Page 62 of Trouble

God, get out of your head, Mel.

“Donuts, then shopping.”

Cade smiles. “Jules’?”

“You know it?”

He laughs, a white cloud forming in the air in front of him. “I grew up here, remember? I visit pretty often, and since Declan’s only indulgence is food, yeah, I know it.”

Stomach swooping, I bite my lip. “That’s not hisonlyindulgence.”

With a squeeze to my shoulder, he hums but doesn’t say anything.

“Does he know how you feel?” I ask.

From what I’ve seen, Cade’s interest in Declan is so much more than sexual. The way he talked about his fantasies while we were in bed blew my mind, but at the memory of the pain in his eyes, the longing when Declan disappeared, my chest aches.

Oddly, I don’t feel threatened by Cade’s feelings for his best friend.I’ve been known to be a jealous person, and I thrive on attention—of course I do; I love the spotlight, being on stage, having all eyes on me—but I don’t mind sharing that spotlight with Declan. It doesn’t feel like Cade wants him more than he wants me. He wants us both. Together. Like the three of us together would be his ultimate dream.

And though this kind of thing never crossed my mind before I met these men, I can say with certainty that it’s now my dream too.

The question is, where does Declan fit into all of this? There is a longing there, I have no doubt, but I’m not sure he’ll ever allow himself to act on it.

“About you?”

Oh, he’s being cute, trying to evade my question by focusing on me.

Ahead of us, two women walk out of Jules’ with coffees in their hands, bundled up and talking loudly.

I can’t see their faces, but one has blond hair sticking out below her black beanie. Her friend has caramel-colored hair, and when she practically trips down the steps, her friend grabs her, keeping her from falling.

“We need to wrap you in bubble wrap so that my niece survives this pregnancy without too many bruises.”

The woman who tripped splays her hand over her stomach and smiles brightly. “You sound like your brother.”

The girl scoffs. “Please, if I were Jack, I’d say, ‘Sassy, you have to be more careful. I love you too much to see you hurt.’”

My chest fills with warmth at their banter, and as the blonde looks up and spots us, I recognize her immediately. “Amelia Pearson?”

“Mel?” She lunges forward and scoops me into a hug. “Lake told me you were in town. Chief must be keeping you on some serious lockdown. I haven’t seen you at all.”

Amelia and her husband Nate lived in Nashville when Lake and I were there. Though Lake was the first to get her big break, Nate also found fame. Amelia, his girlfriend at the time, has an incredible voice too. They released their first album together a few years ago and are pretty well-known around the country, but they spend the majority of their time here, in the town where they grew up.

Amelia steps back and yanks Cade into a hug as well. “Visiting for the weekend?”

“Yeah.” He steps back and sticks his hands into his pockets. “We don’t have another game until Tuesday.”

Just the idea of Cade leaving on Monday morning has dread sinking in my stomach.

“Staying at Declan’s?”

“Yeah, I’ll have dinner at my mom’s tomorrow.”

Breath catching, I blink at him. How did I not know that his mom lives in Bristol too?

The answer blares loudly in my head, making my gut churn. I didn’t know because we’re only fooling around. This isn’t a date. I’d somehow begun to think the little game we’d been playing of being boyfriend and girlfriend had turned real.

We’re having sex.

---