Page 88 of Third Wheel

“Thank you,” Kincaid said, though it made his heart hurt a little because that was Zach’s rule, not his. “I don’t want to wait forever.”

“You shouldn’t have to wait forever. I won’t lie… Zach fucked up pretty big. He hit some trigger points for you, for sure. But… you’re also not very understanding when someone doesn’t do what you think is the ‘right’ thing.”

That grated a little because what? He was supposed to be okay with people doing the wrong thing?

“I see that face,” Mitch said in the kind of sing-song voice that he sometimes used with his soon-to-be six-year-old stepdaughter. “I didn’t say the ‘right’ thing. I said whatyouthink the right thing is. Sometimes, in some situations, there’s more than one way to do the right thing, but you have a tendency to choose what you think is the one ‘right way,’ and woe betide anyone who doesn’t choose the same way.”

“Are you saying Zach did the right thing today?”

“No, but Iamsaying that he’s not doing anything wrong by working on the timetable thathe’scomfortable with. Unfortunately, today that timetable bit him in the ass. You have every right to be pissed. But he also has every right to have waited this long. It’s up to you whether or not you can deal with his timetable, but being mad that his is different from yours isn’t going to help anyone.” Mitch’s tone was matter-of-fact.

Kincaid frowned.

Shit. He had been doing that, hadn’t he?

“Also, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be nearly as pissed at him if you hadn’t been working up a whole throuple scenario in your head while you were on your run, only to come back and find that he’d tried to implement what you would feel was the worst-case-scenario of that arrangement. If you weren’t afraid of exactly that happening, you probably would have been able to deal with everything better.” Mitch grinned when Kincaid flinched at the direct hit.

“Ow,” Kincaid complained, putting his hand on his chest. “Why don’t you just punch me in the face next time? It would hurt less.” He huffed. “I still don’t think it’s right that Zach hasn’t told his parents about us.”

“I agree,” Mitch said calmly, plating the sandwiches. “I also don’t think it’s right that you keep pressuring him to. Mostlybecause it’s not helping anyone; it’s making Zach more insecure, and it’s making you resentful. None of that is good for a relationship.”

“Get a girl to agree to marry you, and all of the sudden, you’re a relationship expert,” Kincaid muttered.

“Hey, if anyone knows about what it takes for a relationship to fall apart, it’s me. You want to end up like my parents?” Mitch wrinkled his nose. “I mean, they’re blissfully happy now, but I don’t think you want to spend ten years in a ‘will they, won’t they’ situation while y’all get your shit together.”

Having heard the entire story about Mitch’s parents’ divorce and reconciliation, Kincaid had to agree. Deep down, he’d already known that. Which was why he hadn’t broken up with Zach immediately. He hadn’t wanted to do anything rash while he was angry. He wasn’t sure Zach could handle another breakup, especially after he’d accused Kincaid of leaving him once.

He wasn’t ready to take that step.

“So what do I do?” he asked. Having to ask that wasn’t normally his thing, but he truly didn’t know what to do.

“I think you have to wait and see what Zach does.” Finished putting the ingredients away, Mitch walked back into the living room and handed Kincaid a plate.

“I hate waiting,” Kincaid muttered.

“Don’t we all.” Mitch snorted. “If you could wrap this up today while I’m here, so that I can tell Domi all the good, juicy gossip when I get back home, that would be much appreciated.”

Taking a big bite of his sandwich, Kincaid flipped off his best friend with his free hand.

Amy

“I’m a homewrecker,” Amy moaned into her hands while Morgan rubbed her back with one hand. She was sitting on Morgan and Asad’s couch—where she’d probably be sleeping tonight—trying not to totally dissolve into tears.

As crazy as it was, this felt worse than being left at the altar.

“No, you’re not,” Morgan said soothingly, still rubbing her back.

“By the legal definition, you’re definitely not,” Asad said from behind them. “Kincaid and Zach both invited you into the relationship, you’re living with them, and they both knew about you.”

When Amy and Morgan both lifted their heads to glare at him, he put his hands up in front of him in a placating gesture and took a slow, careful step back.

“So, um, I’m going to step out and let you ladies have the house,” he said. “Uh… I hope you’re feeling better soon, Amy.” He sidestepped to the front door and yanked it open, disappearing as fast as he could and causing both Amy and Morgan to dissolve into giggles. Amy’s ended a lot faster than Morgan’s did.

Technically, Asad was right. She wasn’t a homewrecker. Not in the sense that Noelle had been. But she’d still messed up Kincaid and Zach’s relationship, even inadvertently, which was the last thing she’d ever wanted to do. She felt like she’d wrecked things with her mere presence.

If she hadn’t sprayed Zach with water, they wouldn’t have been in the position his parents found them in. If she hadn’t been there, if she hadn’t taken over their guest room, theywouldn’t have agreed to the club relationship, and it wouldn’t have spilled over to real life. If she hadn’t started yelling at Zach in the street, maybe he would have found the right time and way to tell Kincaid what had happened with his parents. Or, at least, a way that didn’t involve her, so she wasn’t partially responsible for that awful expression on Kincaid’s face. No matter which way she looked at it, everything started with her.

“He is right, though,” Morgan said delicately, returning to rubbing Amy’s back. “I don’t think we can call you a homewrecker. It was just a fight. A bad one. But you didn’t do anything wrong.”

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