Page 45 of Double Booked

“So?” Colton grinned. “Let everyone know you’re ours.”

My smile was probably just as tentative as Justin’s. It wasn’t like either of us were ashamed about our relationship but it was one thing if the three of us knew and a whole other thing if the town knew. It would be different if we were in Minneapolis but here in Oakville, traditional Southern values still reigned even if Oakville was a progressive town. I was probably more worried then Colton was about how this would affect their business and after hearing Justin’s family history the other night, I knew he worried what people would think as well. But Colton was confident enough for all of us so when we chose to tell the town, we could borrow some of his confidence.

In fact, I borrowed a little bit of it now as I kissed both men goodbye and slipped out the office door. Vicky glared at me as I walked to the door. I couldn’t tell if her death glare was just a normal death glare or if she guessed what we were up to. I felt her eyes take in my hair for a second longer but I could easily explain that away by running my fingers through it.

“Have a good day!” I called over my shoulder, just to be obnoxious as I walked out the door. I didn’t hear her reply, not that she probably would have anyway but I just grinned, a bounce in my step as I made my way to my car. She could be a bitch all she wanted. I had a lunchtime quickie with my two boyfriends, wrote almost 7000 words, and was headed home to a house full of life and laughter. Life was so different here than it was in Minneapolis and I couldn’t be happier. Hopefully that didn’t mean the other shoe was about to drop.

CHAPTER 21

RILEY

Afew days later, the other shoe still hadn’t dropped. A giddy smile lingered on my face though as I sat outside of Brewed Awakenings at one of their small tables checking email. The heat of late August was upon us but there was a cool breeze today that kept it from being too hot. Jessica was stopping by and we were going to drive to Somerset for lunch.

I pulled up my email and clicked through the first few newsletters, deleting each one after I scanned them. There was an email from Ryan catching me up on office operations. The next email was from Alyssa, my PI contact. She couldn’t find any records of Justin’s mother leaving town. If she had ran, she hid her tracks well. But very few people could hide from Alyssa. I sent her back an email asking her to look deeper and to track down Justin’s dad, Raymond Hargrove. Everything I had heard about the man indicated he wanted control. If Laura left him, he wouldn’t have taken that lightly and might have gone chasing after her. Even if that wasn’t the case, maybe at least I could give Justin peace of mind that his dad was far away from here.

“Hey, girlie!” Jessica slid into the seat across from me, pushing her sunglasses up on her nose.

“Jessica!” I got up and we shared a warm hug. “How are you?”

“How am I? How are you?” Jessica had been visiting her sister when I first got back with Justin and Colton and we hadn’t had a chance to see each other in person. Although we had texted a little bit.

I wished I could blame the sun for the pink in my cheeks but I looked down at my laptop, tucking an errant curl behind my ear. “I’m good. Like really good.”

“Tell me everything! I’ve been dying for the details. It’s going well?”

I laughed. “It’s going well. We’ve been getting to know each other, going on individual dates and group dates. I know it’s been fast but…” I paused, biting my lip. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

Jessica squealed. “God that’s so cute I could scream. Have you been doing other group activities?” She wiggled her eyebrows for emphasis.

I hummed, a wide smile on my face. “It’s very good,” I said coyly. “They’ve been taking good care of me.”

Jessica squealed again. “I’m so freakin’ happy for you! And them but mainly you! This is better than I could have imagined. We’ll have to hang out all together soon. I can’t believe you’re with both of them!”

The chair behind me pushed back and a woman with blond hair walked by us without looking. Her body posture was stiff and I frowned but turned my attention back to Jessica.

“I know,” I said shyly. “I can still barely believe it myself. But we’re taking it slow and trying to just keep talking it out. But honestly it’s been so easy. Like I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be this easy? Is it?”

“When it’s the right person, or in your case, people, it just works.” Jessica shrugged. “Jake and I knew the night we met at my friend’s party. He moved to Oakville the next month and we’ve been together for eight years now.”

I relaxed some of the tension I didn’t realize I had been carrying slipped away. Things between Colton and Justin and I felt so right but the speed at which it was moving still unnerved me. But we were all adults and like Jessica said, when it works, it works.

“Anyways,” Jessica said. “Are you ready to explore Somerset?”

“Let’s go!” I slid my laptop into my bag and stood up.

“Perfect. I’m parked over here.”

We hopped into Jessica’s bright red SUV and made the forty-five minute drive to Somerset. We ate lunch at one of the marina restaurants and then headed downtown for some shopping. We just exited our second boutique when Jessica’s phone pinged.

Whatever was on the screen caused her to go white as a sheet and then flush red with anger. “What the fuck?” She snarled at her phone.

“What? What is it?” A sinking feeling hit my gut when she looked up at me. Fuck, the other shoe was about to drop wasn’t it?

“Don’t freak out.” Jessica eyed me carefully.

“Telling me not to freak out doesn’t help the not freaking out.” I said, my stomach dropping. “Just tell me.”

“So you know the Oakville Times, our local paper?” I nodded. “Well, we’ve got this stupid gossip column in the town’s newspaper and someone just wrote an anonymous article about how the town’s morals are going down the drain.”

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