Page 67 of The Proximity Effect

“Why don’t you stay here? I could get used to how incredibly sexy you look making breakfast in our kitchen.”

I watched the pancakes bubble on the griddle, Evan’s arms still wrapped around me, and I tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up like this every day. The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying. Exhilarating because, well, three incredibly attractive men were all interested in me. Terrifying because... well, three incredibly attractive men were all interested in me.

“Stay here?” I flipped the pancakes and looked back at him. “As in, move into this cabin with the three of you?”

Evan shrugged, his chin still resting on my shoulder. “Why not? You’ve already seen us at our worst. And our best.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“This is all happening so fast. I came here to reset after getting away from one man, not to shack up with three.” I fiddled with the spatula, scraping a bit of rogue batter off the edge while my mind raced through the whirlwind of the past few days.

A few weeks ago, I’d been stress-eating discount Christmas chocolate, convinced I’d die alone with seventeen cats. Now here I was, standing in a cozy cabin kitchen wearing a borrowed shirt, making breakfast with a gorgeous man wrapped around me while two more slept down the hall. Talk about overcorrecting.

“Is that what we’re doing? Shacking up?” Liam’s voice came from behind us, and I turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his bare chest. His hair was adorably mussed from sleep, and he was wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung sweatpants.

My cheeks flushed for what had to be the hundredth time since I’d arrived at Sterling Pines. My face had basically become a permanent shade of pink. “I don’t know what we’re doing, to be honest. But I do know that moving in here with the three of you seems... rushed.” The word felt inadequate. What was the appropriate timeline for going from single to living with three men, anyway?

Liam pushed off the doorframe and walked over to the stove, grabbing the tongs I’d just used to turn the sausage links. “You’re probably right. We did skip about a dozen steps in a normal relationship.”

“A dozen steps and then some.” I scooted over to make room for Liam at the stove and started a new batch of pancakes. “Ithink we need to slow down. We didn’t even discuss this. You can’t spring something like this on a girl over breakfast.”

Evan deflated with a long breath, releasing me from his hold and leaning back against the counter. The loss of his warmth made me immediately regret being so practical, but I knew I had to be. My heart was on the line, and with three men who could potentially destroy it, I had to be careful.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Tess. I got ahead of myself.” Evan’s expression reminded me of a golden retriever who’d been told ‘no’ to a game of fetch.

I offered him a small smile, fighting the urge to take back everything I’d said. Being sensible was seriously overrated sometimes. “It’s okay. I think we need to take a step back and figure out what this is before we jump into anything more serious.” I gestured vaguely between us with my spatula.

“And besides, you’d probably want to kill all three of us if you moved in here.” Liam put the tongs down and went to the refrigerator to grab the cut-up fruit I’d brought. “Plus, one bathroom with four adults is insane. Three is already hard enough.”

I laughed, the tension in the room dissipating. The idea of sharing the small bathroom with the three of them was something out of a nightmare. It was clean at the moment, but I had to wonder if it was because they knew I would be staying with them.

“Maybe you can stay here sometimes, and we can stay at your place too. Or we can take turns? I should Google how other people make this work.” Evan grabbed his phone from the counter, but Liam plucked it from his hands.

“We’re not other people. We’ll figure it all out as we go.” Liam turned off the sausage and grabbed a plate.

I nearly dropped the spatula when Archer appeared in nothing but a pair of perfectly fitted jeans, his hair still rumpledfrom sleep. How was it possible that all three of them looked like they’d stepped off a romance novel cover? It should be illegal to look that good first thing in the morning.

“Is that my shirt?” Archer’s voice was still rough from sleep as his eyes traveled down my body, lingering on my breasts. The heat in his gaze made me forget about the pancakes for a moment.

“Finders keepers?” I forced myself to focus on not burning breakfast instead of how his abs seemed to be crafted by Renaissance artists.

“It looks better on you anyway.” He moved past me to the coffee maker, his hand ghosting across my lower back in a way that made me shiver. “Speaking of figuring things out, I already have a document drawn up outlining how this arrangement would work.”

I whirled around so fast I almost hit Liam with the spatula, sending a few pancake batter droplets flying across the counter. “You what?” Of course he had a document.

Evan choked on the piece of fruit he’d been eating, coughing and sputtering while Liam pounded him on the back. I couldn’t tell if he was laughing or genuinely choking, but his face had turned an impressive shade of red. Liam stared at Archer with his mouth hanging open, looking like someone had told him he could no longer snowboard.

“It includes schedules, sleeping arrangements, and conflict resolution procedures.” Archer poured his coffee with the same casual air someone might use to discuss the weather, not a detailed blueprint for our potential polyamorous relationship. The steam curled up from his mug, and I had to wonder when he’d drafted this document.

“I think we need to consider a ménage à trois instead.” Evan finally managed to speak.

A small smirk played at the corners of Archer’s mouth. “You’re all so gullible. You should see your faces.”

“You ass!” I grabbed a blueberry from the fruit bowl and threw it at him. He caught it and popped it into his mouth with infuriating grace. “I believed you for a second.”

Evan punched Archer in the arm. “I was already planning arguments against whatever custody arrangement you’d come up with for Tessa.”

“Custody arrangement?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“That does give me some ideas for a schedule...” Archer ducked as I threw another blueberry at him.

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