Chapter 31 Olivia
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Olivia
I’ve spent the last three days convincing myself that what happened was a one-time-only thing.
A fluke. A wild, earth-shattering, nobody-talks-about-it-in-public kind of mistake that people like me don’t actually get to repeat.
And sure, maybe I’ve replayed it in my head more times than I should’ve.
Maybe I can still feel Jesse’s hands on me, or hear Karl’s laugh, or remember the way Leo looked at me as if I were the only person in the world who mattered. But that’s just memory being cruel. That’s not real life.
Real life is me, in a coffee truck, with caramel syrup stuck to my wrist and an espresso machine that makes a noise like a dying walrus every third latte.
Which is why, when all three of them show up at once, I almost drop the rag I’m holding.
Karl, Jesse, and Leo. Together. Walking toward me across the park like they’re auditioning for some broody small-town calendar shoot.
Karl’s got a bouquet. Jesse’s carrying that smirk I’ve come to associate with terrible decisions, and Leo, help me, Leo has an actual gift box with a ribbon on top.
My brain short-circuits.
“What are you doing here?” I blurt, immediately regretting how squeaky my voice sounds.
Karl sets the flowers down on my counter with a grin so wicked I know he’s enjoying every second of my confusion. “What’s it look like, sweetheart? We’re here for you.”
Jesse slides the box next to the flowers. “For starters.”
“And this,” Leo adds, placing a neat shopping bag down like he’s handing me a legal contract instead of… oh wait, is that silk?
I blink at the three of them. “You… brought me presents?”
Karl tips his head toward the bag. “Not just presents. An outfit. For tonight.”
“Tonight?” My stomach does an Olympic-level backflip. “What’s tonight?”
“Date night,” Jesse says, as casual as if he’s ordering a black coffee. “With us.”
I laugh, but it comes out a little strangled.
“Wait. A date? You’re serious? I thought the other night was just… you know.” I make a vague hand gesture that probably looks more like jazz hands than anything remotely explanatory. “Fun. Crazy. Done.”
Karl leans in across the counter, and I can smell his cologne, all spice and danger. “Sweetheart, that was the best damn night of our lives. You think we’d just let you walk away after that?”
Leo’s eyes soften, grounding me in a way that almost makes my knees buckle. “We want to see you properly, Olivia. Not just in the bedroom.”
“And tonight,” Jesse adds, smug and confident, “we start.”
I look between them, their flowers, their gifts, their ridiculous confidence, and my brain is screaming, 'This is insane.’
There are so many reasons we shouldn’t do this.
But my heart? My heart is already saying yes.
I swallow hard, trying for sarcasm but probably just sounding breathless. “Fine. But if there are heels in that bag, you’re carrying me.”
Karl winks. “Baby, you wear what’s in that bag, you’ll knock us dead no matter what’s on your feet.”
And damn it, I believe him.
Especially later, when I actually put the dress on.
Damn.
It’s deep green silk, hugging in all the right places, catching the light when I turn. My hair’s behaving for once, my lips are a shade darker than usual, and I look like… someone else. Someone who can step into a story and not apologize for being at its center.
When I step outside, Karl’s truck is waiting. He whistles low when he sees me, and Jesse mutters something similar to “holy hell,” while Leo… smiles like he’s been waiting his whole life to look at me like this.
“Okay,” I say, trying for casual. “Where are we going?”
“Out of town,” Karl says, turning the ignition.
He’s grinning like he knows a secret.
My stomach flips. Out of town. Which means no Ivy. No watchful eyes. Just… us.
The drive feels longer than it probably is, filled with Karl’s music, Jesse’s snarky comments, and Leo’s steady calm at my side. When we finally pull up, I gasp.
The restaurant might as well be a Christmas movie. Twinkling lights strung across frosted windows, wreaths hanging on the doors, a golden glow spilling out every time someone enters or exits.
It’s elegant but cozy, the kind of place people book for anniversaries and engagements, not… whatever this is.
Inside, it’s warm and fragrant with the scent of rosemary and butter, accompanied by a jazz trio playing softly in the corner.
The hostess doesn’t even blink at me walking in flanked by three men; she smiles and leads us to a corner booth tucked away from the main room. Private. Intimate. Perfect.
Karl slides in first, Jesse next to him, leaving me in the middle with Leo at my other side. It’s dizzying to be so surrounded. I’m caught in a current I don’t want to escape.
Menus are handed out, but nobody’s really looking.
Karl keeps cracking jokes about the wine list, “Any bottle under three digits is basically grape juice”, Jesse teases the waiter as we order like he’s known him forever.
Leo leans in close to explain the specials in that low voice of his, like I can’t read the menu myself.
I’m laughing too much and smiling too hard. My cheeks ache in the best way.
The food comes. Pasta tangled with fresh herbs, bread that melts on my tongue, wine that’s smooth enough to make me wonder if Karl was right about the price tag. But it isn’t the food that makes the night feel magical. It’s them.
The way Jesse brushes his hand against mine when he passes the breadbasket.
The way Karl leans in to whisper some ridiculous story makes me choke on my wine.
The way Leo looks at me when I laugh, smiling to himself.
For the first time in weeks, maybe months, I feel… light. The shadows of everything, the fire, the work stress, the constant weight of pretending I’m fine, can’t reach me here.
And as the night winds down, I catch sight of our reflections in the window: me, caught between three men who shouldn’t make sense together, but somehow do.
It’s insane. Reckless. Impossible.
But when Karl toasts “to the start of something unforgettable,” and Jesse winks like he knows exactly what he’s doing, and Leo’s hand rests steady on mine under the table…
I don’t want it to end…
The night air nips at my skin when we step outside, colder than I expected, but before I can shiver, Jesse’s already draping his coat over my shoulders.
“Can’t have you freezing in that dress,” he says with a smirk, but there’s a softness underneath it, like he’d give me the shirt off his back if I asked.
Karl’s already jingling his keys, practically bouncing on his heels, buzzing with the kind of energy that comes after a good night out. Leo, on the other hand, just takes my hand gently. His palm is warm, steady, anchoring me against the chill.
The ride home is quieter than the drive out. The radio hums with some low country ballad, the kind that makes your chest ache if you listen too hard. Karl’s drumming on the steering wheel, Jesse’s leaning back with his eyes half closed, and Leo hasn’t let go of my hand.
Every so often, Karl glances at me in the rearview mirror and grins as if he knows precisely what’s spinning in my head.
Jesse cracks one eye open to toss in a snide comment when Karl misses an exit, and Leo squeezes my hand gently whenever the silence stretches too long, like he’s telling me without words: you’re not alone.
By the time we pull back into Coyote Glen, my cheeks ache from smiling, my heart is a tangled knot of nerves and hope, and I don’t even know how to say thank you without it sounding too small for what the night was.
Karl kills the engine, twisting in his seat to look at me with that lopsided grin. “Told you we’d knock you dead.”
Jesse leans forward. “And this is just the beginning, sweetheart.”
Leo’s eyes catch mine in the dark, steady and sure. “We’ll take our time. No rush.”
And between Karl’s grin, Jesse’s promise, and Leo’s quiet vow, I know I’m in trouble.
The best kind.
The porch light flickers when we step up to the door, like the universe whispering don’t do it, Olivia, danger ahead.
Do I listen? Absolutely not.
Karl unlocks the door, and the moment we’re inside, the air changes. The silk of my dress clings to my thighs as if it already knows it won’t survive the night. Karl spins around, his gaze devouring me whole.
“That dress should come with a warning label,” he growls, eyes dark and hungry. “Haven’t been able to think of a single thing except getting it off you.”
Heat curls low in my stomach.
Jesse tips his head, his smirk nothing short of sinful. “Pretty sure that was the point, wasn’t it? We chose it to ruin you in.”
“Mm.” Leo moans, but his eyes burn hotter than both of them. “You look incredible.”
And then he claims me. No warning, no hesitation. His mouth is fire against mine, demanding and consuming. My pulse stutters, then soars, butterflies turning into wild birds as his kiss rips the ground out from under me.
By the time he pulls back, Karl’s already behind me, teeth catching the silk strap of my dress. The scrape makes my knees weaken.
“Knew we should’ve picked something easier to take off,” he mutters, the strap sliding down my shoulder under his teeth.
Jesse’s laugh is wicked, low, promising. “That dress is a crime scene waiting to happen.”
Leo’s hand cups my jaw, tilting my face back to him. His kiss is slower now. He’s tethering me while Karl and Jesse circle, hungry wolves waiting to pounce.
My brain blanks. My body arches. I’m caught between three men who want me in three very different ways, and I want every single one of them.
Karl’s hands grip my waist, silk bunching in his fists. He’s reckless heat, all teeth and impatience. He’ll combust if he doesn’t have me now.
Jesse doesn’t touch. Not yet. He leans against the wall, arms folded, eyes glittering with the kind of anticipation that makes my skin prickle. He’s waiting for me to break, and he knows I will.