44. Maeve #2
Ford presses a soft kiss to the top of my head as I pass him in the doorway.
I’m sure it’s just for show since his sister is watching, or at least that’s what I would have told myself yesterday.
Now? Honestly, I’m not so certain about his motivations.
He looks genuinely worried about my wellbeing as I head off with Lydia, as though, despite my reassurances that I’m perfectly fine, he’s still concerned that they might have pushed me too hard.
Lydia leads me to her bathroom, which is decorated in rich, deep blues while her bedroom features lighter, airier blues. “I always wanted to feel like I was floating in the sky or swimming in the ocean,” she explains as she starts running the water.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, a bit of awe in my tone.
Once the water reaches the perfect level, I step in gingerly, hissing slightly from the tenderness between my thighs, then sighing in relief as I sink into the blissfully hot water.
“Is the temperature okay?” she asks, her hands hovering over the controls. “Not too hot or too cold?”
“No, it’s perfect. Thank you so much for this.”
She nods and then settles herself on the edge of the tub, studying me with curious eyes. “I would have expected to see some bruising if you really took a hard fall on the ice.”
“Um, I guess I just got lucky that way,” I say evasively. “It probably wasn’t as bad of a fall as I thought at first.”
Lydia makes a thoughtful humming sound, pursing her lips to one side as she fixes me with that same assessing look. “So…” She draws out the word slowly. “What’s it like to have three gorgeous men worship you?”
I nearly splash water all over the bathroom floor as I sit up abruptly in shock. “What did you just say?”
Lydia gives me a knowing, mischievous smile. “Oh, come on. You honestly think I wouldn’t notice what’s happening? The chemistry between you four is insane.”
“I—nothing’s happening,” I blurt out frantically. “I would never cheat on Ford. Never.”
“Who said anything about cheating?” She frowns, looking genuinely confused. “I know Hayden and Gabriel would never go behind Ford’s back like that. They’re closer than most actual brothers.”
I bite my lip, weighing my options. I could keep trying to maintain this charade, but Lydia clearly knows her brother and his friends better than almost anyone.
She’s wearing a determined expression that suggests she’s not going to let this go easily.
And honestly, I don’t want to insult her intelligence by continuing to lie when she’s already figured it out.
“There… might be something happening,” I admit reluctantly, sinking back down into the warm water. “But it’s just physical. Casual hookups, you know? I definitely wouldn’t call it worshipping.”
Lydia actually giggles at that. “Okay, now I know you’re lying to yourself.” She stares at me for a moment, then her expression shifts to something like concern. “Oh my god, you really don’t see it, do you?”
“See what?”
“How gone they all are for you. I haven’t seen Ford act like this about anyone ever, and I haven’t seen Hayden or Gabriel like this either. Hayden just… doesn’t let people into his inner circle, period. And Gabriel only does surface-level hookups with no emotional attachment. This is different.”
My stomach does a complicated little flip at her words.
I wish I could believe her, but Lydia is still young and idealistic.
She’s still in college, still sees the world through rose-colored glasses.
And she knows these men as her beloved big brother and his best friends, not as the complex, guarded businessmen I’ve worked with for two years.
“You won’t tell anyone about this, will you?” I ask, changing the subject. “It’s a pretty unconventional arrangement, and the CEO of the company we’re trying to partner with is very… traditional in his values.”
She makes a disgusted face. “I can definitely imagine that type. But don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone. It’s your personal business, and as long as you’re all happy, I don’t think it matters what anyone else thinks.”
“I really appreciate that,” I say with genuine gratitude. I can’t even imagine how Elaine or Charles would react if they found out their son was sharing his supposed fiancée with his two best friends.
Lydia smiles at me with such warmth and affection. “Listen, I just want you to know that I’m genuinely happy for all of you. They all seem so much more relaxed and content with you around. It’s like you’ve brought out sides of them I haven’t seen in years.”
I’m not entirely convinced of that assessment. I may be attractive to them—an idea I’m still struggling to fully accept—and they clearly enjoy the physical aspect of our arrangement, but I’m not under any illusions about how important I actually am to them in the grand scheme of things.
But my traitorous brain whispers, What about the way they look at you? What about how sweet they were when you were sick? What about ? —
I shut down that line of thinking before it can go any further. I’m not going to torture myself with false hope. I’m sure any increased happiness is just from the stress relief of great sex and the fact that their business deal is going well. It has nothing to do with me specifically.
But Lydia still doesn’t know that this entire engagement is fake.
I just nod and smile at her gratefully. If she’s willing to be supportive and keep our secret, that’s really all that matters right now.
I’m actually surprised by how understanding and open-minded she’s being about the whole situation.
I guess some people are more accepting of unconventional relationships than I gave them credit for.
When I finally finish my luxurious soak and climb out of the tub feeling infinitely better, I head back to the bedroom to get properly dressed for the day. I’m just approaching the door when it swings open and Ford tries to exit at the same time, nearly knocking me over in the process.
“Whoa there.” His strong arm immediately wraps around my waist, steadying me against his solid chest. “That eager to get back to bed with us?” he teases in a low voice.
“I just had to spend twenty minutes soaking in a hot tub to recover from what you three did to me in that bed,” I retort, although my voice comes out far too breathy and affected for the comeback to have any real bite.
“I certainly hope you enjoyed that recovery time,” Ford shoots back, curling one finger under my chin to tip my face up toward his. “Because you’re going to be taking quite a few more of those baths with how thoroughly I plan to exhaust you, over and over again.”
I shiver at the promise in his voice. “I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
Something vibrates against my leg, and unfortunately, I’m pretty sure it’s not anything fun. Ford pulls back and tugs his phone out of his pocket—an alarm notification is flashing on the screen.
“Shit, I have a video conference with the Silver Start investors in five minutes,” he says with obvious reluctance. “I have to go.”
“Of course, don’t worry about me at all,” I assure him. His work is incredibly important, and I knew all three men would have business obligations during this trip.
But when he disappears down the hallway, my mood deflates considerably.
Silver Start. Most importantly, Silver Start’s traditional CEO and his old-fashioned values.
That’s the entire reason we’re doing this elaborate charade in the first place.
The incredible sex that developed from our fake relationship is an amazing bonus, but no matter what Lydia thinks she’s observing, this whole arrangement is fundamentally about securing this crucial business merger.
Nothing more, and certainly nothing less.
It was so much easier to keep that fact in perspective before we started sleeping together.
Back then, the boundaries were crystal clear and uncomplicated.
But now everything feels muddled and confused.
It’s not even just the physical intimacy—it’s the way Ford’s voice gets soft when he talks to me, the way his touches linger even when no one is watching.
Everything used to be so straightforward and businesslike. Now I feel like I’m drowning in complications and mixed signals, and not just with Ford. Hayden and Gabriel are equally confusing in their own ways.
I take a deep breath and go in search of some warm clothes.
I need to take a walk and get some fresh air, some time alone to think clearly.
I haven’t really had any proper solitude since we arrived here, and while it’s been a wonderful change from the isolation I’ve grown accustomed to, I definitely need some space to process everything that’s happening.
The expansive grounds are breathtaking—the formal gardens, the covered swimming pool, the charming little gazebo, all of it blanketed in pristine snow that makes everything look like a magical winter wonderland.
It’s peaceful and beautiful to walk through by myself, with only my own thoughts for company.
I take the small gate out of the backyard and follow a winding path that leads through the neighborhood, connecting all the various properties.
I can easily imagine Gabriel, Ford, and Hayden racing through here as teenagers, getting into all sorts of mischief and adventure, able to travel from house to house without having to go around to the front.
The mental image of them as reckless kids makes me smile despite my confused emotional state.
Pulling out my phone, I start scrolling through two years’ worth of text messages between myself and my former bosses.
Call me nostalgic, but I’m genuinely curious whether they were always like this and I simply didn’t notice, or if something has fundamentally changed.
For two years, they were charming and undeniably attractive, but unattainable and professionally focused.
It never even occurred to me to let myself fantasize about any of them—they were so far out of my league and so clearly off-limits.
Now I’m discovering depths to their personalities that I never could have imagined existed.
More warmth, more genuine humor, more emotional complexity.
Looking back through all these old conversations, I never would have predicted any of this development.
They’re all incredibly skilled at hiding their true selves from the world when they choose to, each in their own distinctive way.
Gabriel by being charmingly distant and over-the-top flattering in a way that makes you feel special while making it clear that you’re not actually special to him.
Ford by maintaining an icy, impenetrable professional demeanor.
Hayden by being a demanding, impossible perfectionist.
God, just look at all the times he texted me to interrupt whatever I was doing, demanding that I drop everything and come back to the office, or insisting that I call him immediately to discuss some supposedly urgent matter…
I stop walking abruptly and frown down at my phone screen. Something about the timing of Hayden’s interruptions is nagging at me. Now that I can see all these messages laid out chronologically like this, there’s a pattern I never noticed before.
I quickly open my calendar app, which displays multiple color-coded schedules. Everything is shared with my three former bosses since our calendars were synced—all three men needed to know what the others were doing at any given time for scheduling purposes.
But I also maintain my own private calendar that’s not shared with anyone, where I track personal things like girls’ nights with Allison, grocery shopping reminders, coupon expiration dates, and other mundane life details.
I also used to record my dates there, since there was no way I’d remember them otherwise.
Cross-referencing my personal calendar with the timestamps on Hayden’s demanding texts, a very clear pattern emerges. He interrupted my dates. Pretty much every single time.
Huh. That’s… interesting.