I hesitated for a moment, but then slowly nodded. I did know what I wanted. It felt impossible, but maybe it actually wasn’t.
“Then ask for it. You’re not gonna scare us away.” His thumb smoothed up the curve of my cheek as I closed my eyes. “Evie, you’ve already expressed what you want to Nick and I. And you know what? It’s something I want too. I really like Nick. I need to spend more time with him, getting to know him, but when the three of us are together—everything feels right. This week has been so easy, even with everything bad that’s happened. Now, breathe with me.”
He pulled me into his arms. I pressed my head against his chest, listening to his breaths. Every muscle in my body relaxed and that tight grip of anxiety slowly loosened. I could think a little clearer now.
Matthew was right. IknewAustin.
“Okay,” I murmured. “Thank you.”
He kissed my forehead. “Do you know how excited I am that you want to drink water right now?”
A laugh jolted me. “Okay, well, just know it’s not the norm.”
Matthew smiled and led me to the kitchen. We poured four glasses, each carrying two to the living room.
Austin and Nick were seated as far apart from each other on my couch as possible. It was almost comical. Matthew put the glasses on the coffee table and plopped down in the middle.
And now the three of them were looking at me.
I felt like I was on a stage. My hands were clammy. My neck had a twinge from sleeping weirdly in the chair at the ER. It’d been alongday. It didn’t help that the three of them were so handsome, and each in completely different ways.
Austin had a beard coming in that was short and looked really damn good. His brown eyes were full of worry, his cheeks flushed red. He was either sunburned or he was blushing from head to toe, his skin was warm and pink. He was in a T-shirt thathugged every muscle and dark-wash jeans that hung at his waist when he was standing.
Then there was Matthew. Even after a long shift at the hospital, he was sexy and smiling at me. Behind his glasses, his gaze warmed me, kind and patient. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, revealing a few dark curls of chest hair against his dark brown skin. His shoulders were a little broader than Austin’s, and his slacks hugged his thighs in a way that made my thoughts go haywire.
And last, but certainly not least, was Nick. Despite being in the hospital, he was devastatingly handsome. He wore a turquoise T-shirt and jeans. All his tattoos were bright along his tan arms, and I was slowly memorizing every single one of them. Piercings gleamed along his ear, his gaze pinned on me.
Three devastatingly hot men who wanted me.
All waiting for me to say something.
Austin started to get up but Matthew grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. “Nope. Not running away.”
His knee bounced up and down nervously.
I knotted my hands together. “Okay, I’ll start. Austin—I’m so sorry. Earlier when I saw Nick on the ground, I overheard that man talking, and I jumped to the worst conclusion. I know you’d never harm someone on purpose, and it wasn’t fair of me to think that about you, even if I knew it wasn’t true. And I shouldn’t have said what I did to you.”
“It’s okay, Evie. I’m sorry too,” he said immediately. “To you and to Nick. I kind of bombarded you this morning at the bakery, and I wasn’t in the right headspace to be up on a roof after. Especially one that wasn’t safe to be on. Nick, I’m sorry you fell. I should have told you why I didn’t want you to come up to help instead of just yelling.”
“It’s okay. I egged you on.” Nick leaned forward so he could look at Austin. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you earlier and thatI was rude. But . . . why the fuck was everything so loose? You could have fallen too. I’m shocked you didn’t.”
“I fucked up,” he said softly. “I didn’t nail them in the way I should have. Mateo said something to me about it last week and I never fixed it.”
An awkward silence settled over the room, and all my anxiety melted into concern. “But why wouldn’t you be worried about yourself?”
He wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Austin,” I pleaded.
“I’ve been too busy. I tend to overlook stuff when it just involves me.”
Nick made a sound in his throat, his expression hardening. “I can’t argue with you if you’re in a full-body cast, you know. Or worse, dead. Graves aren’t exactly the best to argue with.”
“Don’t I know it,” Austin mumbled. “Fuck off, Nick.”
His words didn’t hold any heat and it only made Nick smirk. Austin shot him a dirty look. He still didn’t like Nick, but . . . as long as they could tolerate being in the same room together, maybe it didn’t matter.
“Balance restored,” Nick said, satisfied as he leaned back into the couch. “Now that we’ve apologized to each other, what else, Evie? I know there’s more.”