Page 13 of Third Wheel

He felt Kincaid’s deep breath.

“Okay.”

“I want you there, too,” Zach said, squeezing Kincaid’s wrist. “If Amy agrees. You might see something I don’t. I think we need both of us keeping an eye on her.”

That and he wanted to make sure Kincaid didn’t feel jealous or like he was being kept out of anything. Plus, he knew Amy was going to feel sensitive to the cheating accusations Jeremy and Noelle had flung at her. She would probably be more comfortable with Kincaid watching, so she was assured he didn’t feel the same way.

Plus, doing anything in the house was going to be different from doing it at the club where they’d always been in public. Zach wasn’t sure how he’d feel about scening with Amy in private, in his home. That felt so much more intimate than at the club.

He hadn’t cheated on Kincaid, he fully believed that, but somehow, doing it at home felt different.

But he might be getting ahead of himself because everything he was thinking required Amy’s consent, and he wasn’t sure where her head was going to be.

6

Amy

Saying goodbye to her parents, Amy sagged as she shut the door behind them. She was so freaking tired. She knew they’d been staying because they wanted to make sure she was okay, but trying to pretend she was okay so they’d feel confident about leaving had been exhausting. And it wasn’t that she wasn’t okay exactly.

She was… numb. Mostly.

All she wanted to do was go curl up in bed and watch something. Or doom scroll. Start figuring out where she was going to live after this. She shouldn’t take up their guest bedroom for more than a month. Two at most. Though she wasn’t sure she could take looking for another place at this exact moment when she’d just finished moving everything.

She could plan something really nice to do for Kincaid and Zach as a thank you for all they’d done for her today and for letting her move in with them. Actually, that sounded like the best idea.

Doing something nice for someone else was sure to make her feel better. And it might relieve some of the guilt she felt abouthow little she’d done today while everyone was doing everything for her. She should probably make cookies or something for her friends. Write thank-you notes.

Her brain was still churning when she turned around to see both Kincaid and Zach standing there, looking at her.

For one beautiful, brilliant moment, her brain froze in appreciation of their pure male beauty. They looked so good, and they were both looking ather.

Then, her brain kicked in.

They’re looking at me. Both of them.

They were waiting for me.

Why?

“Um, so thank you for everything today,” she blurted out. Maybe they were waiting for her to express gratitude? She hadn’t gotten a chance to yet today. Or maybe they wanted to reassure themselves she was okay before they went to bed, too. Just thinking about that made her feel even more tired, but they, more than anyone, deserved that reassurance. She just had to get the energy for it, then she could collapse in bed.

Alone.

Don’t think about that. You’ll be fine.

She hated sleeping alone but there was no way she was going to ask to join them again. They’d already let her do that one night. She was not invading their room again.

“Of course.” Zach didn’t smile as he answered, though. “Can we talk to you for a minute?” He gestured with his hand toward the living room where she’d been with her parents.

Oh, they probably wanted to talk about house rules or something. That made sense. Amy felt the sag of relief again. Rules she could do. All she had to do was nod and agree with everything they said, which she knew she would, even if they were unreasonable. But she trusted Zach not to be unreasonable, and if he was with Kincaid, then she trusted Kincaid. Plus, sheknew enough about Kincaid from things Zach had said and from club gossip to know he was a really good guy.

So, whatever they wanted, she’d agree to, and not just because she didn’t have a whole lot of other choices. They’d take care of her. She trusted that. Hell, she’d been experiencing it.

“Sure.” She summoned her brightest smile and headed back into the living room, returning to the couch where she’d been sitting with her parents. To her surprise, rather than going to the couch across from her, on the other side of the coffee table, Zach and Kincaid came and sat down on either side of her, putting her in the middle. “Oh… um…”

She wasn’t sure which one she was supposed to be looking at. Or why she was in the middle of them. Her brain was doing that fritzing thing again, as it had when she’d turned around and seen them standing there, waiting for her. She was trying desperately to reboot it, but she was so tired…

Zach took her hand, so she turned to look at him. He looked concerned. God, she was so tired of everyone looking at her with concern, even though she understood why, but that expression was just another reminder of how horrifically she’d failed at life. People weren’t concerned about someone who was succeeding; they were only worried when you were falling apart.

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