Page 50 of The Heart

“We should?” I question, pulling food out of the fridge in the hopes that Luke will make it for me.

“I agree,” Colton adds. “Christmas party, holiday party, Hanukkah party… whatever the fuck they all celebrate, we should do something. Maybe put that barbecue out there to work. You know, the one you’ve literally never touched?” he says.

“I don’t barbecue,” I say, pulling out a pan that I know is the wrong one for what I’m pretending to make.

“You don’t fucking cook, either. Give me that,” Luke says, taking the pot from my hands. He trades it for a skillet, then slams that cupboard shut too.

I glance at Leena, a pleased look on my face. She shakes her head at me.

“What?” I mouth to her and she leans in closer.

“You’re ridiculous,” she mouths back and I close the space to kiss the words away before settling in on one of the barstools. I glance over, noticing they only have one word left on their crossword. I smile, because I know the answer.

I watched Luke do this puzzle yesterday.

“Well lucky for you, I do barbecue. Whenever you’re back from the Campbell’s, we’ll just have a party here. Unless you want to throw it at The Club.” Colton tries to cover his smile with his coffee cup.

It doesn’t work.

“No,” Luke and I both state firmly.

“Why won’t you bring me there?” Leena asks innocently, her brow furrowed as she stares at the page.

I glance at Luke who’s no longer paying attention, then at Colton, who looks hopeful.

“Because. That’s why,” I say, watching Leena hand the page back to Colton, watch his eyes furrow at it too.

I chuckle.

“Do you know the answer?” Leena looks at me, and I sip my coffee to hide my smile. “Oh come on Seb, tell us!” she pleads.

“That’s okay, Leena. We can just chat,” Colton says. “Once upon a time, two guys walked into a club–”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Luke says, snatching the paper from Colton and staring at it for all of two seconds before giving them the answer. “Inane.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

LEENA

What’s wrong with me?I dig through my office drawer and try to decide what I might need while we’re out of town. I still have to pack before dinner with my sister, and I’m a little frustrated she hasn’t texted me back to confirm the time.

Maybe it was the sweatpants.

That’s it,it was definitely because he was wearing Luke’s sweatpants. That’s the only reason I found Colton Fisher attractive this morning. And this entire past week. He’s slept over before, and I’ve never had this reaction in the past. Well, I’ve never denied he’s attractive, but it’s never been… like this.

Sweatpants. Definitely.

It doesn’t help that he was so sweet to Luke after delivering the news about Asher. Or how it makes me laugh when he’s obnoxious to Sebastian. Or the quiet moments we have in the morning over coffee. Doing the crossword together… Luke usually has the damn thing finished before I even wake up. I have to admit, I was getting used to having him around on this last job. It was nice to have that back, at least for a few more mornings.

I think about how he surprised me with the Nerf guns, how we spent hours laughing, tying yarn to every surface. How he helped me handcuff the guys so I could give them their well-earned lecture. How it felt when his hands cupped my face, his fingers brushing against my cheek… the way he looked at me–

Stop.

It’s okay that I won’t see him tomorrow. I don’t need that, I don’t need him. I have two wonderful, amazing men to wake up to every day. They don’t like sitting and chatting first thing in the morning… but that’s totally fine. We do other things together. We talk other times.

Ugh,there’s absolutely no reason that he should be getting to me like this. No reason at all.

Maybe being around this much man is affecting me. I’m horny all the fucking time, becausethey’rehorny all the time.

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