Page 26 of Double Booked

“Not trying to make you serve us, baby girl,” I said, treading water by the front of the boat. She rolled her eyes and grinned.

“Not making me if I’m offering,” she sassed and I laughed.

“Okay then, two beers if you don’t mind. And I grabbed some of those wine coolers you mentioned liking.”

Her expression softened and a warm smile spread on her face. “Thank you,” she said softly, getting to her feet and carefully climbing off the bow. She retrieved two beers out of the cooler and leaned over the edge to hand them to me. After getting herself a wine cooler, she plugged her phone into the boat’s aux cord and music started playing.

“We don’t only listen to country in Kentucky,” I pointed out with a laugh. We had joked over the last few weeks about Kentucky stereotypes starting with the trucks both Justin and I drove. Riley’s eyes danced with amusement but she changed the channel and a popular folk artist started playing.

For the next half hour, we just floated and talked, listening to the music playing softly out of the speakers. I could get used to this, the three of us on the lake with the dogs. For a few moments I let myself think of the future and if I could get both of them on board, this could be our life.

I open my eyes just in time to see Riley throwing the stick for Rex off the front of the boat. She was so focused on throwing the toy out to shore, she doesn’t see Maggie launch herself to bark at a duck. Maggie collided with Riley’s knees and Riley cursed as she lost and her balance and tumbled off the side of the boat.

“Fuck,” Justin cursed and with a few powerful strokes was next to Riley as she emerged from the lake, sputtering. He wrapped his arms around her, supporting her in the water while she got her bearings. I hung back, grabbing her hat that had fallen off when she fell in. Riley’s cheeks were red and I’m sure she was embarrassed but she laughed at something Justin said. Maggie, completely oblivious to the chaos she caused, barked down at us all like we were the problem.

“You okay, baby girl?” I asked as I reached them.

Riley coughed again. She must have gotten a mouthful of lake water and Justin rubbed her back until she got her breath. “I’m fine,” she rasped. “The water feels kind of good actually even if it was unplanned.”

I placed the hat back on her head, brushing a finger over her cheek. A slight flush rose on her cheeks and I wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or being between us. Her eyes shifted to the water and I could see her stiffen as the adrenaline wore off and she realized she was in the lake. I took a chance and did a little pushing.

“Lean back against Justin’s shoulder and give me your feet,” I instructed, moving so I was a few feet away. Riley looked uncertain but didn’t protest, moving to do exactly what I said. “That’s it, baby girl,” I placed her feet on my shoulder as Justin looped an arm around her waist. “We’ll always catch you.” I promised. She took a deep breath and relaxed.

As we floated, I could feel the tension ease out of her. I could also feel Justin’s eyes on me, knowing he caught the ‘we’ in my statement. I met his gaze without hesitation and grinned at him. He narrowed his eyes on my face, trying to figure out what I was up to but I knew in his wildest dreams he probably couldn’t imagine what I was planning. I wanted this. Both of them. And I was going to do my best to make that happen.

CHAPTER 14

RILEY

Istared at the wall, eyes unfocused as I thought about our lake outing a few days ago. Ever since we got back, it had been playing on repeat in my mind. Okay, falling off the side of the boat had been embarrassing but that’s not what I was thinking about. It’s what happened after.

After they helped me back onto the boat, Colton started a splash war that had me diving for cover while he and Justin rough-housed. I almost fell into the water again, I was so distracted by their bronzed skins and muscles with water trickling down every groove. But more than my physical attraction was the obvious signs of physical attraction between the two of them. Lingering touches while wrestling in the water and long looks that I recognized having been on the receiving end of them from Colton.

After my conversation with Jessica the day before, her words played on a loop in my head the rest of the afternoon. They were perfect together, complimenting each other in a way that I would never be able to. They deserved to be together and I was just getting in the way. Even if floating between them in the lake felt so good I forgot about what I couldn’t see beneath me. But maybe I could help out by giving them a little push.

A loud ringing startled me and I jumped slightly on the couch. From the corner of my eye, I could see Justin frowning at me while Colton fished his phone out of his pocket.

“Hello?” He put the phone to his ear and stood up, walking to the back door and opening it for the dogs before stepping out. It must be a client call as he only did that when it was work. I thought Vicky was their receptionist but she apparently didn’t like taking client calls or didn’t always write down the appropriate details.

I bit my lip, rolling it between my teeth as I watched the door close behind Colton. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to Justin. I was going home in two days and I needed to get this resolved before I left. Or before I fell further in love with Colton or into a more complicated mess with Justin.

I decided to just rip the bandaid off when I turned to Justin and I saw him staring at the door that Colton had just walked out of with that longing look in his eyes.

“I see the way you look at him, you know.” I said quickly. “And the way he looks at you.”

Justin’s eyes snapped to mine and his eyebrows shot up his face. “What–? No–”

I held up a hand to stop him, wanting to get this out before Colton came back in. “I know y’all dated in college and I would never judge you for that but I see the way you two look at each other and I don’t want to come between you or take Colton away from you.” I smiled sadly rushing out my words before Colton came back or Justin could deny them, “I can see the love in your eyes when you look at each other even if you won’t cop to it. The years of history you have together… no one can compare to that and I don’t want to stand between that.”

Justin shifted so he could face me. His face was a riot of emotions that I had a hard time deciphering. “Colton… he doesn’t see me like that anymore. And he’s so happy with you.”Justin’s quick denial had my heart clenching. He was a good guy and I appreciated him not wanting to hurt me but it wasn’t just me who saw it so I knew he was in denial.

“I–” The back door opened and both our eyes snapped to Colton.

“What y’all talking about?” Colton wasn’t an idiot and I’m sure that we looked like we had been caught with our hands in the cookie jar even if we hadn’t moved from our spots on the couch.

“Oh, ya know, just fulfilling my promise to Riley about those stories. So anyways… it was third grade and we were at recess and Colton had gotten angry at our PE teacher for some reason so he was determined to make him a mud pie and make him eat it but it had to look realistic…”

Colton groaned and then laughed as he pretended to put Justin in a chokehold as Justin continued the story of little Colton picking the leaves that looked like spinach leaves all over the schoolyard until he presented their gym teacher with a mud pie that looked like a spinach pie and the man had actually taken a bite out of it.

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