Page 102 of Third Wheel

“I’m sure they’d be happy to,” Amy said. They’d actually wanted to come over for dinner with her today when she’d told them she was going to tell her parents, but she’d said no. She’d had the feeling her parents would take it better if they weren’t confronted with two boyfriends face-to-face immediately.

Giving them time to settle into the idea before she brought her boys over had seemed like the prudent decision, and she wasn’t regretting it. It would give her parents time to let it all sink in before she made the formal introduction.

She also had the feeling that Jeremy’s shitastic treatment of her on their wedding day and the way Zach and Kincaid had stepped up at that moment also helped with her parents’ acceptance. The contrast was pretty stark.

Kincaid

Dinnertime without Amy was odd. They’d gotten used to having her around. It didn’t help that they were waiting to hear from her on how telling her parents had gone.

“Is it weird that it feels lonely here with just the two of us?” Zach asked suddenly, breaking the momentary silence. There’d been a few lulls in the conversation already. “It was just the two of us for a long time, and it didn’t feel lonely then.”

“It does, and it’s not weird,” Kincaid reassured him. “We’ve gotten used to having her around.

“I think I’m also freaking out a little that she’s going to come back and say her parents couldn’t accept her dating two guys and that she’s moving out and leaving us,” Zach admitted. He’d gotten a lot better about sharing his feelings and fears over the past weeks, something Kincaid really appreciated. He might not be able to do anything about them, but he was glad Zach wasn’t keeping it all bottled inside anymore.

“I doubt she’s going to do that, but even if she did, I’m not going anywhere. We’ll just be lonely together for a little while.” He reached out his hand to take Zach’s, making the other man pause in eating. Not that he’d been eating much, to begin with. “But I really don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Zach took a deep breath.

“I don’t either, but I can’t stop thinking ‘what-if?’ And I know, Mistress Julie said to do exactly what you just said and actually answer the question, not just leave it hanging. You’re right. We’ll be okay. Just… sad.” Zach sighed. “If she does, I don’t want to go looking for another third.”

“No, I don’t either. I think if we’re going to be a trio, Amy is it for us. It only works with her,” Kincaid agreed. He and Zach would make it on their own if they needed to, but he hoped they wouldn’t have to. Being with Amy made them feel even more complete.

His phone buzzed, and he released Zach’s hand so he could pull it out and check the text. He frowned as he read it.

“What’s wrong?” Zach asked, concern and some confusion laced through his voice. He probably assumed it had to do with Amy, but it didn’t.

“Don, Cassidy’s ex, seems to have disappeared,” he said grimly. “He hasn’t been at his job for a few days or any of his usual places. Patrick wants me to see what I can find out.”

He’d also text the information to Lincoln and David. If Cassidy was in danger…

Maybe they’d gotten lucky, and the asshole had gotten arrested or something and was out of their hair for good. Kincaid didn’t believe in that kind of luck, though. He looked up at Zach.

“Sorry, I don’t want to interrupt dinner, but do you mind if I make a few calls?”

Zach’s expression was as grim as he felt.

“Do it. I’m not that hungry, and neither of us is going to feel like eating while you’ve got asshole Don hanging over Cassidy’s head. I can make some calls, too, and see if anyone knows anything.” The gossip train at the club wasn’t just for the fun stuff; members had been keeping tabs on asshole Don, which was probably why Patrick knew the jerk hadn’t been to work.

Nodding, Kincaid got up from his seat while Zach pulled out his phone and started texting people.

Half an hour later, they knew that no one had seen him since Wednesday, the lease on his apartment had ended, and he was in the wind. Not the news that he wanted to call Cassidy about, but she needed to know. It was even worse when she answered thephone with a chipper tone that indicated she was having a good night.

“Hey, Kincaid! How are you? I was going to call you tonight!”

“You were?” He blinked in surprise.

“Yeah, I wanted you to know that I finally got a job! I applied for a job being someone’s personal assistant, and I got it… and you’ll never guess who it is… David’s grandmother. He didn’t want her to hire me, but she did, and now I have a job!” Cassidy’s glee traveled easily over the phone and made Kincaid feel even worse because he was going to have to burst her happy bubble.

“Is David giving you a hard time about it?” he asked, because if he was… But Cassidy just giggled. Fuck, he was really going to hate raining on her parade.

“No, she won’t let him. She’s amazing. And, to be fair, he had good reason for not wanting to hire me. I kind of accidentally showed up to the interview high.”

“You what?” Thatdefinitelywasn’t like Cassidy. “How do you accidentally get high?”

Zach turned to look at Kincaid, a baffled, questioning expression on his face, and Kincaid waved his hand at him. Obviously, he couldn’t stop to explain right now.

“Oh, it’s kind of a long story… What did you need?”

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