17. Brody
SEVENTEEN
“Are you planning to DP me?”
The thought of Hayden and me filling Bree at the same time, thrusting into her pussy and ass, feeling her warmth as our cocks slide in and out, rubbing against each other through her thin walls, has my dick swelling behind my pants.
I wipe the droplets of beer I spat from my chin and set my beer down to give Bree my full attention. When she said she wanted to talk, I had no idea this was what she wanted to talk about, but I’m definitely not complaining.
“Is that what you want?” Hayden asks, moving closer to Bree. Her eyes are wide, almost like she didn’t plan to ask that question, and she chews on the corner of her lip, trying to decide how to answer.
“I don’t really know what I want,” she says softly, her voice cracking like she’s nervous. “I’ve never done this before.” Her gaze flicks from Hayden to me. “All I know is that I really like you both, and I like dating you and getting to know you. I want to see where it goes since my kids are away and won’t be affected by any of it.
“I mean, for all we know, one or both of you can change your mind.” She shrugs like it’s not a big deal, but the way she frowns says the idea of one of us walking away would upset her, telling me she cares more than she’s leading on. She’s just scared and nervous to let us in, which is okay, because this is new, and we have plenty of time to chisel our way into her heart.
“We’re not going anywhere,” I tell her, confident enough that I can speak for Hayden, based on the conversations we’ve had about this recently, “but as a businessman, I know that actions speak louder than words, and it’s going to take time to prove how we feel.”
She nods in understanding, then clears her throat. “I think it would be good if we just see where things go, take it one day at a time, but, um…I was thinking…” Her neck and cheeks tinge pink, and I hold back my chuckle, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable since whatever she’s trying to say is probably sex-related. She proves me right when she finally finishes her sentence. “I think we should all get tested. I’m on birth control, and I haven’t had sex since my—since Pete passed away…” She trails off, her lips forming a slight frown at the mention of her late husband. “But if we’re all going to be sexually active, I want to make sure we’re safe…and…” She takes a deep breath, then releases it, her eyes descending. “If you change your mind, I would really appreciate it if you’d break up with me before you sleep with someone else.”
“Not happening,” Hayden says, “but I agree.”
“Same,” I add. “But we get it. Trust is earned over time.” I lean forward and squeeze her knee, and she looks up at me. “Don’t be embarrassed to talk to us. Neither of us has been in a relationship like this either. But we want to try because it’s worth it if it means we get to be with you.”
“Do you have any more questions?” Hayden asks.
“No, not right now, but I do have one thing I want to say.” She looks at me, then Hayden. “I don’t like that you kept the knowledge that you were both dating me from me. I know I was in the wrong to date you both, but I was confused and unsure how to handle it. You flat out kept it from me. I don’t want things kept from me anymore, and in the future, if I’m unsure of something, I’ll talk to you. I’m not a dating expert, but from my experience while being married, communication is important.”
I glance at Hayden, who flinches, obviously at war as to whether he should mention the sale of the building to her. His gaze meets mine, and he shakes his head, silently telling me to keep my mouth shut before he glances back at Bree and nods in understanding. We’ll have to have a conversation soon because I’m not risking losing Bree over this bullshit. If what he’s saying is true, and his dad doesn’t have a leg to stand on, then it won’t matter that she knows.
“It won’t happen again,” I tell her.
She breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Hayden’s phone goes off, and he checks it, groaning. “I have to head into the office,” he says. “There’s an emergency with one of the properties, and I need to handle it, or my dad will have my ass.”
Since he’s moved closer to Bree during the conversation, he takes her chin and presses his mouth to hers for a quick kiss. “I’m so damn happy that you’re giving this a chance,” he murmurs against her lips before he stands to head out.
Once he’s gone, and it’s just Bree and me, I ask her if she’s eaten dinner, hoping to spend more time with her.
“No, I went over to Lacey’s after work and was going to eat with her and Sam but ended up coming over here.”
“Do you have any plans tonight?”
“That depends,” she says with a sexy smirk that makes me want to pick her up and carry her to my bed and get lost in her. “What are we doing?”
“We can go out to dinner… or we can order in and watch a movie.”
“I choose the second option.”
I cross over to the couch she’s sitting on and lift her into my arms so she’s sitting on my lap. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I kiss her gently and revel in her taste. “I was so scared you were going to tell us no,” I admit, pressing my forehead against hers.
“I definitely have my reservations,” she admits, “but I looked it up online, and it’s actually quite common. There’s a lot to consider, but for right now, I just want to continue getting to know you both.”
“I like the idea of that.” I kiss her again, but this time, instead of pulling back, I deepen the kiss, stroking her tongue with my own. My hands grip the curves of her hips, and I lift her to straddle my lap. We kiss like this for several minutes—tasting, coaxing, and learning each other’s bodies. Until Bree’s phone rings in her pocket, and she jumps back slightly.
“It’s my kids,” she says. “Can I…umm?” She glances around.
It takes me a second, but before she can finish her question, I put two and two together. “You talk to them, and I’ll order us food.” I give her a chaste kiss. “Italian, Thai, Japanese…?” I list a few choices she’s mentioned she loves.
“Mmm, Thai sounds good. I love shrimp Pad Thai and chicken fried rice. Oh! And some spring rolls.”
“You got it.” I lift her off me and set her on the couch. The phone has stopped ringing, but as I walk out of the room to give her some privacy, I hear her call them. A second later, two excited little voices sound throughout the house followed by Bree saying hi and how much she misses them. Instead of walking away, I stop to watch and listen as she talks to them, every word and gesture filled with love. The way she listens with patience and sounds genuinely excited over everything they say reminds me so much of my stepmom, Savy.
My heart swells at the thought.
When Miles says he misses her, she asks if he’d like for her to visit. He tells her that would be awesome and then goes over everything he wants to show her once she’s there. When he mentions going fishing, she tells him that once he’s home, they can go fishing around here, naming several piers they can go to. Miles cheers and says he’s going to look them up. His voice is replaced with her daughter’s, who tells her all about their trip to the zoo and how much she misses her.
Not wanting to eavesdrop more than I already have, I head to my office. Once I’m done placing our order, I open my laptop to check some emails while I wait for Bree to finish. I’m responding to my CFO regarding some budget questions when Bree knocks on the doorjamb, leaning against it. I hit send, then close my laptop.
“Sorry about that,” she says. “Once they start talking, it’s hard to get them to stop.”
“C’mere,” I tell her, rolling back in my chair slightly.
She pads across the room, barefoot, and I note how adorable her bright pink toes are—the same color as her coffeehouse. When she stops next to me, I pull her in front of me, pushing my laptop out of the way so I can lift her onto my desk. She spreads her legs, setting her feet on the arms of my chair. I roll between her thighs and wrap my arms around her waist.
“You never have to apologize for talking to your kids,” I tell her. “Hayden and I meant it when we told you that we understand they’re a package deal. I know firsthand how important the relationship between a child and parent is, and I also know what it feels like to be loved by someone who isn’t biologically related to you. I met Savy when I was fourteen and mad at the world, and it was her acceptance, her motherly love—when she wasn’t even dating my dad yet—that helped me get through some rough shit.
“One day, when you’re ready, I look forward to meeting and getting to know them. And the fact that they’re your kids is enough to already have me caring about them.”
Her eyes turn glassy, and she wraps her arms around my neck. “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. My kids are my entire world, and I think a part of why I never dated was because I was afraid of how it would affect them as well as whoever I’m dating, especially after the one date I went on went so badly the moment I mentioned I was a single mom.
“When I was younger, no matter how quiet and behaved I was, my mom always yelled at me. And her boyfriends hated me. I spent years living in fear of being a bad kid until she took off, leaving me with my grandma.”
My heart breaks at her words, and I find myself holding her tighter while she talks, loving that she’s letting me in.
“When Pete said he wanted to have kids, I was scared he wouldn’t want them once they were born. And when I found out we were having twins, I freaked out. He kept telling me to calm down, but I was so scared the house would be too messy, the babies would cry and wake him up and he’d be upset. Babies are loud and messy, and as they grow up, that doesn’t change.”
She smiles a watery smile and I wipe the tear that leaks out and trails down her cheek.
“And did he prove otherwise?”
“He did,” she says, her smile widening, those sexy as fuck twin dimples popping out. “One day, he had enough of me walking on eggshells. He followed me around all day and wouldn’t let me do a single dish or clean the house. When the twins would cry, he’d get them. By the end of the day, the house was trashed, the worst I’d ever seen it. I was exhausted and started to pick up, but he stopped me and said this was what a lived-in home looked like and that he loved everything about it. He made me go to bed with the house the way it was, and while I was sleeping, he cleaned it.”
Another tear slides down her face. This time, I can’t help myself when I lean in and kiss her cheek, where the liquid sits, darting my tongue out and tasting the saltiness. “I hate to see you cry,” I murmur, “but I love that you’re sharing with me. Pete sounds like he was a great man, and he was right. This place…” I jut my chin out, referring to Hayden’s and my home. “It’s clean, almost sterile, because it’s barely lived in. That’s how my dad’s places always were too until he and Savy moved in together. They created a family together, and the home they live in looks lived in. And neither of them would have it any other way.”
I kiss her lips, licking the salty liquid that’s landed there. “Any man who deserves you will accept your children, noise, crying, screaming, lived-in home, and all. Even if you decide tomorrow that you don’t want Hayden or me to be those men, don’t ever settle for anything less.”
The food arrives while we’re talking, so we separate long enough to eat, but once we’re done, I pull her against my side so we can pick a movie to watch. She selects the one she wants—a chick flick about a nerdy girl who ends up falling for the popular guy—and then, after giving her a shirt and boxers of mine so she’ll be more comfortable, we settle on the couch with her snuggling into my side.
As she watches the movie, laughing at the funny parts and sniffling at the sad, half of my attention is on the movie, but the other half is on her—on the way she fits perfectly into my side, the way she smells sweet like vanilla, how, when I massage her thigh, needing to touch her in some way, her skin is soft and smooth.
About halfway through the movie, Bree yawns, but when I ask her if she’s tired, she shakes her head. Less than twenty minutes later, though, her soft snores are heard over the movie, and I know she’s fallen asleep. I should probably wake her up and offer to take her home, but the idea of her sleeping in my home, in my bed, is too enticing, so I carefully lift her into my arms and carry her to bed, loving the way she looks there, like it’s where she belongs.
She barely stirs, and once she’s under my blankets, she nestles her face into one of my pillows, sighing contentedly before her breathing evens out. Once I know she’s asleep, I head back out to the kitchen to get the food cleaned up before I join her in bed.
I’m putting the last of the dishes into the dishwasher when I hear the elevator doors slide open, and Hayden walks in, looking worse for wear.
“Everything okay?” I ask, closing the dishwasher and then leaning against the sink.
“Yeah. One of the investors for the wellness center was threatening to pull his funding. They’re getting antsy.”
“So what are you going to do?”
He scrubs his hands over his face and sighs. “I put together a presentation of other options, properties that have better locations, are cheaper, and will bring in a higher profit. I’ve requested a meeting next week and hope that they’ll agree to let Bree’s building go.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then I’ll have to flat out tell my dad it’s not happening. But regardless, I’m going to tell Bree the truth after this meeting. I just want to have all the information before I do, so I can be completely honest with her.”
I sigh in relief. “Good. The last thing we want is to push her away over this shit.”
“Where is she?” he asks, glancing into the living room. “Did she go home?”
“Nah.” I grin at the thought of where she is. “She fell asleep, so I carried her to my bed. She’s there now, and I’m about to join her.” I wink, knowing it will get a rise out of him.
He shakes his head and chuckles. “All right, well, I’m gonna go shower and get some sleep. You guys have a good night?”
“Yeah,” I tell him as we head toward our rooms. Originally, the place only had one master bedroom, as most homes do, so after we bought it, the first thing we did was turn the guest room into a second master bedroom and add an en suite bathroom since we have another two bedrooms upstairs.
“She confided in me that she was scared to date again because her mom and her mom’s boyfriends were always shitty and made her feel like she was unwanted and could never do anything right. She was scared whoever she dated would feel that way about her kids.”
Normally, I wouldn’t spill someone else’s business, but Hayden and I spoke, and since we’re in this together, we agreed we wouldn’t keep shit from each other where Bree’s concerned—we both want her to be happy.
“What about her husband?” Hayden asks tightly, assuming the worst.
“He put her at ease, refused to let her feel like that, but I think she’s afraid most guys won’t be like him. Especially since the one date she went on before us turned to shit after he found out she was a mom.”
“We’ll just have to prove her wrong,” he says with a shrug.
We stop in the doorway of my room, both of us looking in at a sleeping Bree. The city's lights shine through the blind slats, lighting up her face like a halo over an angel.
“She looks so sweet lying there,” Hayden says softly. “I want her here… her and her kids. I don’t even know them, and I want them here with her. I could never imagine having a family, didn’t want that shit…didn’t want to be anything like my parents. But fuck, she’s a goddamn game changer. I saw a pregnant woman walking down the street, and my first thought was what would Bree look like carrying our babies.” Hayden chuckles under his breath. “I think I’ve lost my mind.”
“Nah,” I say, looking over at him. “I think it’s called falling in love, and I’m pretty sure I’m right there with you.”
Hayden swallows thickly. “It’s too soon for that, though, right? I mean, it’s only been a few weeks. Shouldn’t it take months…even years to fall in love?”
“I’m not sure,” I say honestly since I’ve never fallen in love. “But my dad and Savy fell hard and fast. It couldn’t have been more than a few months before he was asking her to move in.”
Hayden nods. “Do you think she’d mind if I slept on the other side of her? I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, but she’s right there, and I miss her.”
“I don’t see why not. It’s not like we’re going to touch her or anything. We’re just going to sleep.”