Three Grumpy Groomsmen

17. Ford

CHAPTER 17

Ford

I have no idea what I’m feeling as I make the drive to Harrison’s.

I didn’t need to be at the restaurant tonight. It was an attempt to distract myself from thinking about the very people I’m now driving to meet. So that was a huge waste of time.

I think the staff were actually happy when I told them I was leaving. I know our night manager was getting sick of me.

I’ll admit I was hovering. Over the reservations up front, over the wait staff, over the kitchen. I was making unnecessary changes and confusing everyone, and Lucille had suggested nicely that maybe I could find something to do in my office. Then she’d suggested much less nicely that the olives needed to be counted. One by one. All of the olives.

I didn’t inventory the olives. Obviously. But she made her point.

When Harrison called I was actually doing dishes. The two high school boys who were on dish duty tonight had been shocked when I’d told them to take a break, with permission to eat oysters, grilled asparagus and French bread, and that I’d do dishes for the next hour. But they’d quickly taken me up on it.

And scrubbing the pots and pans had definitely let me work off a little tension. And had kept me out of the staff’s way. And kept me from going home and moping around.

It hadn’t, however, kept me from thinking about Ivy and Liam.

I park in Harrison’s driveway and stare at Ivy’s car.

I’m the last one to arrive.

I should go back to Raw.

They have a reason and I’m convinced it will result in all of us very naked and very happy.

Harrison’s words come back to me.

Ivy and Liam are here for a reason. This isn’t just a social call. And they’re not here to rub their new relationship in our faces. They wouldn’t do that. They’re good people. Very good people.

That’s why Harrison and I have fallen in love with them.

I sigh and shut my car off. I’m going in. For better or worse.

I let myself in through the front door and kick off my shoes and shed my jacket, tossing it over the coat tree. Then I follow the sounds of their voices to the kitchen.

My gaze lands on Ivy as soon as I step into the room. Like a fucking magnet.

She looks gorgeous. She’s in a pink top with straps that leaves her shoulders bare and white shorts with sandals. Her long blonde hair is up in a twisted ponytail thing. And she’s glowing.

Because she’s in love.

And being well fucked by the man standing right next to her with his hand resting on her hip.

I suck in a deep breath, then step into the room.

Ivy seems to sense me and her gaze meets mine immediately. She straightens and her pretty smile fades.

Harrison is the first one to speak to me, though.

“Ford!”

“Hey.”

“How’s Raw?”

“Fine.” I haven’t looked away from Ivy. “We have plenty of olives.”

“O-k-a-y,” Harrison says slowly. Then he turns to the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of wine. He pours a glass and brings it to me. “You need to relax,” he tells me in a low voice.

“Do I?”

“Yes. The woman you’re in love with is right there. That’s a good thing. Relax.” He presses the glass into my hand.

I tip it back, gulping half of it down in one drink.

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah. Just like that. I said relax, not get drunk.”

I blow out a breath and step past him to walk the rest of the way into the kitchen.

I face Ivy across the wide marble-topped center island.

And Liam. He’s right there, beside her. He’s a part of this. He’s her boyfriend. Apparently. Okay, then. Let’s see why they’re here.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hi.”

Her voice saying one word punches me in the gut.

I’ve missed her. It hasn’t even been forty-eight hours, but I’ve missed her so fucking much. I know it’s not the actual time we’ve been apart, but the fact that I’ve felt like I’ve lost her.

I’ve felt it before. The times I’ve left her behind with Brad. But this is so much worse. Because for a while I thought she could be mine. For a brief while, she was mine. For those hot, amazing moments in my bed two nights ago.

“Are you together?” I ask.

She wets her lips, then nods. “Yes.”

“ Together? ” I press.

“Yes. We’re having sex,” she says.

“And we’re in love,” Liam interjects.

She nods. “Right. Yes, of course.” She looks from him to me, then to Harrison. “We’re in love. And having sex.”

I really didn’t need to have that repeated. “So why are you here?” I ask. Bluntly. But this is a blunt sort of situation.

She takes a deep breath. Then Liam nudges her forward. She rounds the island and stops directly in front of me. “We’re here because I want you too.”

“And I want Harrison,” Liam says.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harrison straighten. His gaze is locked on Liam.

“What?” Harrison’s voice is gruff.

My best friend is charming, funny, and usually articulate.

The fact that Liam can knock him off his game like this is always amusing to me.

I actually feel myself smile.

“That’s not a surprise to you,” Liam says. “Jesus, Harrison.”

“That you want me? No.” Harrison takes a step toward Liam. “But that you would make a declaration about it in front of your girlfriend, yeah. A little.”

Liam gives a short laugh. “My girlfriend probably realized how I felt about you before I did.”

“And how’s that?” Harrison asks.

I brace myself for some reason. This moment feels big.

“I’m falling in love with you,” Liam says simply.

I finally pull my eyes from Ivy to look at my friend. He’s staring at Liam as if the other man had just slapped him across the face.

“Well, say something,” Liam tells him. “Fuck, you never shut up when I want you to and now you’ve got nothing?”

“You’re falling in love with me?” Harrison asks.

Liam frowns. “Yes.”

“You haven’t already fallen in love with me?”

“Why? Because people just can’t help but fall in love with you?”

“No, because…fuck. We’ve been doing this for a year, Liam. You know me. It probably won’t get better than this. So if you haven’t fallen by now, it’s not going to happen.”

I can’t read Harrison’s expression. He looks frustrated. Or sad. Or something I’ve never seen on his face before—defeated. My friend never looks defeated. Harrison never believes he’s down and out.

Liam frowns and takes a step forward. “I mean…I’ve just realized this. You ghosted me, remember? So we really haven’t been doing anything for a year but avoid each other when our paths have crossed until this week. You’re a huge pain in my ass, Harrison. You live half-way across the country. You don’t take anything seriously, especially relationships. So, telling you this is a huge risk. But yes, I’m falling in love with you. Despite everything.”

Harrison folds his arms. “And you feel like you can say this now because you have Ivy to fall back on? Like it’s safe to put yourself out there for me, because you’re going home with a gorgeous, sweet, sassy, amazing woman no matter what I say or do?”

Ivy looks from me to Liam to Harrison. “Um, thank you?”

But Harrison just gives her a little nod and then turns right back to Liam. “Tell me, Liam. Is she why you’re telling me this now?”

Liam draws himself up taller. “I guess maybe so. She’s opened me up. Made me realize that I can’t wait around and keep everything bottled up anymore because I could miss out on the opportunity to tell the people how I feel and they might fucking walk down an aisle and say ‘I do’ to someone else because I was chicken.”

“Well, I guess I’m the better man then,” Harrison says.

“How so?” Liam asks, also crossing his arms.

“Because I’m willing to see you, date you, fuck you, whatever, and I don’t have anyone else waiting in my bed to make me feel more secure about the risk of rejection.”

“Now. What about a year ago? How fucking willing were you then?”

Ivy moves closer to me. “Are they fighting about falling in love with each other?” she whispers.

I can’t help it, I laugh. “Of course they are.” They can’t even do this without annoying each other.

“Oh my God,” she says. “Sex with them is going to be wild, isn’t it?”

I feel shock and lust pound through me. I take her upper arms and turn her to face me. “ What ?”

She sucks in a breath, but then nods. “Yeah. I, well, we, think we should all…be together. We have all these feelings, all of this , going on between all of us and Liam and I want both you and Harrison. We all need to be together and get it out of our system, and get some closure. We didn’t like how things ended.”

Out of our system .

Right. Because she and Liam are together for the long haul. But they have feelings for us, and there’s unfinished business here.

“Out of our systems in bed?” I ask, needing to know exactly what she’s saying.

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“While we’re in town. However long it takes for me to sell the house,” she says. “And…” She glances at Liam. “If you guys want to see us when you come to L.A., we’d love that.”

“So an ongoing friends-with-benefits, fuck-buddies kind of thing?”

She doesn’t look happy . She’s chewing on the inside of her cheek. But she nods.

I blow out a breath.

Fuck. I’m in love with her and she wants me to fuck around with her and her boyfriend, the man she’s probably going to marry.

But…I guess that’s a step-up from her marrying Brad, and me never, ever having the chance to kiss her, hold her, make her laugh, make her come.

“I’m in,” I say.

She looks surprised. But then she smiles. “Oh. Okay. Good.”

“Let’s go,” Liam says. He starts out of the kitchen. Then he stops in the doorway. Sighs. Then turns back. He glares at Harrison. “I don’t know the way to the bedroom.”

Harrison growls, but stomps across the floor. He shoves Liam in the direction of the bedroom. “Come on.”

I start in that direction as well, but realize Ivy is hanging back. I turn to her. “You okay?”

“I um…” She sighs. “Sex with Liam and Harrison sounds really hot, but…should we wear helmets or football pads or something? It suddenly seems dangerous to get between them.”

And that makes the tightness in my chest loosen slightly. I grin and extend my hand. “I’ll keep you safe.”

She hesitates, but then gives me a smile and takes my hand. “Well…not too safe. I don’t mind things a little rough.”

Which makes me growl, then bend and throw her over my shoulder and head in the direction of Harrison’s bedroom.