Chapter 18
Katie
And this was why I didn’t want to start dating again.
People made out it was about sex, about attraction, about fun, but I knew. As I sped down the highway, trying to put as much distance between me and the three of them, I was forced to confront what it really was.
Hope.
Hope that you’d find the other half of your heart. Hope you’d find someone kind, loving, sweet. Hope you’d find that one person who’d be by your side as the world went to hell. I hadn’t felt like that with Dave, and honestly, I was beginning to think I never would. Three guys sharing one woman… What in the freaking reverse harem—? My train of thought was abruptly caught off by the sound of my phone ringing. I’d texted Mandie the basics before I set off and figured it’d have to be her now. I tapped the button on the steering wheel to answer the phone hands free and said, “Bloody hell, you’ll never guess what happened.”
“What’s that, dear?”
Shit, it was Marg, the shelter manager, not Mandie.
“Um… that Bronson has a new home!” I kept my tone light and breezy. “I met all three guys…” And they made clear they have a really unusual relationship dynamic. “They seem perfect for Bronson. The house is nice, the yard secure…” I remembered the pet store visit now and knew that the dog would have everything he needed. “They’ve already invested a fair bit of money into getting everything he might need.” I sighed internally as I remembered Rhett’s promise to do everything he could to help Bronson. “I think he should go to them.”
“Well, I’ll let them know. Thanks so much for doing the home visit, doll.”
“Cool.” My throat was closing up and I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. “I won’t be in at the shelter for a week or so. I just need…”
I tried to explain, but I just couldn’t.
“He’s a special dog. I get it. You’ve always been the most amazing volunteer. Come back whenever you’re ready.”
She signed off then, but the minute the line was free, my phone rang again.
“What the freaking hell!” Mandie yelped down the phone. “The three hot guys all know each other and are polyamorous? Like I was joking before but?—”
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Downtown at the Burgher Bar. You should come by!”
“On my way,” I replied before ending the call.
Mandie hung out at fancy places I wouldn’t be seen dead in, but right now a few overpriced cocktails were definitely in order. I needed to dissect what the hell had just happened, stat, and she was the best person for the job.
“Oh my god…!” Mandie got to her feet when she caught sight of me, shimmying over in a gorgeous gold-sequined dress. “The hottie wrangler, ladies and gentleman.”
She was announcing that to the whole bar, but thankfully the music and din of everyone talking at once kept anyone from hearing her.
“Shut up!” I hissed, plonking my butt down in the spare seat she gestured to, only to be met by a barrage of curious looks.
“Girls, this is my fabulous sister, Katie. Kate, these are my girls, Natasha and Gwen.”
“So is it true that three hot guys just asked you to be in an exclusive harem relationship?” one girl asked.
“Ahh…” I held up a hand as a waiter walked past and put in my order for a double rum and Coke, stat.
“Polyamorous,” the other girl corrected. She was this freaking gorgeous plus size girl, lucky enough to have an hourglass shape rather than my more apple proportion. “One girl and three guys that are in a relationship with either just her or her and the other guys? That’s polyamory.”
“Well, terminology doesn’t really matter.”
The waiter obviously knew my sister, because he reappeared with a tray of drinks, putting them down before us. I grabbed mine and took a long, grateful sip. Hell, yes, that sweet burn of the rum was exactly what I needed.
“The drinks are from those gentlemen over there,” the waiter said, gesturing towards a table full of men in sharp suits.
“Oh, well—” Mandie started to say, but I just held up my drink and toasted them silently before turning back to the other ladies.
“I swore off dating and now I remember why.” I had their undivided attention and, for once, that wasn’t an uncomfortable thing. “Men are…”
Shit, I couldn’t finish that sentence, because a messy tangle of all the disappointments, all the awkward surprises, all the treachery was dragged up from the depths of me. I sucked in a breath, the noise of the club fading away. For a moment there was just me and my rapidly beating, aching heart.
I said I wasn’t ready to date, but part of me…? It was beyond flattered by the guys’ attention. I wanted it to be real, wanted to be the girl two, if not three, guys were clamouring after. I hadn’t let myself think too far ahead. My brain was too burnt out by Dave for that, but… A few more dates, a few more speeches like Rhett’s, and I might’ve been ready to try. Of course, nothing could be that simple, could it? I sucked in a breath, sitting up straight and ready to vent, when a masculine voice cut me off.
“Hello, ladies.”
He sounded smooth, confident. Nope. When I looked up, suit guy was obviously pretty damn cocky, sure of his appeal. He smiled at the entire table, blinding them with those perfect white teeth, though they disappeared when they came to me. Instead, I got some tight, close mouthed thing.
Great.
And of course, where there was one well-dressed man, there were others. The four of them stood at the periphery of our table with an expectant air. These were the guys that bought the drinks and so they were now here to get a return on their investment.
“I’m Hamish,” the first guy said. “This is Jack, Leo, and Oscar.”
The guys all shifted slightly, edging towards the woman they’d chosen before they arrived at the table.
All except him.
I wasn’t sure if he was Leo or Oscar. They weren’t really my focus and anyway, his uncomfortable expression made clear that he was strictly here on wingman duty. I turned back to my drink.
“Right, so, thanks for the drinks,” Mandie said, lifting hers, “but?—”
“I’ve seen you somewhere before.” Hamish shifted closer. “Are you in modelling or work for the media?”
“Um, no?—”
“Oh my god, she’s just being modest,” Mandie’s friend who I think was named Gwen said. “She’s a fitness model. Mandie just won a TikTok award for her channel.”
“Yes, of course!” Hamish grinned. “I admit I watch your videos over my morning coffee, not in the gym, but damn, you lift heavy for a tiny little thing like you. Maybe you could look over my routine and see what I could be doing to increase my gains?”
“Sure.” Mandie looked flustered, then pulled out her phone. “I mean I do a bit of PT work, so maybe I could help. If you give me your number, I could touch base with you at some point about a training session.”
Hamish’s smile turned feline as he took the phone. I’m not sure how he got the numbers tapped in, because his attention was entirely trained on Mandie.
“So are you a trainer as well?”
I turned around, thinking who the hell would ask me that, only to find that Jack had sidled up to Gwen.
“No, I do mostly beauty regime stuff.”
“I can see that.” Jack was either inspecting her make up application closely, or he was interested in getting to know her more. “You’re gorgeous.” Gwen’s cheeks flushed as she smiled shyly. “Some girls think they need to trowel on the makeup, but you really let your natural beauty shine through.”
Did he see the way her smile faltered? Was that deliberate? It felt like her light dimmed slightly, which was freaking weird. She was stunningly beautiful and I could see why people would want to watch her beauty videos, because hey, maybe if you knew some of her secrets, you might end up looking half as good.
“And what about you, babe?” Natasha looked up with a slight frown as the leering guy shifted closer. “Are you an influencer too?” She opened her mouth to answer, but he kept talking. “Food blogger! Am I right?”
“No, I’m a fitness model as well.” His involuntary scoff was in line with how I expected him to respond, yet somehow it was still shocking to hear. One of Natasha’s perfectly manicured brows rose in response. “Mandie and I do a lot of collabs.”
“Oh, right, of course. I mean your body is a temple, right? And yours…” He raked his eyes over her curves. “Well, I’d get down on my knees, praying for a chance to enter it.”
It was now I remembered why I never accepted Mandie’s invitations to come out with her. The guys didn’t know any of us from Adam and were just shooting their shots, but… Did they have to be so freaking gross about it? I looked up at the hapless guy who had been assigned to me, saw he was scrupulously avoiding eye contact.
“And what about you?” I asked, because his answer would determine what I did next. “What do you do…?”
“Finance.” I got a tight smile, a brief look, before he turned back to his friends.
Yeah, I wasn’t doing this. The old Katie would’ve sat there in uncomfortable silence, not wanting to make waves, but I was done with that crap. I grabbed my phone off the table and slipped from the chair.
“Mandie—”
I was about to tell her that I was leaving, when my sister stopped all the conversations cold.
“Look, thanks for the drinks and everything, but we’re in the middle of something right now.” Her tone was perfectly pleasant and yet still the men frowned at being brushed off. “My sister is having a romantic emergency.” Shit, now the guys were all looking at me and none of that attention was friendly. “And she came here to debrief. So, in accordance with the girl code, we have to drop everything and talk about how men are pigs. Pretty sure you’re not down with that.”
“Right.” Hamish’s tone had cooled considerably, but he forced himself to smile and nod. “Well, you’ve got my number…”
“Yes, yes I do,” she said, holding her phone up with a smile that she kept plastered on her face as she watched the guys amble back to their table, but as soon as their backs were turned, she opened her phone and deleted it instantly.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I told her.
“Yes, we did.” Gwen shuddered. “Those guys were slime.” She took a sip of her drink. “Good taste in cocktails, but still, not enough to make me want to chat to them.”
“And the line about the temple, Nat?” Mandie cackled. “How the hell did he think that was going to go?”
“They’re idiots,” Natasha agreed, before turning back to me. She had stunning hazel eyes that were almost green and they felt like lasers right now. “But we aren’t talking about those idiots. We’re talking about yours. So no one should be ambushed by polyamory. Did the guys give you any indication they were part of the community before this?”
I took a sip of my drink, shook my head and then told them everything.