Page 108 of Pucking Sweet

“Why not?”

“Because he’s a Leo.”

I gaze up at his handsome face. “What the heck does that mean?”

“It means he’s a Leo,” he replies. “It’s in his nature. He can’t help it.”

“What’s in his nature?”

“To love you at first sight and stay loyal until he dies.”

Well, knock me down with a feather.

“Now, take me for comparison,” he goes on, hands in his pockets. “I’m a chaotic double Scorpio.”

I roll my eyes. “And what does that mean?”

He grins down at me. “It means I’llwantyou at first sight and fight it until I die.”

With a frustrated groan, I press a hand to my forehead. “Oh god, you’re both crazy. This is all so completely crazy.”

He laughs. “Hey, you picked us.”

“I didn’t pickeitherof you! You both just keep showing up in my pocket like a couple of bad pennies, offering me stress ulcers and orgasms!”

“Pretty great orgasms though, right? I mean, I can’t speak for Cole. Maybe there’s not a lot of motion happening in that ocean. But I think I delivered on my end—”

“Will you stop talking about orgasms?”

“You brought it up,” he teases, flicking my long ponytail off my shoulder.

I bat his hand away. “I didn’t ask for any of this. And, to own the truth, it’s all starting to feel like too much to handle right now.”

His pretty caramel eyes narrow. “What’s all too much?”

“This,” I cry, gesturing around. “Believe it or not, I didn’t move to Jacksonville to start up a complicated love triangle with two hockey players. I came here for a job—one I would very much like to keep, by the way. A job that brings me happiness and fulfillment and purpose outside of any relationship I might have with a man.”

“And we compromise your ability to do that job?”

“In every sense of the word, yes.”

“How?”

Popping my hands on my hips, I glare up at him. “Well, I’m supposed to be running this event. Yet, here I am, arguing with you in front of the creepiest painting of a man on a horse I’ve ever seen.”

Lukas glances up at the painting showcased in a gaudy gold frame. The man on the horse looks like his face was melted with wax, and the horse has the proportions of a sleep paralysis demon. “Jeezus,” he mutters. “That shit’ll haunt you till you’re dead.”

“I have to get back.” I step around him.

“Whoa, hold on.” He grabs my arm again. “Just so you know, youcanhave both, Poppy.”

I go still, my heart in my throat. He can’t mean what I think he means ... can he? I won’t lie and say I haven’t thought about it. Stranger things have happened, right? I mean, not to me. But other people. Other women. Bolder women. And some guys can even be into it, I’ve heard.

But Colton and Lukas want me to pick just one of them. Which, frankly, feels impossible. They’re so different. It’s like picking between cake and ice cream. Colton is sweet and kind and so deeply good. He makes me feel cherished. And Lukas is funny and adventurous and wild. With him, I feel like myself. I feel like my sarcasm is a strength, not something I have to constantly keep in check. He likes my snark and my moods.

And they both make me feel sexy and confident in my own skin, something no partner before them has ever managed. Sure, they drive me a little crazy too. But typically, it’s only the good kind of crazy. They spin me up and leave me panting for more.

Is it possible they could ever not make me choose?

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