“You’re a horrible liar, love.”
“I know.” Sighing, I slumped back. Kicked my leg up and down a few times. “You don’t seem worried.”
“I’m not.” Briar set his tea on the side table and came over to sit with me. The cushion was a one-seater, so he shifted me onto his lap and put his arms around me from behind. “Maddox and I spoke a great deal before he joined you outside. I know exactly what’s being discussed.”
Briar always knew how to comfort me. His presence calmed me like nothing else did. Much like how Maddox always made me feel safe and cherished.
“What are they talking about?” I asked. He arched a brow as I peeked back at him. “Oh, come on. You can at least tell me that much.”
“You told us you have feelings for Lake,” Briar said. “Seeing as to how he shares those feelings for you, Maddox and I came to a decision. So Maddox is… relaying that decision and discussing terms.”
Guilt wound through my gut, like rusty wires scraping as they twisted together. Rusted because guilt was an old, dear friend who never fucking left me alone for long. I had fallen for three men, each of whom was unique in their own way. Impossible to choose between.
“I’m sorry I’m so selfish,” I whispered, sounding just as pathetic as I felt. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you, Evan.” Briar rested his cheek on the side of my arm, skewing his glasses. “The heart wants what it wants. And sometimes, it wants different people for different reasons. There is no one right way to love. Relationships come in all varieties. This is ours.”
“Doesn’t it upset you? Me wanting Lake?”
“No. I expected it.”
I turned on his lap to look at him. “You did?”
Briar’s hazel eyes softened. “The morning we found you at Lake’s house, I saw his expression as he watched you leave. I knew right then we’d see him again. I was perhaps a bit jealous at first. It’s only human, after all. But then I saw how your face lit up when you talked about Lake. That’s all I needed to be okay with the idea. Maddox was more stubborn in accepting it, but he eventually came around. He just wants you to be safe. As do I.”
“Maddox? Stubborn? Say it isn’t so.” The tightness in my stomach unwound as Briar chuckled. “I love you, Doc. Me caring about Lake doesn’t change that.”
“I know. And I love you too.” Briar brought my face down to his for a short kiss. Short, but so damn soft. It made my heart all wobbly. “More than life itself.”
Footsteps came down the hallway, the boots heavy on the wood floor. I only heard one set and immediately concluded that they had, indeed, fought to the death. But when Maddox rounded the corner, Lake was a short step behind him, so light on his feet I hadn’t heard him.
That stealthy, gorgeous wolf.
“So?” I patted Briar’s thigh before standing up. “What’s the verdict? What did you talk about? Did either of you draw blood? Is my kitchen still in one piece? I worked hard getting it ready, you know, and will cry if you broke my coffee machine.”
Lake’s ears twitched.
Maddox sighed. “Your precious coffee device is safe. We chatted, nothing more.” He took a step closer. “The topic? You.”
“Are you going to sacrifice me?”
Briar laughed.
“Sacrifice?” Maddox caressed my jaw in his familiar way. “An intriguing thought. Do you happen to know any muffin gods that would bless us for such an offering?”
I punched his chest.
He expelled a raspy laugh and grabbed my wrist, tugging me against his body. “What’s another ‘s’word? Think hard, muffin. They’re your favorite, after all. You toss them at me enough.”
“Don’t make me punch you again.”
“That was a punch? How adorable.” Maddox smirked, but it bloomed into a full smile as I lightly banged my fists against his muscled chest. He caught one and kissed my knuckles. “So feisty.”
“Hang on.” I stopped pummeling him. “Another ‘s’word?”
Maddox glanced at Lake, then at Briar, before returning those deep blue eyes to me. They still made me weak in the knees. “Sharing.”
“Sharing?” I repeated, my brain struggling to compute. I imagined the wires in my head sparking and a hundred Evans running around frantically, papers and muffins flying everywhere. One spilled coffee while another dropped to the floor and started crying. Total chaos. “As in… sharingme?”
