Page 49 of The Proximity Effect

Archer’s jaw tightened and his hands folded neatly on the table, forming a perfect triangle with his thumbs. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter.” I leaned forward, my voice firmer now. I didn’t know if it was because of them or because the past month had strengthened my spine. Maybe a combination of both. “Because right now, you’re all being very gentlemanly and accommodating, but what happens when you disagree about who is going to take me out or who is going to…”

Evan opened his mouth with an unmistakable smirk pulling at his lips. “Who gets to fuck you?” His hands shot up in mock surrender when three sets of eyes glared at him. “Hey, that’s what you were going to say!”

I pressed on, trying to keep my voice steady despite the heat flooding my face. “Look. I like you all. Obviously. Probably more than I should, considering I just got out of a relationship, and you’re technically my bosses. But I’m not going to be the thing that makes your friendship worse than it already is.”

Liam shifted in his seat, the leather creaking beneath him, the tension in his posture speaking volumes. “Our friendship isn’t?—”

“Please.” I cut him off, my cheeks heating to what felt like broiler temperatures. “I’ve seen you argue over the silliest things. The only thing you’ve agreed on in the past week is...” I dropped my gaze to the table, suddenly fascinated by the intricate pattern on the napkin. “Well, me.”

The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken words and complicated histories I wasn’t privy to. The lights overhead were suddenly less magical and more like interrogation spotlights, and I had the urge to dive overboard and make a swim for it.

Archer drummed his fingers on the table. “So, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that before this goes any further, you three need to figure out if you can handle it, because I’m not interested in being the rope in your tug-of-war game.”

“We should tell her about Evelyn.” Evan cringed as if he’d ripped off the stickiest Band-Aid known to man.

My eyebrows shot up as I looked around the table. “Evelyn?”

Archer pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s the reason we had a falling out.”

Liam cleared his throat. “We were all on a business group project together, and during that time, she found out about our plans with Gavin to open a resort and then eventually a chain of resorts. Gavin had a lot of family money, but since he wasn’t an easy target, she decided to come after me, Arch, and Evan in hopes of attaching herself to at least one of us.”

“We don’t know if she intended for all three of us to fall for it, but we did. We started blaming each other and fighting, and well… things imploded.” Evan shrugged, but I could tell it really bothered him. “Three stubborn assholes.”

My jaw nearly came unhinged. “Wait, you all let a woman come between you? Like, an actual woman managed to destroy your friendship?” My voice hit that high-pitched territory thatusually meant I was about to word-vomit everywhere. “Oh God, you probably think I’m another Evelyn. Here I am, living out some crazy fantasy with all of you, which, by the way, was not on my vision board for this year—not that I have a romance or sex vision board; that would be weird, right?”

I grabbed my drink and took a large gulp, but that just seemed to accelerate my rambling. “You know what they say: bros before...” I caught myself just in time, “...various female acquaintances. Which is totally valid! I completely get it. And hey, it’ll be easier once I move into my place above Sweet Cheeks.” I let out a snort-laugh that made me want to crawl under the table. “Which, by the way, is such a funny name for a bakery. Like, whose cheeks are we talking about here? Because context is everything and?—”

“Tessa.” Archer’s voice was firm but gentle, like he was trying to talk down a spooked horse. “You’re nothing like Evelyn.”

“Nothing,” Liam agreed, his hand finding mine under the table. “For one thing, you’re genuine.”

“Oh good, I’m glad I’m so genuine with my profound awkwardness and my inability to keep my clothes on.” I paused, realizing what I’d said. “The point is, I get it if you want to keep your distance. I’m basically a walking crisis waiting to happen.”

Archer leaned forward, his eyes intense. “The difference is, this time we’re all aware of the situation. No secrets.”

“Right.” I nodded, then bit my lip. “So... what exactly are the, um, sharing expectations here? Sharing in the informational sense! Like, do we need a group chat? A Google Calendar? Not sharing in the... other sense. Unless...” I swallowed hard, my voice dropping to a whisper, “unless that’s something you’re into? Because I might be open to... I’ve never... but...”

“Can I get you folks anything else?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the waitress’s voice, knocking over my empty glass in the process. “No! I mean, yes! Imean... water! So much water. All the water. Because I’m clearly dehydrated and that’s why I’m talking about group... activities.”

The waitress looked between the four of us, a knowing smirk playing on her lips as she collected our dessert plates. As she turned to leave, she leaned down and whispered, “Get it, girl,” with an exaggerated wink that made me want to throw myself overboard.

I covered my face with my hands, peeking through my fingers at the three highly amused men around me. This was happening, and I didn’t know whether to jump to my feet and pump my fists in victory or crawl under the table.

Chapter 18

Late-Night Snacks

Tessa

Iflopped onto my hotel bed, now wearing my oversized “Baking Puns Are How I Roll” t-shirt and fuzzy socks with little cupcakes on them. Very sexy. Much adult. Peak sophistication right here, folks.

Me: I think I just propositioned three men for group activities while discussing professional boundaries. Professional boundaries seem to be the group motto that is code for “we’re not going to be professional at all.”

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