chapter 24

WhenIcamein the next morning, Kara’s face was barely being held together with all the nosiness she was experiencing. She looked demented when she passed Hank off to Tyler and dragged me up to my room.

“He’s coming to work with me today!”

Tyler grumbled and continued eating his pancakes.

“Tell me everything. Right now. Why did two of the Steele brothers show up to pick you up? What happened? I can’t believe you spent the night with them. What’d you do? Where’d Hank sleep?”

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Breathe, woman!”

She followed me into the bathroom as I turned on the hot water and started undressing. “I need to know what is going on with you. Is it Isaac you’re with? Or Blake? Or…both?”

I stripped down to my birthday suit, used to being forced into getting ready in front of her. “Kara—”

“Oh, my god!” She leaned into me and started poking and prodding different spots. “You have hickeys! You little slut!”

I slapped her hands away, embarrassed at her teasing. “Shut up. Don’t touch my boobs!”

She poked it again and threw her head back, laughing. “You had sex. And a lot of it, from the looks of things.”

“Get out. You’re banned from my bathroom!” I pushed her out, all while she was still poking at my body and laughing. When I got her past the threshold, I closed the door and locked it. “You can’t get gossip until you learn personal boundaries!”

When I was clean and dressed, I found Tyler playing with Hank in the living room. He looked up at me and laughed. “Your sister is about to explode with curiosity. She left for work with two different shoes on, she was so distracted.”

“You didn’t tell her, did you?”

He snorted. “Hell no. I just want to watch the world burn.”

I laughed and grabbed a banana to shove down before grabbing Hank and getting everything ready to take him to work with me. By the time I got to work, I was the last one in the building, it seemed. Hannah was already in her chair, next to Julian, talking about who knew what, Blake was leaning against my desk, and Isaac was sitting in my chair.

They all looked up at me, and I had to take a step back at having all of them focused on me so early. “What? I’m not late.”

Blake laughed and came over to take Hank from me. “You’re not late. We were thinking of ordering breakfast in today. Want something?”

I thought of the banana I’d eaten and slowly nodded. “Donuts.”

Isaac pulled me in for a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Dates in the morning count as dating, too.”

I found myself smiling and pushing him away. “Just bring me donuts and we can talk about the rest later.”

Hannah was already taking Hank into her arms. He seemed enamored by the color of her hair and wasted no time in trying to grab it. “Oh, my god. I had no clue you were hiding the cutest baby ever from me.”

“I’ll be back with breakfast.” Isaac patted my ass as he walked by, his eyes heated. “I like this dress.”

Blake’s phone rang and he cupped my chin in his hand before pressing a kiss to my mouth and backing away. “Be right back.”

Hannah was already on the floor with Hank, entertaining him by making all kinds of sounds and motions. He seemed like he was in heaven with his new favorite show.

That left Julian. He watched me quietly as I put my bags down and sank into my chair. I powered up my computer and then slowly looked back at him, finding him still watching me.

“Why do I feel like I failed some kind of Julian test already?”

He stretched out in his chair, his long legs invading my space. “No tests or failures. I’m just thinking.”

I took my foot and pushed his foot out of my way. “Why does that seem scarier than a test?”

“You look different.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “If you’re about to tell me that I’m chunkier than I was back then, I’ll send you through this window.”

He pulled his chair closer and shook his head. “You know you’re just as beautiful now as you were then. Maybe even prettier. You just look different. There’s a softness to you that wasn’t there before.”

“So, it is about my weight?”

He laughed and scooted away again. “Not even a little bit.”

I looked over at Hannah and Hank and then back to Julian. “I’m sorry if this is awkward for you.”

He gave me a panty-melting smile that packed enough of a punch that I felt it in the eggs forming in my uterus. “Not awkward at all.”

Flustered, I turned back to my computer and bit back a groan when it took me multiple times to get logged in. My brain short-circuited and I was caught in a moment of panic, wondering if I should just open a game of Hearts.

“What made you move here?”

I glanced back at Julian and bit my lip. “Not you, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

He laughed. “It’s just a question, Red.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I came to be closer to my sister.”

“How’d you end up here? In this office?”

“Kara, my sister, told me about it.” I turned to face him completely and watched as he looked away from my legs. “Is this my second job interview?”

He stared at me for a while before sighing and shifting back to his corner. “Nope. Just making small talk.”

“You suck at small talk.”

He chuckled and shrugged. “Don’t like it much, to tell you the truth. Don’t do it a lot, either.”

“Julie lives in a cabin on the mountain, all alone.” Hannah made a face like she hadn’t meant to reveal she’d been listening in.

I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. “Julie?”

Scowl firmly back in place, Julian stood up and pointed at Hannah. “You’re a traitor. That’s a secret name.”

“Aw, Julie, don’t be like that.” I caught his wrist the same way he had mine the night before. “No need to run from a sweet little name.”

His forefinger lightly stroked my hand as he looked down at me. “I’m not running, Red. Just grabbing a coffee. Want something?”

It felt like a trap, but coffee sounded good. “A coffee would be amazing.”

“Say please.”

Instantly, I was taken back to his truck and having to beg him to fuck me. My face heated and I bit my tongue hard to stop from just giving into him. What was wrong with me? I met his gaze and saw the hunger there, so clear and strong. Was he thinking about the same thing? Did he remember?

I bit my lip and retreated. I couldn’t afford to get involved with him. It was dangerous enough that I was around him with Hank at all. “I’ll just get it myself.”

He braced his hand in front of me on my desk and leaned down until he could whisper into my ear. “That’s too bad. I really liked the way you beg.”

I shoved away from my desk, the wheels on my chair sending me sliding into the desk behind me. I popped out of my chair and retreated even farther from Julian. He was dangerous. Just like with his brothers, there was an animal magnetism that drew me in, but I couldn’t afford to take the chance with him. I couldn’t afford to take the chance with any of them.

“Suit yourself.” He backed away and looked down at Hannah. “Coffee, Han?”

“Sure, I’ll—”

“Get it yourself, traitor.” With the teasing laugh only a cousin could hit another cousin with, he walked off to the kitchen and left the air in the room a little cooler.

“Julie seems to like you.” Hannah looked back at me and smiled. “They all do. I haven’t seen Isaac show up here in forever.”

I pulled my chair back to my desk and sank into it, feeling heavier than I did before I knew Julian remembered juicy details from our time together. “I don’t date.”

Laughing, Hannah kept right on playing with Hank. “Sure. It’s just that my mom’s house sits close enough to the front drive of the ranch that we pretty much see everyone coming and going.”

My face paled. “What?”

“Relax, Mallory. Everyone knows the triplets do things a little differently. Plus, you’re a modern woman. If anyone judges you, they’re assholes. A woman is allowed to do with her body whatever she wants.”

“What do you mean everyone knows?”

“The triplets have lived in this town since they were born. They’ve done everything here. People notice things. Like how they sometimes act like one man, instead of three. Although, it’s been a long time since that’s happened, according to my mom.”

“Everyone knows?”

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal.”

Not a big deal. “Everyone in your family?”

“Everyone in town, Mallory. That’s why it’s not a big deal. The triplets just live a little differently than most people. My mom said that if anyone ever judges them, there’s a whole line of people here willing to vouch for them. And do some ass-kicking.”

Everyone in town knew that I was having sex with multiple men at once. Is that what she was saying? Did my sister? Did Tyler and the kids? Did Berna at the diner? I was going to have a heart attack, I was pretty sure. Everyone knew.