Page 51 of Three Grumpy Groomsmen

Maybe Ford isn’t interested in anything beyond last night. Maybe he was comforting me. With an orgasm. My nipples harden at that memory.

We get out of the car at the motel and walk up to the room. I’m carrying the paper bag and Liam has the drink holder in one hand. He takes my hand with his free one right before we reach our room. “Hey.”

“Hmm?” I turn toward him.

“I love you. I just wanted to say that one more time.”

“I had no idea you were so adorable when you’re in love.”

He leans in and kisses me, softly, briefly.

But then a fire sparks inside us and we’re suddenly on top of each other, pressed up tightly chest to chest, kissing with sizzling heat and tangled tongues. I moan low, wanting more. His hand traces over my lower back and onto my ass, cupping one cheek to rock me against his hard cock.

The door opening behind us barely registers in my sex-soaked brain.

“Ivy.”

I break away from Liam and turn to see Ford standing in the doorway in a towel, his hair damp from the shower. He looks stunned.

“Ford, I…” I have no idea what to say.

This is not how I wanted to bring this subject up and I fumble around for words and don’t find any.

Harrison is behind him, fully dressed in shorts and a polo shirt, his arms crossed over his chest. He’s wearing a grin, but it looks strained. “William. I hope you at least brought coffee.”

“We did,” Liam says, lifting the drink holder, seemingly fully composed. “Let’s go in the room and talk about this.”

“I don’t really see what there is to say.” Ford turns on his heel and heads straight to the bathroom, grabbing his overnight bag on his way.

I hear the lock on the bathroom door click.

My heart sinks. This mixture of emotions is confusing as hell and I hate the idea that I’ve hurt Ford in any way. It has me frozen in place.

With his hand on the small of my back, Liam gently pushes me into the room, edging me past Harrison, who steps out of the way. Liam pushes the coffee at Harrison, who takes the cardboard tray. I drop the bag with the burritos on the small dining table.

“So you’re friends with benefits?” Harrison opens the bag and peers inside. His words are casual, but there is some hurt in his tone. “Did Brad know about that?”

Liam bristles. “Not that it’s actually any of your fucking business, but there was nothing for Brad to know. This just happened.”

“You went for coffee and decided to make out?”

This feels like a Liam-Harrison private conversation, so I walk over to the bathroom door and knock. I need to explain. “Ford, can we talk?”

The door opens, and he’s fully dressed. He’s on his phone, swiping. I can see he has a car service app open.

I frown. “What are you doing?”

He finally looks up at me. His gaze drills into me. “I’m going to the airport and flying to South Carolina. I don’t really think I’m needed on this road trip after all and this all feels very…messy.”

My jaw drops. “I…”

I don’t actually know what to say. I feel awkward and guilty and yet, at the same time, I don’t feel like I did anything wrong. We’re all adults. Hell, we were four feet away from Liam and Harrison in bed last night, and that wasn’t a problem. This hasn’t exactly been a straight-forward friends-only road trip.

And yet…there was a spark between me and Ford. I don’t intend to deny that, but it looks like he does.

“Ford. This was unexpected with Liam. Just like between us was unexpected.”

“But you’re in love with Liam,” he says flatly.

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