Page 99 of The More the Merrier

Leaning one hand against the wall, I braced myself for a moment. Running my hand over the scruff on my chin, I gave myself a mental pep talk before taking a step inside her bedroom. She stood in the doorway, as if poised to walk out, and I bumped straight into her. Kendall gave a small cry of surprise, her huge eyes widening as she stared.

Crossing to her bed, I sat down with deliberate slowness. Watching her watch me, I undid the laces of my sneakers and removed my socks. My shirt came next, followed by my belt and jeans. Wordlessly, I set my cell phone on the nightstand furthest from her, climbed under the covers, and propped up on an elbow.

“You-you’re on my side of the bed,” she stammered.

“Your water bottle is on the other nightstand, the pillows on that side are flattened, and the covers are already turned down.”

She pursed her lips but said nothing as she shimmied out of her jeans. Kendall tugged her shirt off, leaving her in just a sexy caged-back bra and lacey panties. She unhooked the pretty garment, sliding it off her body, and then set it on top of her hamper. Locating a tank top, she pulled it on before joining me. We were both wired a little differently when it came to nudity, but I caught a long look at all of her gorgeous curves from her reflection in the mirror.

“You’re absolutely gorgeous, Kendall.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Her tone was light and playful, giving me a glimpse of the woman I used to know before grief and other things bogged her down. She shut off the lamp on the nightstand and settled into bed.

“I’m sorry for the way things played out today.” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to lead you in the wrong direction at the hospital, but it’s been an awfully long time since I’ve thought about dating. My mind didn’t immediately jump there.”

“I forgive you, Dalton. I haven’t really been engaging in the sort of behavior that shows I’m in the mood to be somebody’s girlfriend, anyway.”

Reaching for her hand in the dark, I found it, lacing my fingers in hers. “Get some sleep, prancer.”

“Out of all the reindeer, couldn’t you have gone with Vixen?”

Chuckling from her sassy tone, I squeezed her hand playfully. “That would have been a little forward, don’t you think?”

“Oh, yeah? Cause yanking my hair, making me moan, and kissing me like we’ve been thrown into some romantic holiday comedy where they are stuck under the mistletoe wasn’t forward?”

“Point. I’ll bring you coffee at work tomorrow to make up for my boldness.”

“And?” She giggled.

“And we will discuss whatever the hell else you’ve been keeping inside and bottled away.”

“Pfft.” Kendall scoffed. “It’s going to take more than one coffee to get me to open up.”

“I can think of some other things that might work better.” I hoped she would pick up on my subtle hints, but it wasn’t a guarantee. She traced the fingers of her free hand over mine as we laid there.

“If we started dating, wouldn’t it be weird to see each other at the hospital, Dalton?”

“No weirder than it is now,” I assured her. “Let’s get some sleep. You’re going to need it to deal with the potential hangover in the morning. What time do you have to be up?”

“Um, I should be out of bed by seven.”

“I’ll set an alarm.” Shifting slightly, I programmed it into my phone and returned it to the nightstand. “Next time we do a sleepover, I’ll cook you a proper breakfast before I leave.”

“Don’t make promises that you can’t keep.”

“Give me a chance, darling. I just might surprise you.”

Kendall curled into a ball against me, and I let out a long breath. Despite our strained conversation, she trusted me. I hoped she’d believe me after we brought everything to the surface. It still left me with Grant to figure out. I was willing to get into a three-person relationship, thinking I’d balance it well, but I wasn’t entirely sure if he was submissive.

At the moment, I let the rest of my concerns go. I would figure all the details out, and I might even get a wonderful relationship with two sweet partners just in time for the holidays.

Chapter 2

Kendall

Something buzzed on the far nightstand and I rolled over, straight into Dalton.Shit!I’d barely remembered that he boldly climbed into my bed last night. Sure, I’d invited him to stay, though I’d told him more than once to leave. It had definitely been the alcohol talking. I hadn’t expected him to kiss me. Shaking his shoulder several times without a response prompted me to climb on top of him, a move I seldom did to anyone. Dalton groaned and blindly grabbed his cell phone. “Hello?”

He sat up, but when I went to move out of his lap, he wrapped his arm around me, keeping me there. “Why is it my problem that you allowed multiple people to take PTO on the same day?”

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