Page 47 of Five Days

I nodded, blinking my eyes open.

Zack studied Callum’s face with tenderness and a whole lot of interest that boosted my hope. “You saw his potential for greatness when others didn’t.”

My heart squeezed at Zack’s assured words, stated as though he’d never once considered I was anything but talented.

“I did,” Callum agreed. “So much so, that within a matter of weeks, I uprooted from my lonely existence to make sure he followed his passion—and thrived in it.”

“So you’ve been living together for what…eight years?” Zack asked.

“Close to it, yes.”

“And you’ve never crossed the line of friendship before this?”

Callum squeezed me.

“I never knew he wanted me,” I said, “but thanks to you, I now get to have his dick along with all of his attention and time.” I considered preening like a cat in sunlight, and I was sure my face revealed my satisfaction.

Zack snorted. “You’re a greedy brat.”

“He doesn’t mind, do you, Cal?” I made a statement rather than a real question directed at my roommate-turned-lover. But I suddenly realized Callum didn’t have a life outside the one we shared. I’d never noticed he had already given me everything and had been utterly devoted to me for years.

Shit.

I dragged my weary body upright, turned and straddled Callum’s thighs. “How long has it been?” I whispered, searching his face for any hint of weariness from having waited for me.

Callum’s gaze touched me as tenderly as his fingertips did my cheek, his blue-green eyes overflowing with adoration that made my chest ache. “From the first day I saw you.”

“Why…” I swallowed hard, grabbing hold of his shirt. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Callum glanced at Zack. “Because your heart belongs to him.”

“Belonged,” I corrected quickly.

Zack’s soothing fingertips still mapping out my lower leg paused.

Callum shifted beneath me.

“Fuck, that came out wrong,” I rushed to add. “I-I mean, he did back then too as well as now. He’ll always own a part of my heart, but it’s big enough for the both of you.”

The fire popped in the sudden quiet among us. My pulse raced and not in the good way. More like a sixth sense of foreboding. A red flag on the rise.

“This is a vacation,” Zack stated quietly. “I’m a hired escort here to please you for the next couple of days. You return to Rhode Island with Callum, and I head to Boston when we leave here.”

A solid jab punched my chest, and I blinked against the sting in my eyes. I’d been so caught up in the perfection of us over the span of our day together that I didn’t actually think about what Zack wanted or that he might not be on board with Callum and I.

Same as the night I’d betrayed him, I hadn’t considered or asked what his plans had been—and look how that shit had ended up.

Zack made it clear he had a life to return to, and while we might be fucking, he’d been paid to do it. Why the hell would he dive into a relationship with a guy I doubted he would ever trust again?

Mentally done in, I heaved a sigh and pushed off Callum. A yawn caught me before I could offer an excuse. The involuntary action of my body added to the truth of my tiredness, making my eyelids heavy.

“I’m beat, and seeing as how I’m going to be spending all of tomorrow in front of a computer working on edits, I better get some sleep. That won’t happen with the two of you in a bed with me so…” I shrugged, hoping I appeared uncaring and nonchalant. “Enjoy the rest of the night together.” I squeezed Callum’s shoulder and winked. “Get your money’s worth out of this fine man. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Either I left the two men speechless, or they looked forward to some alone time they hadn’t expected to get with how greedy my ass was because neither argued my ambling off into the night.

Disappointment lay heavy on my chest, and I might have allowed a few tears to slide down my cheeks while enroute to our suite, but I wanted the two of them to connect purely for selfish reasons.

If Zack fell for Callum, that boosted the chance he might consider being with the two of us after we left the island.

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