Five
Avalon
Her heart was still fluttering away the next morning. Spending the evening with them had been the sweetest experience. She’d felt nothing but cherished and respected every second, from choosing their activity to getting her taxi home. It had been the first time someone had prioritised her comfort over their own agenda.
She swooned, cuddling her pillow tight and pretending they were still feathering gentle touches over her body. They were both careful with physical intimacy and because of that, she adored them even more. It had been a long time since she’d been close to anyone and though their time together had been brief, she trusted those two men in a way she couldn’t explain.
After breakfast, she decided to treat herself with a trip to the bookstore. After all, she was nearly finished with her current read—that surely warranted a new book… or three. Decision made, she hopped on the bus and rode to the Galleria, where she stopped for an iced tea before hitting her favourite bookstore.
Once she’d done some significant damage to her wallet, she decided to take advantage of the nice weather and park herself by the waterfall to finish one book before starting her new treasures.
She sat for hours, adjusting her position a few times before her growling stomach alerted her that it was time to eat. She decided to continue her “treat” weekend by picking up lunch at the food court and nearly missed her stop on the way home because she was so enthralled in her new read.
She spent the rest of the weekend that way. Weekends were usually quiet for her and before her date with Varos and Marcus, they passed by far too quickly. Though now that she had a reason to want to be at the office, she couldn’t wait for Monday. It felt a little old-fashioned not having exchanged numbers but they both seemed to have old souls.
By the time Monday rolled around, she practically skipped onto the bus. Though she knew there was a chance, she was a little disappointed when the elevator was empty—no sign of her men in sight. She trudged to her desk and started work, trying to bury the small flicker of insecurity twisting her gut. It was just a little spark of doubt, spurred by the fear that she’d never hear from them again. It tumbled around, growing in size until a strange man appeared in front of her desk.
She looked up to see a courier with a bouquet of flowers and a small gift bag. “Miss Williams?”
“Yes.”
With a bright smile, he handed over his delivery. “Have a great day.”
“Thank you.”
She tried in vain to hide the blush washing over her, placing the gift aside for now to stick her nose into the flowers. Vibrant, stunning wildflowers surrounded a single sunflower in the midst.
Laurena, one of Ava’s coworkers, approached. “Is this from that good-looking man who asked for you last week?”
Laurena had been the one to help her settle in when she’d first started the job. They got along quite well, but Ava didn’t consider them friends.
“I believe so.”
“Did it stop at lunch?”
“No…” she teased, unable to fight her smile. “We went out on Friday too.”
She wasn’t ashamed of Varos at all, nor did she prefer one man over the other—but the fewer details Laurena knew the better.
“Very sweet of him,” Laurena chided, walking away.
Once everyone returned to work, she peeked inside the gift bag and pulled out a handwritten note.
Avalon,
Fancy lunch in our office today? You enjoyed the view quite a bit last time.
You can order something to be delivered to us. Come whenever you are ready.
Varos and Marcus
She returned the note to the bag, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt while pulling out the gift card inside.
Even though that fluttering in her stomach was enough to drive her mad, she tried to focus on work until lunchtime. She ordered her favourites: a salad from her favourite spot and a cake from the best bakery.
With one last glance in the bathroom mirror, it was finally time for her to head upstairs. She couldn’t change much about her appearance anyway, but she felt like a teenager again going on her first date. She stepped into the elevator on shaky legs, trying to steady herself.
Calinda, the woman from before, greeted her at the reception desk. “Hello, Miss Williams. Mr. Saul would like you to go straight through.”
“Thank you, Calinda.”
She passed through the office and knocked on the private door, which opened a moment later.
“Good afternoon, Ava,” Marcus greeted with a bright smile. “Come in. Your food is already waiting for you.”
“Perfect, I hoped I’d timed it right.”
She stepped into the office and Marcus closed the door behind her. Lysander was sitting behind his desk, brows fused and his eyes focused on the screen before him. Varos stood at his desk, the only one that didn’t face away from the gorgeous view. With a charming smile, he set her food on the desk.
“It is nice to see you again,” he beamed.
“Same. How are you?”
“Better now. How was your weekend?” Varos indicated for her to sit in his chair.
“Very relaxed.”
Marcus pulled his desk chair closer and sat down with her. “What have you been up to?”
“Not much. Enjoyed the good weather and bought a few new books.”
“Lysander likes to read too,” Varos revealed. “Though it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen him pick up a book.”
“Oh, I have that too sometimes. I’m a total mood reader.” She pried open her salad container, looking up when she realised the other three in the room were simply watching her. “Are you not eating?”
Marcus shook his head. “We have a business lunch later, but we still wanted to see you.”
“Oh—so I don’t need to feel bad for eating first,” she giggled
Varos’s face turned serious. “You never have to feel bad for addressing any of your needs with us.”
She was sure he hadn’t intended for the words to sound dirty, but they did. And as a result, she felt the sudden urge to have his skin on hers, to feel his lips caressing every inch of her skin.
Trying to get away from those thoughts, she quickly changed the subject. “I guess that’s just my past talking.”
“And we don’t blame you for it,” Marcus told her in a soothing voice. “It’s going to take time for you to adjust. I think you’ve been doing fantastic so far.”
That slight bit of praise had her heart racing. “Thank you.”
Varos spoke next, shifting the conversation. “We were hoping we could take you out again soon. Is there anywhere you would like to go?”
She chewed on her bite of salad, mulling over the question. “I thought you were choosing this time.”
Marcus tilted his head and studied her for a moment. “Do you not think we enjoyed ourselves?”
“Well, that was my hobby, maybe you two have other things you enjoy doing?”
“I’m sure we’ll be able to think of something. Marcus always has enjoyed music.”
A chuckle came from the other side of the room, surprising her and causing Marcus and Varos to whip their gaze towards Lysander.
“What?” Marcus snapped.
“You really think she will enjoy hours of classical music?”
“She is sitting right here and can hear you,” Varos chimed in, turning back to her again. “We don’t have to go to something classical. I’m sure we can find something all three of us will enjoy.”
“If I never try it, how am I supposed to know if I like it or not?”
Marcus stood and returned to his own desk, a new bounce in his step. “I’ll get right on it.”
Lysander rolled his eyes but Marcus elegantly ignored him.
She set her empty salad bowl aside, grabbing her cake and turning to Varos. “When will we be able to pick up our paintings?”
“Later today.”
“You can keep mine if you like. I like the idea of the three of them staying together.”
“We would be delighted. Although, most are likely to stare at yours than ours.”
“I still think you did great. And it’s the time you spend with it that matters, not the outcome.”
“It will remind me of an evening well spent with you .”
Her stomach twisted, in the good kind of way.
“See how he left me out of that?” Marcus mock-whined with a playful smile. “As if I weren’t even there! Did he not have a great evening with me too?”
She laughed and leaned back in her chair, her eyes drifting to the view of the park. The sun was burning down, though she wasn’t as harsh as she was in the summer.
“You are welcome here at any time,” Varos offered, reaching forward to take her trash.
“I could sit here for hours. Have you ever watched the sunset from here?”
Marcus laughed. “With Lysander being attached to his job like a newborn to his mother’s breast we spend most of our time here.”
Lysander was less than amused.
“Maybe you should take him out more often?” she suggested with a smile. “Me and my best friend in high school used to have set days we would get out, no matter how we felt or how much stuff we had to do.”
Marcus snickered, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Like taking him on a walk?”
Lysander stiffened and his jaw clenched.
There was clearly some inside joke there, but Ava didn’t quite understand it. “We always enjoyed a milkshake date or the library. ”
“Sounds like you two had lots of fun.”
She nodded, returning her gaze to the skyline. She listened to Marcus and Varos mumbling as they searched the web, though they didn’t say anything specifically to her. Just as she was on the cusp of dozing off, Varos pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Avalon, I believe it’s time for you to leave us again.”
She sighed and stretched her legs. “Unfortunately, I think you’re right.”
“We enjoyed having you here.”
“You are welcome at any time,” Marcus reminded her.
“Oh, don’t say that,” she laughed, rising from her seat. “I might show up unannounced just to see the sunset. Thank you for the lunch—and your company.”
Marcus stood too, his tone hopeful. “Would you like me to walk you back to your office?”
“Yes, please.”
Marcus appeared at her side, offering her an arm, while Varos escorted them to the door. Before he opened it, he took her free hand and softly kissed her knuckles. She couldn’t help but imagine all the other places she wanted his lips to touch. Grateful for Marcus’s support as her knees buckled, she waved goodbye to Lysander.
“Don’t work too hard.”
His gaze flicked to her briefly, and she could’ve sworn his lips twitched with the tease of a grin.
As they walked away, Marcus leaned closer. “He’ll warm up to you, you’ll see.”
She shrugged. “If he doesn’t, that’s okay. We don’t need to be best friends for me to spend time with you and Varos.”
“I like the way you think.”
In the privacy of the elevator, Marcus pressed a kiss to her hair—something only meant for the two of them. It was one of many sweet gestures that she enjoyed so much from both men .
“We mean it when we say you can come by at any time.”
“And I wasn’t joking when I said I’d be by sometime to see the sunset,” she laughed.
“We look forward to it.”