“He’s my friend,” Tyler continued, his voice a low rasp. “But more than a friend.”

“Yes.” She knew that. She studied his face, could see he was trying to figure it out even as he tried to explain it to her.

“But I always figured one day maybe I’d meet someone…a woman, you know. Get married, have kids. That’s how I see my life.”

She swallowed through a tight, dry throat and nodded.

“I don’t think Nick sees his life like that,” he said, the words sounding dragged out of him. “And now, when I’m kind of feeling like maybe I have met that woman…”

Her heart stuttered in her chest then raced crazily as he held her gaze.

“I have this crazy sick feeling in my gut. Because…dammit…” He closed his eyes again, his mouth a hard line in his face. “I care about him. He’s stuck with me through everything. He doesn’t take any shit from me. And he loves me anyway. And I don’t want to lose him.” His eyes opened, and she saw the realization there. “Fuck. I do love him.”

She nodded, her mind spinning, her heart thudding painfully.

“That’s not something every woman would get,” Tyler continued, reaching out to touch her cheek. “It’s not something every woman would put up with. Or could handle.”

What was he saying? Was he asking her to handle it? Was he saying he wanted them both in his life?

She took a breath. “There’s something you should know.”

He lifted his eyebrows.

“Ever since you and Nick left Mapleglen, he and I have sort of kept in touch.”

His eyebrows pulled down. “What do you mean ‘sort of kept in touch’?”

She bit her lip briefly. “We’ve emailed back and forth a few times. Not a lot. Just keeping in touch.”

His frown deepened. “Why?”

She stroked a finger over one thick, gold eyebrow, then stroked her fingers through his silky hair. “Because he’s a friend. I…I’ve always liked Nick.” Her stomach tightened and she swallowed. “I came here to see you, but I came to see him too. After that night, I’m having just as hard a time as you figuring this all out. I care about Nick too.”

He stared at her. Then he said, “Why didn’t Nick tell me that?”

“That we’d kept in touch? Because I asked him not to.”

Tyler sat there for a moment then said, “I should be pissed at him for that. But damn. He’s a good guy.”

“Yes. He is.” She held his gaze. “I know he…he said he wanted me. That night. And I know he loves you. But I guess I don’t really know how he feels about me. This. Us.” She waved a hand. “It’s kind of crazy.”

His eyelids drooped, his lips pursed. “Yeah,” he said heavily. “It is. I know.”

“D’you think Nick would go for it?”

His eyes flew open again. He stared at her searchingly. “Are you willing to go for it?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Then I guess we’d better ask him.” He smiled as he repeated her words. “Just so you know, we haven’t been getting along that great this week. He’s pissed at me, and I can only think that it’s because of how I treated you.”

She nodded, her breath coming in choppy bursts, her heart pattering.

Tyler threw back the covers and swung his long legs off the bed. He reached for a pair of jeans hanging over a chair and stepped into them. She sat on the side of the bed, watching him. Despite her confusion and anxiety, it was impossible not be affected by the sight of his beautiful body, his thighs strong as he stood on one leg, then the other, his soft penis still impressive and beautiful in its thick nest of dark gold curls, his long muscles rippling under golden skin as he zipped up, the jeans riding low on his lean hips.

He held out a hand to her and she rose, looked around for something to put on. She grabbed the gray dress shirt she’d peeled Tyler out of earlier and pushed her arms into it. On her, it was voluminous and she fastened only a couple of buttons with shaky fingers, rolled up the sleeves then took Tyler’s hand. She followed him out of the bedroom. He turned left in the hall and took a few long steps to the door just down the hall—Nick’s bedroom?

He knocked on the closed door but didn’t wait to be invited to enter, just opened the door and walked in, pulling Kaelin along behind him. Her tummy felt quivery, her lungs tight.

“Hey,” Tyler said. Nick leaned against the wall, standing in front of the window, his room overlooking the street out front. His head snapped around as they walked in. He straightened.

“What’s up?” he asked, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. “Hey, Kaelin.” He smiled at her and she gave him a shaky smile back. He lifted one eyebrow. “Didn’t know you were coming.”

“Neither did I,” she confessed, and his smile went crooked.

“You okay?”

“Mmmm. Maybe.”

He lowered his chin, cast a glance at Tyler.

“We need to talk, buddy,” Tyler said. “This isn’t going to be easy.”

Nick held up a hand. “Hey. No worries. I could see you two worked things out, I guess. I’m glad.” He nodded.

“Yeah.” Tyler pulled Kaelin further into the room, tucked her into his arms in front of him. “I’m not sure if we’ve worked things out. Not everything. We talked. I apologized.”

Nick nodded slowly. “Good.”

“The thing is…” Tyler’s voice cracked. He lifted a hand to rub his face and Kaelin peeked over her shoulder at him. Her heart full and aching for both of them, she only wanted to make things right for them. Tension thickened around them, and Nick’s throat worked as he swallowed.

“I said, no worries.” Nick gave them a thin smile. “You don’t need to explain it to me, man.” His expression gentled. “I’ve always known how you felt about Kaelin. I’ve always known how she felt about you. If anything good came out of that screwed-up family wedding, it’s you two being together. I’m happy for you.”

Tyler gave a short laugh. “Yeah, you are so right about that.” He paused. “But…”

Nick turned away then, and moved to the old oak dresser in the corner. “So,” he said, his back toward them. “What’s gonna happen? Kaelin, you moving to Chicago?”

“We haven’t thought that far ahead.” With another glance at Tyler over her shoulder, she released herself from his arms and moved toward Nick. She touched his back. He didn’t turn, just bent his head. “Nick.” She rubbed up and down. “Oh, Nick.”

“Don’t fucking feel sorry for me,” he said in a low, tight voice, head still down. “I’m fine.”

“I know. I don’t feel sorry for you.” She spoke in a low voice too. “Nick. I know you love him. I think I-I love him too.” Her nerves stretched like rubber bands, she willed her shaky voice to be steady. “But I also care about you.”

He nodded stiffly. “Kaelin. You know I care about you too.”

Tyler moved up to them then, to stand behind Nick. He slid his arms around Nick and rested his head against Nick’s. Nick went very still, his fingers gripping the edge of the dresser, still looking down at it.

“What you said that day,” Tyler said. “When we were in Mapleglen and you said it was insulting to you that I thought Kaelin was too good for me, but you weren’t…I’ve been thinking about that.” Tyler paused. “You probably are too good for me. And I want you to know how much that means to me that you care about me. Nick. I’ve never told you this.” His voice came out thick. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“What are you saying?” Nick asked after a long moment of dense silence.

“He’s saying, we don’t want to lose you,” Kaelin said. She rested her hand on his taut forearm. “I’m confused, too, Nick. This is the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me. I want two men. Me. The good girl. I don’t know what happened to me last weekend, but for some reason this just all feels like this is the way it should be. The three of us. “

Nick groaned and still didn’t move. Tyler’s hand rubbed over his chest. “Jesus,” Nick said. He turned his head and met Kaelin’s eyes. “Are you sure, Kaelin? A lot of people would think that’s really fucked up.”