“I know that,” he says. Hands still holding mine, he wraps our arms around me and gives me a little squeeze. “I think what bothers me most is how long you two were seeing each other.”

Months. I’d been meeting Rebel for months before I got together with Ransom. The timeline is sketchy in my head, all things considered, but Ransom and I only started seeing each other after I became his student. At the time, I’d been sleeping with Rebel since somewhere around the start of summer break. If time were the only factor to consider here, it’s Rebel I should be having this conversation with. Hence the reason I feel like I am somehow betraying him right now.

However, the way Ransom holds me and talks to me like he really cares, reminds me that he’s the one I’ve spent quality time with. There’s no denying the depth of our connection.

“I can’t go back and change what happened,” I tell him. “I just hope that it doesn’t come between you two. I’d hate to be the reason for that happening.”

Releasing me, Ransom walks to the fridge and takes out a beer for himself. His mood has shifted. He doesn’t look at me as he cracks the bottle open, but I can tell by the rigid set of his shoulders that he’s bothered by what I said. “Don’t worry about it,” he says tightly. “There’s not much that Rebel and I haven’t dealt with that we can’t work past.”

I don’t know what that means, but I don’t ask him to elaborate. There’s enough shit on our plate now to deal with, without adding more. “Why did you come over tonight?” I ask instead. Now that he’s here, drinking my beer, we might as well get this over with.

I’m half expecting him to throw down an ultimatum, or break it off clean and save us both the headache of dragging this out further than it has to go, but I should know by now that Ransom isn’t that predictable. Every time I expect him to react one way, he does the complete opposite.

Leaning back against the counter, holding his beer to his chest, Ransom’s dark eyes concentrate on mine. “I want you to come with me to dinner at my parents’ house tomorrow evening.”

My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”

“Dinner at my parents’. You said you’d go with me.”

“Yeah, before I found out I was screwing your brother!” I can’t believe this guy. Is he for real?

His features scrunch in distaste. “I’ll admit there’s a lot to work out.”

“Ya think?”

“But,” he continues. “We can’t keep avoiding each other like this. I assume you’re just as confused as me and Rebel. Which is why we think it would be a good idea for you to join us for dinner.”

My eyes widen. “Rebel? You two are discussing me now? And you think we should have dinner with your parents together?” My head is shaking furiously. He’s absolutely insane. “I’m sure finding out that their sons are having sex with the same woman will make a great first impression.”

Ransom scowls at me, but I don’t care. I need another beer if I’m going to deal with this shit tonight. Drinking deeply, I choose to ignore that dark, disapproving look Ransom is sending me. Screw him anyway. If he seriously thinks I’m dumb enough to parade around on the arms of two men, then he’s got another thing coming.

“I wasn’t suggesting that at all,” Ransom counters. “I’d escort you to dinner. You’d ‘meet’ Rebel and my parents. It doesn’t have to be anything more complicated than that.”

I give a derisive snort and take another swig from the bottle. He’s delusional. “Complicated is the very definition of what’s going on here, and I fail to see how having dinner with all of you is going to simplify any of it.”

“That’s just it, Joe,” Ransom says as he pushes away from the counter and rises to his full height. My head tilts back and I glare openly as he comes to stand in front of me. “This is exactly what we need. All of us. I was giving it some thought, and I realized that none of us really knows each other. You and Rebel,” he says, his voice roughening at the mention of his brother, “just fucked. You and me? We might have talked a little, but we weren’t much more than that either.

“You’re having just as hard a time sorting this out as we are and this is the perfect opportunity for us to learn more about each other.” His lips twitch. “You once said you wanted things to change between us. Well, this is our chance to do that.”

This isn’t just some casual dinner. Of course, it’s not. I’d have to have been born yesterday to believe that. So what’s his angle? I stare up at him, hard, wondering, when it suddenly occurs to me. The answer is so obvious. “You want me to choose.”

A light goes off behind those dark eyes and I know I’m right. Rebel and Ransom have talked it over and together have decided that I should choose which one of them I want to be with.

“That’s the idea,” Ransom confirms with a dark smile.

My first instinct is to lay into him, tell him how dumb their idea is, when it dawns on me. They just might be onto something here. I’ve been agonizing over this situation for days, unsure of how to handle it, and this dinner just might be the solution I’ve been searching for. If I can learn more about these two, in a controlled, protected environment where they’re sure to be on their best behavior, then I might actually find some answers.

Narrowing my eyes, I regard him skeptically. “And you really think this could work.”

“What have we got to lose?”

“What if I don’t choose you?”

He doesn’t appear phased by the question. “Then you don’t choose me,” he says with a lift of one shoulder, but his answer is too confident. He doesn’t think I’ll pick Rebel, which makes me wonder what I’m missing.

I guess there’s only one way to find out.

THREE

I brush my hands down the dress I borrowed from Annie as I step out of the car. It’s a gorgeous baby doll style, black and white floral that hugs my upper torso and floats away, starting from the waist down. On Annie, the dress would graze her shins. On me, however, the length is daring, falling just shy of my knees. It’s the curse of being tall. Well, taller than her. But thankfully, the scoop neck keeps it modest enough to meet the parents.

My nerves are shot, and as I stare up at the sizeable Tudor-style mansion, I’m questioning why I agreed to do this. It’s something I’ve been agonizing over since Ransom conned me into being his date last night. I almost backed out numerous times. He still hasn’t provided me with his number, but I have Rebel’s. Unfortunately, every time I took out the business card that he left me and picked up the phone to call, I chickened out. So, here I am.

The Scott estate is stunning. Two stories with a large peaked roof, deep front porch decorated with colorful hanging baskets, and white wooden rocking chairs. Rich hunter green shutters surround every window on this stately house that appears warm and inviting.

It sits on River Road, a location known for its historic—and pricey—homes. The neighborhood is comprised primarily of lawyers, doctors, business owners, and the like. In other words, this is where the wealthy dwell.

I came alone, unwilling to get trapped here if I find a need to make a speedy exit. It’s the best decision I’ve made yet. As I walk up the flagstone path, Ransom steps out onto the porch. His smile is wide as he takes me in, and I paste on a friendly smile of my own, though barely.

I’ve never met anyone’s parents before. Keeping my relationships superficial has afforded me the ability to maintain a certain level of distance from people. Annie is different, though. Like me, she’s alone in the world, though hers is a self-imposed solidarity.

This situation is entirely new to me, and highly uncomfortable. I’ve gone through great pains putting myself together today in order to look the part of a nice, wholesome woman instead of a girl who takes her clothes off for a living. Thankfully, with school being nearly over, I won’t have to worry about that much longer.