Page 82 of Kiss and Tell

Joey had walked up behind Miles earlier and caught him scrolling through some of the photos his ex had sent this afternoon. He hadn’t said a word about it. Instead, he’d shaken his head sadly and walked away.

“I think we should ask Lucy to stay with us.” Joey’s comment came out of left field, but it didn’t really take Miles by surprise.

His friend wasn’t any happier about leaving her behind than Miles was.

“We can’t do that, Joe. It wouldn’t be fair to her. Her life is on the farm, running the brewery with her family.”

Joey ran his hand through his hair, and Miles could almost see his friend compiling a list of ways they could convince her to stay with them. Tenacious didn’t even begin to describe Joey when he set his mind to something.

Miles’s phone buzzed again, but he didn’t reach for it.

Joey stared at it for a second, then looked at him, concern in his expression. “Do you want to ask her to stay?”

He hated that Joey thought he didn’t, that his friend thought he was dismissing this because of some latent feelings for Rhiannon.

Although…

Miles spied a way that might make this easier for the two of them. Because his best friend was obviously feeling as low as he was.

“This was just an adventure, Joey. Not forever. Besides, things still aren’t settled between me and Rhiannon, and I’m in a shitty headspace. It wouldn’t be fair to drag Lucy into the middle of that.”

Joey scoffed. “Bullshit. Don’t use Rhiannon as an excuse, because you and I both know you’re over her.”

Sometimes Miles thought Joey knew him better than he knew himself.

“This thing with Lucy…” Joey continued. “It’s different. It’s special.”

Miles shook his head. Not because he disagreed but because he didn’t know how to argue against something that was true. God. What the three of them shared wasn’t just special. It was fucking perfect.

“Lucy had an offer to leave home before,” Miles reminded him. “She turned down Marco. Chose to stay on the farm. That woman is as close toherfamily as you are to yours. But more than that, she feels a sense of responsibility to that place, to those people. I mean, for God’s sake, she’s not just an employee at the brewery but an owner. She has a financial stake in their success.”

“I know that.” Joey reached for his beer, taking a long drink. “And you’re right. She can’t leave. At least not right away. We have time off between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We already talked about the possibility of returning to the farm to see her. We’ll set that up, get the details solid before we head on to Baltimore.”

Miles sighed, aware that Joey’s suggestion was a short-term solution at best. More than that, prolonging things would only make this harder later on.

“Could you really do a long-distance relationship?” Miles asked. “And if so, for how long? Because even when ourManPowerdays are over, you have a vested interest in your family’s business in Philadelphia.”

Joey didn’t reply to that for a long time. Probably because he didn’t like the answers he was coming up with. “I’m away from Moretti Brothers more than I’m there these days. My brothers are making it work without me. Maybe I could become a silent partner.”

Miles knew just how much Joey would hate that because he missed working with his brothers. It was exactly why he and Miles spent the off months in Philadelphia. So Joey could get his fix of Moretti family time.

“And then what? You move to the farm?” Miles hated saying these things aloud, but they’d been rattling around in his brain for the better part of this week. He wasn’t sure Joey was thinking through exactly what it was he was asking for.

“I love that farm, but…”

Miles’s grimaced. “But you’re a city boy like me.”

Joey nodded. Just once.

“What we’ve been doing with Lucy,” Miles said, “it’s incredible. I mean…the sex…”

Joey grinned, but it was a sad one. “This is where I’m going to drop that ‘I told you so’ I owe you.”

Miles chuckled. “I deserve that. This past week has been amazing, but there’s a big difference between a threesome in the bedroom and a committed menage. It’s hard enough making a relationship work with two people. You’re proposing the three of us try to build a life together while not even living in the same state.”

Joey’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue.

Then Miles brought up something else that had been bothering him. “Besides, while your family accepts the threesome relationships, my mom and sister never will.”

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