Page 60 of Santa's Pucking Hat Trick

Rachel joined us a little later, standing between Wes and Sawyer. She was right there, close enough to touch, and I told myself that if she stood beside me, I’d have a harder time keeping my hands to myself, so this was for the best.

Together, we all chatted about the happy couple, making light conversation, letting other partygoers duck in and out of our circle but never breaking it. I could feel the warmth of Rachel’s presence next to me when she eventually moved to my side, and though I wanted to pull her closer, I settled for brushing my hand against hers out of sight. She gave me a small, almost sad smile.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Michael’s voice cut through the chatter, sharp and angry.

I turned, and my stomach dropped when I saw Sharon hanging on the arm of Gregory, the guy on the team I liked the least, solidifying his place on my shit list. Gregory was all swagger and smirk, and Sharon? Well, she was trouble in aminiskirt. The second she walked in, I knew she was here to cause a scene. She got off on it.

“Come on, Mike, it’s a party,” Sharon cooed, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. “You wouldn’t want me to miss all the fun, would you?”

“Since this is my house, yeah, I’d love you to miss out,” Michael’s jaw clenched, and he looked like he was ready to throw them both out right then and there. But before he could say anything, Sharon’s gaze flicked over to me, then to Wes and Sawyer. And then, with a grin that made my blood run cold, she opened her mouth and ruined everything.

“Well, fine then. But before I go, don’t you want to know what I learned recently about your skanky sister?”

The room went silent. It was like someone had hit pause on the music, the chatter, everything. Michael’s face red with fury, his eyes darting back and forth between Rachel and Wes’s ex-girlfriend from hell.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Michael growled, stepping toward her, his fists clenched at his sides.

Sharon grinned wider, clearly enjoying every second of this. “Oh, you didn’t know? Your buddies here”—she gestured to me, Wes, and Sawyer—“are all gettingrealcozy with Rachel. I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner.”

Goddamn it. This wasnotthe plan.

Michael turned to us, his eyes blazing with betrayal. Sharon wasn’t a trustworthy source, but the way we were all standing together, dumbstruck, certainly gave her some credibility. Michael looked at Rachel, ignoring the rest of us. “Is this true?”

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, Rachel swallowed hard and nodded. “It’s true, Michael. I…we were going to tell you.”

“What the hell is wrong with you, Rach?” Michael cut her off, his voice shaking with rage. “You’re boinking my friends? All three of them? Are you kidding me?”

I could feel the tension crackling in the air. Wes tried to step in, tried to explain, but Michael wasn’t hearing any of it. He was too far gone, too furious to listen to reason. And Rachel—God, she looked devastated. She hadn’t wanted this. None of us had wanted this.

“I’m sorry, Michael,” Rachel said quietly, her voice steady despite the chaos swirling around her. “It’s not—we’re not trying to hurt you.”

“Bullshit,” he spat.

I stepped toward Rachel, putting a hand on her lower back. At least I could touch her openly now. “Let’s go, alright? Give him some space.”

The party was breaking apart anyway. Sharon had seen to that. I could hear Gregory laughing about something, but I was already focused on Rachel, on getting her out of there. Sawyer and Wes were right behind us as we headed for the door.

“My place,” I murmured to Rachel. “All of us. We’ll take care of you, okay? It’ll be better with some space.”

Rachel nodded, but tears were falling. Damn it. She was always so strong. Seeing her cry was like a knife to my heart.

We left Mike standing in the ruins of what was supposed to be his happy night. I didn’t care. Right now, the only thing that mattered was Rachel, making sure she was okay. The rest of the mess could wait.

34

RACHEL

The guys were in damage control mode. I could tell that from the gentle tones they used to speak to me, the way they each gave me soft, reassuring touches as we went into Roman’s apartment. He had the most modern-style bachelor pad of any of the guys, but he also had plenty of space, a California king bed for all of us to share. The guys took me to the bedroom right away.

They wanted to talk, I think. To cuddle me, and smooth back my hair, and tell me that things would be okay. But I’d hit my emotional limit by now. I was pregnant and weepy and hiding it from all of them, and now my own twin hated me. I wanted a distraction. Physical comfort.

I wanted Sawyer, Roman, and Wes.

It took some convincing. My guys were so sweet, so surprisingly loving despite the first impressions I’d had from each of them, that they worried I was too fragile just now to touch.

“You’re upset,” Wes told me, kissing my temple as he held me close. “You don’t have to think about that right now.”

“I want to,” I told him, pulling away from his chest to look at Sawyer and Roman too. “Please, guys. I…I’m too tired to talk. But I want you. Ineedyou. Show me, remind me that it’s all worth it. Show me how well we fit.”

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