Page 11 of Before. Then. Now.

Shaw waved the bag of food, pulling my attention away from the little nugget of truth I didn’t want to acknowledge yet.“Can I come in?Vi canceled your room service when you told her you’d ordered dinner because she knew I was bringing you the grinder you love so much.”

Stepping back, I held the door, silently letting her enter.She dropped her small case on the floor and set the food on the TV stand before sitting on the end of the bed.Making sure the door was shut, I turned to watch her.

Silence stretched between us.We’d been alone all the time in the past.It had never been an issue for either of us.But that was before.Now…

Now, things were different.

Private fun time with Shaw and Jagger hadn’t been defined in detail, but it had changed a lot of things overall.Vi experimented with Shaw while he and I watched.I joined when I couldn’t hold back any longer.And then Jagger fucked his wife like a beast possessed him.He hadn’t joined in on the fun.Yet.But I could see that he was starting to break.He couldn’t hold on to that control forever.

Vi needed to put the poor man out of his misery already.

Despite all the times Vi and I had shared moments with Shaw, Shaw and I had never been one-on-one.This aspect of our lives?That was all because of Vi.If she wanted it to stop, it would stop.What she wanted and needed were all that mattered to me.

My heart feeling things for Shaw?That was a circumstance that I couldn’t control, no matter how badly I wanted to.But it wouldn’t lead into its own relationship.

“Vi said you won your game.”

I nodded, glad to have something to talk about.“Yeah.Their defense needs some serious work if they hope to win at all this season.”

“Jagger mentioned they have a shitty defensive coordinator when he texted me earlier.He was watching the game with Vi and the kids.”

“So, he knows you’re here?”

Her brows lifted, but she grinned.“He’s the one who confirmed my flight plans with my agent.I have a photo shoot tomorrow.”

“I mean, he knows you’re here.With me.”

Understanding filled those baby blues.“Yes, Luca.Jags knows I’m with you.”

My pulse spiked.“And he’s okay with that… With… You.Me.Us.I mean, Vi obviously knows.She texted me right before you got here.But Jagger might not.And I’ve already pushed some boundaries.”

She just sat there, looking up at me for a moment while I floundered, not even attempting to make this easy on me.Her hard-ass personality was one of the things I liked about her.Loved.But not when it was directed at me.

“Let me ask you something, Luca.Have you and Jagger ever talked about any of this?Me and Vi.The ‘experimenting.’”

“No,” I answered with a shrug.

“Men are so dumb.And I’m not only blaming you for that, because Jags is kinda brain-dead at times.I’m not going to get into his whole thing with Vi.That’s their issue to sort out.But just so we are clear on that front, I’m one hundred percent okay with Vi and Jags being together however they decide.”

Sucking in a breath at that, I gave a nod.“Full transparency, I am too.I wasn’t sure in the beginning.But I know Vi has feelings for him.Like she does for you.Which is okay.She loved Remington too, and he became my best damn friend before he died.I’ve grown up a lot since I was a stupid kid.Vi loving other people scared me back then.I needed to be her number one.Now, I’m just fucking happy she loves me at all.”

“Oh, Luca,” she murmured.“You’re number one in her heart.You know that, right?”

“I know.”

“Good.Jagger is first with me too.But I’m not going to fight myself over being in love with Vi.Which he knows and accepts.Fuck, he’s practically drowning in his own feelings for her.It’s so ridiculous, but whatever.I’m not going to fix it for either one of them.They can figure it out for themselves.Or not.My point is, Jags also knows my heart is open to you.It’s hard to love her without caring about you.”

That confession hit me in a way I wasn’t expecting.I looked away from her.“Same.”

Her breathy laugh was sexy as fuck, drawing my gaze back to her without my permission.She was beautiful, and my body ached so fucking bad.I had to force myself to focus or I was going to pounce on her without clearing anything up.Vi had sent her to me, knowing how weak my control was when it came to her bestie.“But is Jagger okay with this?”

“If he weren’t, I wouldn’t be here.That’s how this works, Luca.Complete honesty, especially to ourselves.Otherwise, that locks the others out and cheapens our entire relationship.And I’m sure as fuck not cheap, Luca.”She stood.“I appreciate you caring about Jagger enough to ask questions like this.I still think you are both idiots for not talking to each other, but I’ve learned to accept the stupidity of men.”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“That’s sweet that you care about him.”

“He’s like a brother to me.”

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