Page 78 of Four of Hearts

I looked to the boats, trying my hardest not to let this stupid fear of deep waters get to me. I hadn’t told them about it, but I didn’t think we’d one day be going on a boat.

“Lola?” Leo squeezed my thigh. “What’s wrong?”

I swallowed and turned to look at him. I hated how vulnerable I was, and I wasn’t even on the damn lake. “I don’t really like being on large bodies of water.”

“Shit,” Watson muttered. “We don’t have to go on the boat, sweetheart. We can stay here on land.”

“I don’t want to ruin the weekend for you. You already had this planned.”

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll stay here,” Bennett decided.

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Lola,” Kline told me, his voice stern. “There’s plenty of other things to do around here that are just as nice. We’ll find something.”

The last time I told a guy about my fear of deep waters, I had to go into detail as to why I was so afraid. It was an uncomfortable conversation, and the worst part of it all was that I didn’t even have actual reasons. I had no idea where this fear came from, and I never talked to a therapist about it.

The guys didn’t ask more questions though. They simply accepted it and found other solutions instead of pressuring me into telling them why I didn’t want to go on that boat.

It was then when I once again realized that those four men were something special, and that I didn’t want to lose them.

Chapter 33

LOLA

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the small town, and after the guys had shown me all their favorite spots, we went back to the house to rest before having dinner.

Because Leo couldn’t go one day without standing in the kitchen, he insisted on cooking dinner for us. We weren’t very hungry because we had a late lunch, but he promised that the chicken salad he’d make wouldn’t be too heavy on the stomach.

We ate on the balcony overlooking the town and lake, and I couldn’t stop admiring this place, stunned by its beauty. It was so calm and relaxing here, and it felt like a vacation.

After dinner, Kline and I helped Leo clean up in the kitchen, and in the meantime, I listened to Bennett and Watson talk about the many boat rides they took to get to the town on the other side of the lake. I couldn’t help but think they were disappointed they couldn’t go on that boat, and I felt as if I ruined this weekend for them.

“Why don’t you guys just go on the boat? I don’t mind staying here alone.”

Watson and Ben turned around with frowns between their brows, and Watson said, “Are you crazy? We’re not leaving you here.”

“Besides, it wouldn’t be fun without you. We’ll stay here,” Ben stated.

“But I can tell that you really like going on that boat. I don’t want to ruin the fun for you.”

“You didn’t ruin anything, Lola,” Kline assured me, but I still wasn’t happy with ruining their initial plan.

“Still…I want you to go if you’d like to. I don’t mind.”

“Kitten, we won’t leave you. We’ll stay here and have just as much fun. Probably even more than we anticipated. You’ll have to live with us not leaving your side even if it means changing our plans.”

I looked at Bennett and sighed listening to his words. How could they all be so damn good to me? It clearly meant a lot to them to make me happy, and while I knew I deserved men like them, I had yet to come to terms with the fact that I would get anything I wanted from them if I only asked.

Not that I would use that to my advantage anyway.

I didn’t want anything other than them.

It made me emotional as I started to understand what it meant to be with them. They would always make sure that I was happy and pleased, and normally, that wasn’t something most men were capable of doing.

My eyes were watery and my vision got blurry as a sob escaped me. I quickly held my hand in front of my mouth to stop another one to erupt, but it didn’t work out as smoothly as I hoped it would because the next sob was even louder.

“Woah, hey…baby, where’s this coming from?” Leo wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his body. “Baby, please don’t cry.”

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