Page 64 of Indulgence
Adam wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I laid my head against him and sighed. Why couldn’t I shove all this in the past and move on? Why was it so hard for me but Matteo made it look so easy? Why couldn’t I decide if I was mad or not? My emotions were flopping around like a fish out of water.
“Why won’t you come home, sweetheart?” Adam asked as we watched the man paint the neutral color on the walls. “What happened?”
I looked up at him. “How much has he told you?”
“I know the chain of events.” His words were soft. “I’ve heard Matteo’s version, but that isn’t the same as yours.”
My lungs burned as I sucked in a breath and held it in for a few beats. I exhaled slowly, savoring the sting in my chest. “It wasn’t like the night with you. With you, it was an experience, and then we went right back to who we’ve always been. We didn’t spend the night together. I don’t mean this offensively, but you were an added bonus to an experience between Matt and me.”
That didn’t seem to bother him. “And with the other woman?”
“When I think about it, I feel jealousy and regret. It seems I have a problem with him being intimate with other women.”
Adam chuckled. “If you think Matt wasn’t jealous when we were together, you were either not paying attention or were too distracted to see. We talked about everything beforehand so he knew what was coming every step of the way. I knew my place, and Matteo knew that I did, which made it easier for you to trust and enjoy. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t ticked off at the way you fell apart on my tongue. Why do you think he wanted me to see how he could make you come?”
He made sense. Matteo had drilled me with a ton of questions when considering the threesome with Adam. With Brooke, clearly nothing was planned. “I was trying to give him something cool, and it backfired.”
Adam smiled as he squeezed me tighter. “Next time, you should ask him. That is, if you ever consider trying something like that again. Don’t be so quick to swear off all girl-on-girl action.” He waggled his eyebrows like a typical dude. “You just need to find the right partners and maybe have a discussion before all the clothes come off.”
I doubted I’d ever have another threesome, but his advice was logical.
“Can I help with the suitcases?” He looked at my outfit, which was a maxi-skirt, crisp white T-shirt, and chunky brown belt, and then turned to the bedroom. “I doubt you want to risk getting paint on yourself.”
Or risk Penelope’s wrath if I ruined her clothing.
“Thanks.”
He smiled. “It will all work out, Natalie. I’ve never met a stronger couple than you and Matt. Don’t give up.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Matteo
Natalie was seated on Penelope’sporch swing when I pulled up. She looked the same as she always did but different at the same time. She looked calm, yet still a bit unsettled.
I hated that we were still so far apart emotionally when we couldn’t seem to stay in the same city for more than a day or two at a time this week. I had no idea how we were going to pull off parents’ weekend with the kids in two days if we didn’t get to talk through all the things Natalie left in her message.
I wanted to plan a way to have this conversation where things weren’t rushed and we could talk it all through, but it seemed our work schedules had other plans for us. I had to take what I could get. We couldn’t continue to push this aside.
Natalie looked nice as I stepped onto the porch. Her dark hair was swept off to the side, and she had on a navy-blue dress. Her eyes seemed a bit brighter than they were in the beginning of the week.
She smiled weakly before adverting her eyes. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I replied as I sat next to her.
She kept her focus out on the front lawn. “How was your trip?”
“Fine,” I responded, following her lead with the small talk. “How are things with the gallery?”
In the midst of everything going on, I’d kind of forgotten about the Portland opening.
“The final inspections are tomorrow morning,” she said, picking at some invisible lint from her skirt. She still hadn’t made eye contact. “The painters will come in after and the set-up crew will be in with all the fixtures to start hanging things when I get back on Sunday.”
She wouldn’t miss parents’ weekend on Saturday for anything short of the world collapsing. “Are you flying back in tomorrow or Saturday morning?”
“Tomorrow.” Natalie finally turned toward me. “I saw the bedroom.”
Again, I nodded, not knowing what response she wanted from me. Was she upset that I had the bedroom redone or relieved?
