

Is that complicated? Maybe. But it doesn’t feel complicated. It feels as simple as bringing her into this.

Should it worry me that Evan is clearly falling for her? Or has fallen for her? Maybe.

If someone told me that their boyfriend was thinking about and wanting another person the way Evan and I are thinking about and wanting Finley, I’d probably tell them there was something wrong with their relationship. That would make sense.

But that’s not how this feels. This just feels like we’re building our relationship and we’re just missing a piece.

“No, I don’t want just brunch,” Evan admits after a moment.

I turn toward him so I can see his eyes clearly. “What do you want? If you could have anything from Finley?”

He doesn’t respond.

“It’s okay,” I tell him, leaning in and kissing him. I cup the back of his neck and pull back. “I’m falling for her too.”

His eyes widen slightly, but then he smiles slowly. “You are?”

“Of course. I’m around her every day, remember?”

He nods, then puts his forehead against mine. “Tucker’s in love with her.”

“Well, it was just a joke at karaoke.”

Evan pulls back and shakes his head. “I’m not talking about karaoke.”

Finally, I sit back and sigh. “I know. I saw it too.”

“How do you feel about it?”

Well, that’s complicated. “Honestly?” I ask.

“Yes. Definitely.”

“I’m jealous as hell.”

He nods.

“But,” I go on. “I also think they’re probably great together.

And I don’t just mean sexually, though that too.

” I shrug. “Tucker is different from you and I. She’s a peer and a friend with you.

You share an interest in the law, but you’ve also got cultural and social things in common.

You’re friends. You make her laugh. You even flirt with her differently than I do.

She and I share a professional passion. A mutual respect.

I can push her intellectually. But she’s also a brat with me, in a naughty, flirtatious way.

It’s not serious. With Tucker…” I think about my explanation for a moment.

“He can push her in different ways than you and I do. It’s emotional more than intellectual and comes from knowing each other for so long, having friends and family and the town in common.

And when she pushes back with him, it’s not playful, but it’s passionate.

But I think that’s good. I make her think, you make her laugh, and Tucker makes her feel . ”

Evan frowns. “I want to make her feel things.”

“Me too. I want her to feel safe, and cherished, and happy.”

“You don’t think Tucker wants those things?”

“I think Tucker wants her to feel…real. In a way she’s been afraid to be. He wants her to feel protected when she’s like that too. He wants to get past those walls of hers, and he won’t be patient about it the way we will.”

“And that’s probably good for her,” Evan says thoughtfully.

“I think it’s good for her, too ,” I say, emphasizing that last word.

“What do you mean?”

“I think we’re all good for her. I think she needs all of us. Finley is a complicated woman. She’s got a lot of layers. Each of us is good for a different part of her.” I take a breath and blow it out. “I think she needs all three of us.”

Evan’s brows rise. “What are you saying, Christopher?”

“I think all three of us should date her.”

“Oh.” He seems surprised, but then it’s clear he’s considering my suggestion. “I guess we could?—”

“At the same time.”

His brows arch even higher. “Date her with Tucker? All three of us together?”

“Yes.” Now that I’ve said it out loud, I like the idea even more. “Like I said, Finley is a complicated woman. She’s also got her walls up pretty high. She’s stubborn. She knows what she wants. Or at least she thinks she does. I think making her fall in love with us might just be a three-man job.”

“Making her fall in love with us?” Evan repeats. “Is that what we’re doing?”

“Of course. Why would the three of us want to be in love with her and not have her feel the same way?”

He nods slowly.

“And why the hell would any of us want her to fall for someone else?”

His nod is emphatic now. “I don’t want that.”

“Exactly.”

“But she’s leaving, Christopher.”

“If she still wants to leave after she takes the bar exam, she’ll leave.

Of course,” I say. I’d never make her stay if she didn’t really want to.

I know Evan wouldn’t. And we wouldn’t let Tucker do that to her.

Finley needs to choose her future. “But we should enjoy our time with her while we’ve got it.

And make sure she knows how we feel,” I say.

Evan nods again. “I like that. I do want to be sure she knows how we feel about her when she leaves. I don’t want to wonder what would have happened if we didn’t tell her.”

I lean in and kiss him, then push up from the couch. I extend my hand to him. “Okay, let’s go.”

He takes my hand. “Where are we going?”

“To see Finley.”

We start down the hallway to the bathroom to shower and dress.

“Do you know where she is?”

“Yep. She’s throwing axes.”

Evan stops, and I have to tug him into the bedroom.

“ She’s throwing axes ?”

“Yes. At a bar.” I turn to face him. “With Tucker.”

Evan takes that in. Then narrows his eyes. “We’re going to crash their date?”

“We’re going to join their date,” I say.

I want to see them together. Socially, on a date. I want to see how they interact. I want to see how Finley acts with Tucker, how he treats her, and if their chemistry is what I think it is.

And I want to see how the four of us fit together.

“I overheard her telling Kyle about it at work,” I explain, striding to the bathroom to turn on the shower.

“The fact that they’re going out again means something.

I think we need to see what they think of this idea of us .

What they both think.” I sigh and turn back to my boyfriend.

“Because it definitely matters what Finley thinks, but Tucker needs to be on board too.”

Evan gives a soft groan from the bathroom doorway. “I don’t think that’s going to be easy. He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to share.”

“No, he doesn’t,” I agree. I push my underwear off and beckon for Evan to join me in the shower. “But there are two other important details to keep in mind.”

“And what are those?” Evan asks, shedding his boxers.

I’m distracted for a moment, calculating if we’ve got time to fuck again, or even if I can give him a blow job, and still make it to the ax throwing bar before Tucker convinces Finley to go home with him.

While our negotiation will definitely include sex, I think it should probably start in public.

I step into the shower stall with Evan and decide that we don’t have time for sex, so quickly begin soaping up before I’m further tempted by his naked body.

If things go well at the bar with Finley, I’ll have plenty of time with both of my favorite partners tonight.

“What are those two important details?” Evan prompts, having the same idea about postponing sex as his gaze wanders over my body while he soaps his own body just out of reach.

Thank goodness my shower is big enough to fit six average-sized people.

Which also means we can easily fit a petite brunette and a big, hulking contractor in here with us.

“One, Finley does like to be shared,” I say.

Evan nods. “True. That is important.”

“And two, if Tucker really cares about her, he’ll care about what she likes and wants.”

Evan nods. “Yes, those are both very good points.”

“Points we need to make to Finley and Tucker,” I say.

He grins. “We might even need to prove it to them.”

“Exactly.”

Less than an hour later, we walk through the doors of An Axe to Grind , the new bar that features ax throwing, craft beer, and cocktails with names like Axe Me Nicely and Funny You Should Axe.