Chapter Seven
“I went through hell convincing the resort’s baker to let me carry his precious amygdalota in a baggie, so we’re going to eat every last crumb.” Justin raised a fingertip covered in powdered sugar to his mouth and licked it. “They’re a specialty on the island, and a treat in the afternoon.”
“I can smell how good they are,” she said.
He squatted beside her and brushed a sugar-coated thumb over her lips. “Taste.”
It was intimate and familiar, and her need argued with her common sense, but he wasn’t totally off base. Her pulse raced and excitement sizzled to her core. Heat flushed her cheeks, but she didn’t pull back. She tasted, and he smiled.
“Don’t look so scared, sweetheart. I promise that I won’t ask anything of you you’re uncomfortable with,” Justin said, pressing his thumb to her mouth to keep her from objecting. “You’ve chosen your career and your father’s ambitions for yourself, and I respect that. By us breaking up all those years ago, it’s clear you don’t want an intimate relationship with me. We cannot be lovers as we once were, and I respect that, too.”
Pride battled want in her brain, and she was honestly thankful he wouldn’t let her speak. She would probably blurt out the truth and sound pathetic, because as far as she remembered, she hadn’t said anything about not wanting him. Yet, his assumption helped her save face. She’d take it.
“Before we were lovers, you were my best friend. When you wouldn’t speak to me, I thought I’d lost you forever.” He cupped the side of her face and stroked her cheek with gentle fingers. “I miss you terribly, Bethy. I miss my friend, my confidant, and I want to have you in my life again.”
She missed him, too. She leaned into the assurance of his palm. “Do you really believe we can be friends after all that’s happened?”
“I do.”
“And what about Paul? Won’t he mind?” Worried she’d find the answer in the strong set of his jaw, she let her gaze wander over his shoulder to the blue of the sea.
“No. Paul won’t mind anything at all when it comes to you,” Justin said in a contemplative tone. “Look at me, sweetheart.” He moved his palm from her face, down her arm, and took her hand in his. “I have never lied to you, and I’m not going to start now. So, I will admit that we do have a very real problem.”
The nervous flutter filled her belly again, and she tried pulling her hand back, but he held tight and squeezed.
“Look at me,” he repeated.
She met his gaze and shook her head. She could lie to herself all she wanted, but the truth stared her in the face. He mattered to her. He mattered big.
“Okay,” she whispered, wetting her lips and tasting the remnants of the sugar. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and for a second, she thought he was going to kiss her.
He didn’t.
He cleared his throat and sat back on his chair, tugging her slightly forward as he kept her hand in both of his. Justin had never shied away from physical affection, so it wasn’t a surprise when he fit their joined hands between his knees and rubbed his thumb over her wrist.
“I know this will be difficult, but it will only be difficult for the next week or so. Once the resort issue is settled, we’ll be just fine. We’ll get past this together.”
“It can’t happen if it makes problems for you and Paul. I’m not a homewrecker.”
“Stop,” Justin said, his dark gaze going darker with annoyance. “Don’t ever think I would disrespect you in such a way. I would never ask you to compromise a tiny shred of your integrity or values.”
Still holding her hand with his left, he reached for the coffee with his right and offered it to her. When she accepted it, and had taken a sip of the creamy concoction, he reached for his own drink.
“First, Paul is very open-minded. Second, I love him with no limits. He is my partner in every sense of the word, and I see myself spending my entire life with him.” Justin’s demeanor calmed, and the brightness in his eyes when he spoke of Paul put that love on display. “Third, he already knows everything about you and me.”
“Everything?” Bethany interrupted, her cheeks heating at some of the memories of their intense lovemaking marathons. Embarrassment flamed at the remembrance of her admission to wanting to know what it would be like with two men. Two men exactly like Paul and Justin.
As if reading her thoughts, he chuckled and leaned in, brushing his lips over her forehead.
“Everything,” he repeated. “And there is nothing to be bashful about. He gets it, and he really, really, really appreciates it. After you left us on the ferry, he was all into making that double-teamed fantasy of yours a reality.”
“He knows?”
Justin shrugged, dismissing any concern. “Sweetheart, Paul and I have been together a long time. We share everything. A scenario like that fantasy is one of the biggest turn-ons for both of us. Why wouldn’t we talk about it? Is there something wrong with three people sharing something so phenomenal?”
“No,” she said in a whisper, excited at the scene playing out in her mind. “But—is Paul into—ah, I can’t formulate it right.”
“No worries,” Justin said. “He was openly interested in making that fantasy real for all of us, but I explained it was not an option between us. There is too much of a past between us to entertain a temporary physical relationship.”
“Why is that? Is he or is he not bisexual? Is it a one-time fantasy for him to be with a woman?”
“Paul has been with women, can appreciate women, and would absolutely please a woman.” He reached for an almond peak and popped the whole thing in his mouth, giving her time to digest his words while he ate. “It simply cannot work between the three of us.”
“Why not?” She hadn’t meant to speak aloud. She covered her mouth the second the words were out and regretted her innate openness when she was with Justin. Control, she thought. Keep your daydreams private. “Scratch that. Just speaking to myself.”
His intensely dark gaze swept over her, but thankfully he didn’t respond immediately. He swallowed, took a deep breath, and reached for his coffee.
“Sweetheart, there is nothing temporary when it comes to you. You’re an everything and forever kind of woman. Too precious. Too addicting. Too real.”
Studying his body language, she could see he’d been just as surprised by her question as she’d been when she’d heard her own words. She wished she could take it back, but she’d put it out there and he wasn’t the kind of man to ignore it. Maybe, just maybe, she could get what she truly wanted if she went about it carefully.
Since Paul was into it, and Justin and Bethany already knew how good it had been between them in the past, maybe they could make a casual relationship work? Maybe a fling for while they were on the island?
Sipping on her freddo, she considered how and if she should continue sharing. She was a mature woman. She had wants and desires. She didn’t fall apart because sex didn’t lead to a happily ever after. Instead, she’d learned to live in the moment. Why not?
“J, I’ve changed, grown, a lot in the past few years,” she said, nibbling on the delicious cookie and choosing her words carefully. “There’s nothing intimidating about a physical relationship. I’m a big girl now. In spite of this uptight professional appearance, I know how to enjoy my time off, and I do. I plan on enjoying every moment I have to myself in this gorgeous place. Don’t go making assumptions you have no clue about.”
Nodding, he stood and pulled his shirt over his head, exposing a perfectly sculpted chest. Her mouth went dry, and she swallowed at the reminder of how great it would feel to run her fingers over that sprinkling of dark curls. Time had been good to him. Really good.
“Go get your suit on,” he said, “and we’ll continue this heated conversation while we swim. Or we don’t continue the conversation and just swim. Your choice.”
Within five seconds, a decade disappeared. He flicked the button at his waist and let his shorts slip past his slender hips. He wore a bathing suit, but the outline of his impressive package wasn’t lost in the simple blue material.
“Okay,” she said, needing the distance to calm her own reaction. She stopped and turned back to face him. “Snapshot?”
“What?”
“Sheridan is worried. Want to let her know we’re good,” she said, sidling up next to him and holding her phone out.
He laughed and took it from her. “Pirates?”
“Pirates,” she agreed, and smiled for the camera.
He took the snap, selected Sheridan’s contact, and hit share. Before she’d managed to take her phone back, her sister’s reply flashed on the screen.
WTF?
* * *
Tempted, but not fooled, Justin tore his attention from the beautiful woman and walked to the pool’s edge.
He had to think with his head, not his cock, and watching those sweet curves for the few feet it had taken for her to disappear inside the door was difficult. Large pupils, flushed skin, and hard nipples all meant she was just as susceptible as he was, so he had to be the grownup and make sure their reunion was permanent. No matter how much he wanted her beneath him—again.
After diving into the cold water, he swam the length of the pool and willed common sense to return. While Bethany had spoken the words every man fantasized about, carnal ecstasy, with no commitment, he knew better. He knew her.
No sex. No ménage. No fantasy.
It didn’t matter how perfect it would be for him to make love to the two people that mattered most in his life. The need to protect her from potential pain resurfaced and took priority. He found the resolve to stay strong.
Making a flip turn for the fifth lap, he glimpsed her approach in his peripheral vision and swam toward the dark-haired beauty in the crocheted bikini. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied, sitting on the edge of the pool.
He fit himself between her legs and placed a wet hand on her waist. “No matter what you think, Bethy, I won’t gamble on you. You’re too important to me. I want you around. And if having you as a best friend is how I ensure that, I’m going for it.”
“Bethany, best friend to her ex-lover, who is now gay.”
“You know I’m not gay. You know my heart and body are open. But to make us, the three of us, a sure thing, we can’t involve the physical.” He studied her face, saw the regret and relief in her eyes, and he knew he’d made the right decision. She’d be hurt if they had to end a relationship again. He’d be devastated as well. “No matter how our bodies react, we need to listen to our hearts. Nothing between us is casual.”
“You’re right,” she said, smoothing a hand over his shoulder. “We need to keep it real and be friends…if possible.”
“It’s possible,” Justin said, happy the sexual tension hadn’t killed their sensibilities. “Do you want to be friends? To reconnect and be there for each other?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I miss you, too. So no matter how, I want you back in my life. I’ll trust you on this one.”
She’d always trusted him, which was why he hadn’t been able to understand why she’d reacted as she had when he’d written to her about her father’s puppeteer attempt to control their lives. He’d been so angry with the bastard. But she wasn’t her father. She was his Bethany.
“Okay. That’s the end of that conversation,” he said, unable to move away, regardless of his mind telling him that the lack of physical distance between them wasn’t typical of friends. “We’re not typical.”
“What was that?” Bethy asked, bending down to bring her ear closer to his mouth.
Her scent clouded his mind and he closed his eyes to savor it in private. It was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever do to be just friends with her, but he was up to the challenge. Then with Herculean effort, he inched back into the water.
“There is something we need to discuss. Something that may cause us problems.”
She placed her palms on his shoulders and pushed him farther. After sliding into the pool, she swam to the opposite side, and turned to smile back at him. “Spill.”
“You want to buy the resort. Paul doesn’t want Kosta to sell it.”
“And you’re stuck in the middle,” she offered, her posture indicating her defensiveness had once again been activated.
“No. I’m not,” he insisted, gliding close to her and refusing to allow her full retreat. “I’m just the numbers man. I was asked to review and prepare the financial presentation. I will do that and nothing else. Nothing will make me choose between your wants and Paul’s. And I know, when this is over, you and Paul will find common ground. So I’m not going to get stuck anywhere. I’m with both of you, but I will not help either one prevail over the other.”
“It’s business,” she said, then turned and crossed her forearms on the pool’s edge, looking out at the sea. “What are your personal feelings?”
“I love this place,” he said. “I want Kosta happy, and I don’t want him making a decision he may regret. Even more, I do not want your father getting his paws on this wonderland. He’d taint it.”
“I would be running it. Not Edward Michaels. I want this place.”
Justin cupped her head and placed a kiss on her damp temple. “I’ll have the reports ready for your review in two days.”
“No more business talk between us?”
“None. Not my place,” Justin said. “But sweetheart,” he continued, his mouth still against her silky hair, “I’m not too proud to entice you with cookies and coffee every afternoon. And I’ll even wake up early, have that first cup of coffee with you, and watch the sun rise.”
“Since when do you wake up at the crack of dawn?”
“Since it means I get to spend more time with you,” Justin said. “Paul is an early bird. Would you like it if he joined us?”
She smiled and nodded. “It would be nice to get to know him—outside of business hours of course.”
“Good. One final warning,” he said, holding up a finger. “I will not deny who you are to me. Not to Kosta or anyone else who happens to cross our paths.”