Chapter Six #3
Miranda nodded. “Or they’re born that way.”
“I have two sets of twin uncles,” Gigi threw in. “I know
what you are talking about. So you slept with your uncle’s foreman and your
dad’s company’s new attorney. Yikes.”
“Or yeah.” Miranda was always positive. “I don’t see why
this is a bad thing. They’re in our circle. They’ve been vetted, so we know
they’re safe. I think this is a good thing. Now they can date a little. Maybe
see each other at The Hideout every now and then. Oh, I think Keane’s planning
on coming out to the G and discussing his methods with my dads and Uncle
Jamie.”
“I wasn’t looking for a relationship,” Olivia said.
“That’s the best time to find one,” Miranda countered.
“Trust me—I’ve heard so many stories. My mom and dads. Your mom and dads. You
know, now that I think about it, the only people in our world I don’t know way
too much about is Gigi’s parents.”
“One day,” Gigi promised. “But now we need to concentrate on
Olivia’s problem. She needs to find a way to spend time with them. Also, we
mentioned The Hideout. Do we know if they’re in the lifestyle? I know it seems
like everyone is, but there are vanilla people out there. I think Olivia needs
a top.”
“She totally needs a top. I’m pretty sure it was brought up
at the last board meeting.” Miranda had gone to college at SMU and still came
to Dallas on a regular basis. Sometimes Olivia thought Miranda got to the club
more than she did.
“I was discussed at the board meeting?” It was news to her.
Gigi waved that off. “Those board meetings are nothing but a
reason to gossip, and now that Daisy O’Donnell and Kala Taggart are married,
they’re looking for things to talk about. You never play anymore. You know Gabe
always watches these things.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Gabe is a nosy old lady. Like
seriously. He needs to worry about someone else.”
“He does. He worries about his sister all the time,” Gigi
replied.
“I’m not his sister.” The idea that her sad lack of a
relationship was club fodder rankled. Oh, she knew they all meant well. Mean
people didn’t last long at The Hideout. They totally valued kindness over
niceness. “I appreciate that he cares about me, but I don’t need help. Except I
kind of do. But not from Gabe. There are complications.”
Miranda’s eyes went wide. “I love complications. What are we
talking? Does one of them not want a ménage? Or they’re not looking for
anything long term? Or maybe one of them wants you but the other one is scared
of redheads. Sorry. You all have a reputation, and I’ve been around Rachel
Harper long enough to know it’s earned. Oh, crap. Was the sex bad and now you
have to let them down easy?”
Such a vivid imagination. “No, the problem is they are
here.”
“What?” they managed to ask at the same time.
“Here, as in I got on the plane earlier today and they were
sitting there. Keane is taking Josh’s place while he’s on his honeymoon and
Garrett is working on our contracts and meeting the new rep with me.”
“And you didn’t know?” Miranda asked.
“I knew I was meeting the new lawyer. I didn’t know the new
lawyer was half the duo I slept with. I knew someone from my uncle’s ranch was
coming to take care of Josh’s job, but I didn’t know he was the other half.
I’ve never met them before. I was on the road most of the last year.”
“You’ve been on the road a lot since that asshole left.”
Gigi took a long sip of margarita. “I hope he is extremely unhappy.”
Olivia sighed and reached for her own, pulling the umbrella
out. It was definitely a tequila night. “He’s not unhappy. He’s here, too.”
“What?” Miranda frowned. “I’m saying that a lot. I don’t
like being out of the loop. Scott—the massive ass—is here in Willow Fork? Why?”
“He is no longer at the job he left Barnes-Fleetwood for,”
Olivia explained. “He claims he wanted a new challenge, so he is now our rep
from Organic Foods. He was waiting for me at the airfield. I would like to know
how he knew I was coming in.”
“No one posted about it on socials.” Gigi stared at the
screen of her phone. “I mean he could have asked at the airport. It wouldn’t be
too hard to figure it out, but I can ask my cousin to look into it.”
Gigi’s cousin was Harlow Dawson. She and her partner, Ruby
Lockwood, ran a private investigation firm. It wasn’t a terrible idea.
“Ask Harlow if she and Ruby wouldn’t mind looking into Scott
and what he’s been doing since he left,” Olivia offered. “I would like to know
why he gave up that VP job he wanted so badly.”
Gigi typed out a text and sent it off. “Done. Do you want
them to look into what happened to Jessica?”
“I don’t think she matters much.” No woman mattered to
Scott. He simply used them while they were helpful and disposed of them when
they weren’t. “I want to know what I’m getting into.”
“Wait.” Miranda’s head tilted. “If Garrett and Keane are
here in Willow Fork, where are they?”
This was the part she didn’t want to admit. “Uhm, back at my
house.”
Gigi and Miranda stared at her for a moment.
“You didn’t tell them you were leaving,” Miranda pointed
out. “How did they handle meeting Scott?”
Olivia winced. “Well, I might have insinuated that we are
closer than we really are.”
“Oh, shit. Did you fake fiancé the new guys?” Gigi asked.
“I didn’t fake fiancé them. I fake boyfriended them. Sort
of.” She let her head fall forward. The humiliation was overwhelming. “Okay,
not sort of. I introduced them to Scott as my boyfriends. I don’t know it will
help. He told me he wants another chance.”
“Another chance to what? Break your heart again?” Miranda
asked. “Does he think you’re a fool?”
“Well, yes, that’s exactly what he thinks.” Because she’d
been so foolish once before, and she didn’t need to do it with Garrett and
Keane, too.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d offered
her. Garrett, with his smooth charm, and Keane, with his dark, broody sexiness.
“So let me get this straight. You slept with them and then
snuck out before you could talk, and then figured out you’re about to spend a
lot of time together. Then you see them on the plane. How did that go?” Miranda