Quinn woke to the slide of a warm hand low on her bare stomach. Instinctively, she arched forward, into the tantalizing touch. So warm and—

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at the ceiling of the Man Bus. Light streamed in through a gap in the curtains and hit her square in the eyes. She winced.

Morning.

Which meant she’d spend the night in bed with Rex and Beau. So much for her plan to sneak out after the deed was done.

The hand on her belly slid up to rest right under her breast as its owner wriggled closer to her, pressing against her side. Rex. His morning wood nudged heavily against her hip and she bit back a groan. She turned her head to face him.

He was sound asleep and she stared for a while, captivated. His lashes lay thick and black against his cheeks. They would almost make him look feminine if not for the lean, angular face and the straight slash of a nose. His mouth was soft, curved in a half smile, as if he was having a lovely dream or reliving a spectacular night.

Heat stole over her limbs as the details came back to her in flashes. The sharp nip of teeth on her shoulder, the slow drag of a tongue on her pussy. It had certainly been spectacular in her book. In fact, she wondered how she could ever forget it.

She closed her eyes but the images wouldn’t cease. Rex, looming over her, his jaw tight, gaze burning into hers. Rex, jaw clenched, nostrils flaring as he entered her for the first time. Rex—

A long, deep sigh sounded on her other side. Beau. She turned to see if he was awake and noted with relief that his eyes were closed as well. He let out a soft snore and she bit back a smile. His honey curls formed a halo around his head and she ached to straighten them.

It was what she didn’t ache for that hit her in the solar plexus like a punch.

She loved him, didn’t she? She loved them both. But the desire tinged with sorrow she’d felt when she looked at Rex was singular. When she looked at him, she saw the life she could have had. Suffered the regret of a missed opportunity. Faced the fact that life was short and she might never love like this again, but she still had to walk away.

When she looked at Beau, it was different. She felt sorrow. Regret that she’d hurt him, and was about to hurt him some more. Sadness that she couldn’t comfort him and make it better. Surely that was love? But with stunning clarity, she realized that it was the love of a friend.

When that had happened, she couldn’t say. All she knew for sure was that with every touch, every kiss, Rex had become more and more a part of her, until there was no room for anything—or anyone—else.

And now she had to walk away. Fast, before she couldn’t do it at all.

* * *

Rex felt eyes on him, but left his closed. He made a conscious effort to keep his breathing deep and easy, which was easier said than done.

Clearly Quinn was at a crossroads. Somehow he got the feeling that whatever she did in the next few minutes meant everything. The tension rolled off her in waves and he fought the urge to pull her close, to comfort her. He realized his hand was splayed over her rib cage. He must have reached for her in his sleep. He could feel her heart pounding beneath the taut, smooth skin.

He swallowed a groan and her muscles stiffened. Had he made a sound? Fear kept him frozen in place. If she just took the time to think about it, she would realize she was right where she should be—waking up next to him.

A snore shattered his illusion on a dime. Beau. His best friend and band-mate. They’d both had one night to be with the woman they loved. Now everything was just supposed to go back to normal. Like it never happened.

Another thought loomed. What if she’d changed her mind? What if last night had made her realize that she didn’t have to choose? Could she handle a relationship like that? Hell, could he? The question had barely formed in his mind before the answer presented itself like a flashing neon sign.

No.

He couldn’t share her. He wouldn’t share her. If that meant he would never be with her again, so be it. Better one quick death than having to watch her with another man over and over, each kiss, each caress a tiny razor cut to his heart.

Quinn shifted against him and he forced himself to stay loose and unresponsive as she shimmied down the bed. His stomach dropped. Worrying about her wanting the three of them to be long-term thing was a moot point.

She was already making her escape.

* * *

The bed squeaked and Beau shot out a hand, closing it around Quinn’s wrist. She jerked in surprise.

“Sorry I woke you up. I was trying to be quiet,” she whispered. “No need to whisper, I’m up too,” Rex said.

Beau rolled to his side and peered at Quinn. At some point in the night, she had donned his Charlie Daniel’s Band t-shirt and his breath hitched as he took in the view. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips puffy. She looked as if she’d just been tumbled, and damn if that didn’t make him want to do it all over.

It’d never happen, though. Not ever again. He knew it in his bones. When he’d walked in to see her and Rex curled up together, still breathing hard, it had been a revelation. He thought he’d seen the connection between them earlier in the night, an almost magnetic pull, but in his sex-hazed brain he’d put it off to imagination.

Then, when he’d left to clean up and walked back into the room, they were snuggled tight. They looked like two pieces of a puzzle, perfectly matched. He wondered if they even knew it. Quinn had given him a groggy smile and patted the space on the bed next to her so he’d climbed in. She and Rex had fallen asleep almost immediately but the sight of the two of them was branded on his brain. He couldn’t sleep as his mind raced.

He thought about their night together. Did he still want Quinn? Yeah, she was amazing. Did he love her? Absolutely. But was he in love with her, for real? If love was what he saw between her and Rex, then the answer was no. When Rex had the chance to sleep with Jasmine, he’d passed. He’d rather sleep alone and dream of Quinn than hold a real—and smoking-hot—woman in his arms. And that was before, when he didn’t think he had a chance in hell.

Beau didn’t feel that way about Quinn. Shit, the truth was, he’d never felt like that about anyone in his life. Twenty-seven and never been in love. He fought the twinge in his gut at that thought. This wasn’t about him right now. This was about his two best friends.

Quinn and Rex had found something special somehow during their encounter and they deserved to see where it led them. It was a sticky situation and if they had any shot of making it work, it was on him to handle it right. He’d tossed and turned for over an hour, trying to figure out what to do next. It wasn’t until he’d made a decision that he was finally able to rest.

Now, in the light of day, he wondered once again if he was doing the right thing. If he’d read this wrong, he could end up devastating Rex, who was like a brother to him. At the very least, he was going to put Quinn in a terrible position.

Quinn sat up in the center of the bed to face them and eyed him warily. “Good morning.” Her voice was husky from sleep, her tone tentative.

“Good morning, darlin’.”

“I was just getting up to make breakfast—”

“And get out of Dodge before anyone woke up and wanted to talk,” he finished with a wry smile. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink.

Beau pulled himself into a sitting position and Rex followed suit, leaning his back against the headboard, but he didn’t speak. He looked like shit. His face was stark, his eyes haunted. It bolstered Beau’s resolve.

“We might as well get this out of the way so we can move forward without a whole bunch of awkwardness,” he said.

She nodded and swallowed hard. He looked closer and realized her eyes were glassy with tears. Shit, he never ever wanted to make her cry.

Rip it off, like a bandage.

“I’m just going to lay it out there. We agreed to the one night. But if Rex is willing, I want to know if you’d consider being with both of us. For real. Long-term.”

The silence was so loud it was smothering. Still, he didn’t press, he just waited. Rex could have been a statue for all he gave away. His tight expression looked frozen in place.

Quinn gazed at them both, her eyes flitting back and forth between them. After a long moment, she sucked in a shuddering breath and opened her mouth to speak. No words came. Her face crumpled and the sob that followed about cracked his heart in two.

“I-I can’t,” she choked as she shot off the bed. She tripped on a pair of jeans and stumbled blindly, reaching for the door.

A second later, she was gone.

He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer.

Halfway there.

That afternoon, he and Rex sat on the living room couch staring at a TV neither was watching. Quinn had showered, dressed and left a long time ago. At about noon she’d texted them that she was going to stay in a hotel that night. Since then, the two of them had just been sitting around in silence, preoccupied with their own thoughts.

After letting it all marinate for half the day, Beau finally broke the silence.

“I think you should try again.”

Rex let loose a weary sigh. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said, man. I think the reason she didn’t want to choose one of us before was because she didn’t want to cause problems in our friendship or make either of us feel bad.” He shrugged. “I won’t feel bad.”

Rex arched a black brow at him.

“Seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think she’s hot, and I care about her a lot. I admit, I was caught up for a while. I don’t know if you realize this, but I’ve never had a girl friend. You know, a girl who I spent a lot of time and liked to be around but never slept with. She was like the forbidden fruit, made all the sweeter because I couldn’t have her.” He shrugged. “She’s the best woman I know, but I see the way you look at her and…I don’t feel that.”

“I don’t—I just don’t get it,” Rex said, a frown creasing his brow. “How could last night make you love her less? She wrecked me, man. I feel like nothing could ever compare.”

Yep, it had seemed that way from the outside looking in, too. Quinn had made her choice even then, she just didn’t know it yet. Her interaction with Beau was nothing more than a side-note. The sprinkles on a cupcake. The gravy on their chicken-fried steak. He was definitely doing the right thing here.

Rex’s gaze drilled into him, through him, really. “So why did you ask her if she wanted to be with us both then?”

“I asked because I already knew the answer, but you needed to know it too. She wants you, man. She loves you. Go get her. If I’m wrong, at least you gave it your all. You need to blow off some steam or want a drinking buddy later, text me. We’ll go out tonight and drown your sorrows,” he said with a smile.

“Are you sure?”

Beau gave himself one more long moment to think about the answer to that question. It was going to be weird, his two closest friends being a couple. He hoped it didn’t change the dynamic of the band. On the other hand, they loved each other whether they were together or not, so no matter what, things were changing.

Was he sure?

“Yep, I am. Plus, if this works out between you two, it’ll just mean more groupies for me.”

Rex nodded. “You have no idea what this means to me. No matter what happens, I owe you, man.”

He leaned in and gave him an awkward man-hug with one arm, then pulled back and looked him dead in the eye for a long moment.

“Thank you.”

“Just don’t blow it.”