Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Knock! Knock!” A dark head peeked around Cam’s office door. It was quickly followed by the rest of the woman. “Hey, Handsome.”
Cam gritted his teeth at someone other than Hope using the nickname she used while dominating him. Having Danica, the youngest Lyons sibling, call him the same felt…wrong. Brain bleach needed to be added to his shopping list.
“Hey, Dani.”
She leaned a slender hip against the door frame. “Have you heard the news?”
Apparently not. “What news?”
“Well, there’s my answer. Dyl Weed, Ford, and Erin have picked a date.”
A date? Wait… “They’re getting married?”
Dani’s face twisted. “Well, not legally, of course. Officially, they’re having a commitment ceremony. You know, so they don’t get arrested for polygamy.” She scrunched up her face.
Smart. But he figured two of the three could legally marry, so…
Yeah. Maybe they were doing it the right and fair way so no one in the trio felt left out. That was something to consider if…
No, his own relationship wasn’t even close to that point yet.
Was it?
No.
“When?”
“Christmas Eve.”
“They want a winter wedding?” Since their relationship was unconventional, it made sense that the ceremony would be as well.
“Commitment ceremony,” she corrected. “They’re going to have a horse-drawn sleigh and everything!”
Sounded magical. As long as snow was covering the ground. But if that was something Erin wanted, he could see Dylan and Ford going the extra mile—and expense—of bringing in snow-making machines. “Good for them.”
“That’s not the only good news I come bearing. Dyl Pickle wanted me to tell you to tell Nolan that a spot in the bunkhouse will be opening up next month. He won’t have to sleep on your couch anymore.”
Cam’s brow dropped low. That wasn’t good news. At least not for him. “Who’s leaving?”
Since being hired earlier this year, not one person had quit. He didn’t know anyone who didn’t like working for the Lyons siblings, which was not typical for most workplaces.
“The head groundskeeper is getting married and they bought a little place in town because his fiancé is four months pregnant.”
“Oh nice. I guess.”
Dani chuckled. “Nolan can move in right after Mike moves out.”
“I’ll let him know.”
Dani tipped her head and stared at Cam. “Will you?”
“Of course.”
“Then, I’ll tell Dylan that Nolan will take it when I see him later.”
What? “No! Don’t tell him yet. Let me talk to Nolan first.”
Dani pressed her lips together and the corners of her eyes crinkled. “Okay.” She tapped the door frame. “I’m out of here. I have a week’s worth of menus to plan.”
As she turned to leave, Cam called out, “Hey, are you catering the wedding?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Commitment ceremony. And yes.”
“Good. Nobody could do a better job than you.”
Dani snorted. “Well, aren’t you sweet, Handsome?”
She disappeared.
He should really tell her to stop calling him that. While she meant it as a compliment, it was creeping him out. “Hey, Dani?”
A few seconds later, her head popped around the door again. “Yeah?”
Knowing Dani, she was going to want to know the reason for his request, and he really didn’t feel like explaining the dynamics of his relationship with Hope. Or Nolan. “Never mind.”
He would just have to grin and bear that nickname for now. At least until he could figure out a way to bring it up to her without her peppering him with a thousand questions.
Because that woman was a pro at getting the information she wanted, and was slick about it, too.
A tap on his partially closed door had Cam calling out, “Come in!”
Nolan pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped over the threshold.
“Close the door behind you.”
Nolan’s eyebrows rose in question, but he secured the door then dropped at an angle into one of the two chairs facing Cam’s desk. He hooked one knee over the armrest and shot Cam a hell of a sexy smile that made his heart skip a beat.
He couldn’t believe how far they’d come in only a matter of months. He’d always loved Nolan as a friend—as well as lusted after him for years—but the feeling that had since taken root deep inside him was more than friendship or lust.
It was solid.
It was real love. He not only loved Nolan, but Cam was in love with him.
He suspected Nolan felt the same way, but so far, they’d managed to avoid that particular discussion.
That needed to change. A fishing expedition might be in order.
“Are you busy?” Nolan asked him.
“Just finished up the weekly report.” They switched over to weekly reports because, while the resort had plenty of activity throughout the week, none of it was of the criminal variety, making a daily report a waste of time.
Of course, even the weekly had only minor incidents listed. Like a guest imbibing too much and having to be escorted back to their room. Or a slip and fall accident.
“I just got done with rounds.”
“Anything to report?”
“One of the goats grabbed hold of a guest and ripped his shorts down to his ankles.” Nolan rolled his lips under.
Cam blinked. “Are you joking?”
Nolan shook his head. “Unfortunately, I’m not. I wrote Freckles a citation for harassment and put him in solitary confinement.”
“He clearly committed a felony offense. Do you think he learned his lesson?”
“No, because he head butted me before I could get the stall door closed.”
“Is the guest all right?”
“The guest is fine. He had a good laugh. I, on the other hand, might develop a bruise.”
Concern creased Cam’s forehead. “Do you need ice?”
Nolan chuckled. “No. Hope has paddled my ass a lot harder than Freckles’ head butt. But if you want, you can kiss it better for me later.”
He’d be glad to do that.
Cam sat back and studied Nolan.
Bringing up what Dani told him might be a way to open up dialogue on how they felt about each other. There was no point in denying it anymore. They had been sharing a bed for months now.
“Nolan,” he started, hoping this talk didn’t go sideways.
“Hmm?”
“Dani was in here earlier and she had some news.”
“Is it about Dylan, Ford, and Erin’s commitment ceremony?”
Was he the last to know? “That was one thing she brought up.”
“Okay…what else?”
“A spot in the bunkhouse is opening up.”
The smile Nolan had been wearing quickly flattened out. “Oh.”
“Dylan said it’s yours if you want it.”
“Oh.”
“But that’s up to you.” Cam wasn’t going to pressure him or influence his decision in any way. “You look disappointed. Would you rather wait for a cabin instead? One might not be available for a long time.”
“Do you want me to move out?” Nolan asked carefully.
“Well, I know my cabin is pretty small for the both of us…”
“But the spot in the bunkhouse would be even smaller and would lack privacy.”
“That it would,” Cam mumbled.
“I’ll ask again, do you want me to move out? I know it was only supposed to be temporary. I don’t want you to feel obligated to let me stay.”
“It has nothing to do with obligations. If you stay, I want it to be because that’s what you want.”
“But what about you?”
“If you can continue to deal with sharing the cabin with me, I want you to stay.”
Nolan set his boots on the floor and sat up. “Because of the convenient sex?”
Jesus. Was that what he thought? That Cam only wanted sex from him? “It has nothing to do with sex. Look how much sex we have with Hope and she doesn’t live with us.”
“Then, for what reason?”
“Nolan…”
Nolan’s huge smile reappeared. “Yes?”
Cam rolled his eyes. “You seem to have figured it out already.”
Nolan tipped his head to the side. “Have I?”
Cam closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them again, he surged to his feet, circled his desk and grabbed Nolan’s arm, hauling him from the chair.
He leaned his ass against the edge of the desk and sandwiched Nolan between his thighs.
He curled one hand around the back of Nolan’s corded neck and settled the other on his hip.
“Do I need to spell it out?”
Nolan’s lips twitched slightly. “Yes.”
“Then I will. We hid our true desires for each other for years. I don’t want to do that any longer. It’s a waste of time.”
“I agree that we wasted time, but we’re no longer hiding our desires. They’re now out in the open.”
“I’m not only talking about desires.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“Feelings,” Cam answered.
“Which ones?”
He sighed. “You’re purposely being obtuse.”
Nolan chuckled and hooked his arms around Cam’s neck. “I’ve suspected how you feel about me for a while now.”
“What is it that you suspect?”
“That you love me.”
“I’ve always loved you.”
“I mean as more than a friend,” Nolan added.
Cam nodded. “The truth is—”
Nolan took his mouth and cut off his next words.
While Cam was always happy to share a kiss with his lover, he wondered…
Did Nolan not want to hear the truth? If not, that was concerning. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way.
But the kiss was brief, and when Nolan pulled his head back, he whispered, “The truth is, I’m in love with you. Not as a friend or co-worker, but as a lifelong partner.”
Holy shit. Cam wasn’t expecting for that confession to hit so hard. Suddenly his heart swelled too big for his chest. “I’m in love with you, too.”
Nolan grinned. “So, no, I don’t want to move into the bunkhouse. I want to wake up next to you every morning and lay my head down next to yours every night.”
“And take my cock.”
“That’s one of the perks.” Nolan’s grin disappeared again. “What about Hope?”
“What about her?” Did Nolan want to cut her out and keep their relationship between the two of them? If so, that might be a problem.
“Do you agree what’s going on between the three of us has gone beyond sex?”
Cam stared at the man he loved. “Are you asking if Hope feels the same about us as we feel about each other?”
Nolan shrugged. “Do you think it’s possible?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we simply need to ask her.”
“I think we should, but I also don’t want to force her hand,” Nolan murmured.
“But do we feel the same way about her as we do each other? We need to address that first before asking her how she feels.”
“She’s an integral part of our relationship and it would suck if, in a few days, weeks, or even months, she decided she no longer wants to be involved with us. I don’t want to lose her, Cam.”
“I don’t want to, either. I agree. Without her, we wouldn’t be the same. Yes, you and I would still love each other, but the dynamics of what we have…” It was difficult to think about Hope not being in their lives. She really was an integral part.
“Right. It would change. I’ll admit it right now, Cam, that I do love her. I hope you don’t have a problem with that.”
Cam looked deep inside himself. He had feelings for Hope, sure. But was it love? And was that love as strong as what he felt for Nolan?
It was.
Damn.
Yes, they needed to let her know. Then she could decide what to do with that information. “How about this? We can tell her how we feel with the caveat that she doesn’t need to feel the same. We’ll continue to welcome her into our bed however long she wants to join us.”
“You love her, too?”
“What’s not to love? You asked earlier if what we have—all three of us—has gone beyond sex. In my eyes, it definitely has. But if she doesn’t love us the same way, then we need to respect that.”
“I don’t disagree.” Nolan blew out a breath. “I hope she does. But if not, what would that mean for us?”
“We’d have to have that discussion with her first. We need to keep the communication open.”
“We haven’t done a great job of that if we both waited until now to declare our love to each other.”
He was so right. “I’ll admit we failed on that front. We need to do better in the future.”
“I figured the reason we didn’t bring it up with each other was so that Hope wouldn’t feel alienated. We didn’t want her feeling like a third wheel.”
“She’s definitely not a third wheel. If anything, we’re a three-spoked wheel and her voice is as important as ours so our wheel remains balanced.”
Nolan’s eyebrows rose but his lips twitched at the corners. “That’s actually really fitting, Cam. I’m impressed.”
Cam chuckled. “I sometimes have intelligent thoughts.”
“But if she doesn’t love us the same way, my concern is she might start feeling like one if she knows how much we love each other. I want to avoid that.”
“I never said how much I loved you, only that I did.”
Nolan poked him in the gut. “Ha ha. Funny.”
“But if you have to know…I’d move the sun, the moon, and the Earth for you.”
Nolan’s hazel eyes went wide. “Wow, that sounded cheesy.”
Cam shrugged. “It might sound cheesy, but it’s true.”
“Well, then good thing I love cheese.”
“Good thing.”
Nolan scraped his fingers down Cam’s freshly trimmed beard. “When do we want to approach her about this?”
“Tonight after dinner?”
Nolan nodded. “The sooner the better. Especially now that I’ll be living with you permanently.”