Page 32 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men
“What are you doing here?”
August, Dominic, and Theo stand on the threshold. Freshly shaven and sporting different clothes from earlier, they look at me as if I’m the only girl in the world, and for a brief moment, I feel like I did in Hawaii all over again.
“Did you really think you could get rid of us that easily?” Theo chuckles.
Dominic holds up a bottle of white wine. I recognize the label. “Castello Banfi,” he says. “I found it at a store close to our place. Couldn’t resist.”
“It’s the same as what we had at the restaurant at the resort, isn’t it?” I gasp, remembering every sweet detail of that beautiful first night.
“It is,” he confirms.
“It would be a shame not to enjoy it,” August adds with a wink.
“What, like now?”
“Do you have anything better to do?” he asks with an arched eyebrow.
I shake my head slowly and take a step to the side so they can come in. And just like that, my foyer is overcrowded by three massive and breathtakingly handsome men who brought me a great Italian chardonnay and the pleasure of their company.
“I’m sorry,” I say as we move into the living room. I grab four wine glasses from the kitchen while Dominic opens the bottle. “I didn’t mean to be rude earlier. It’s just that?—”
“You didn’t know how to say goodbye after we spent two amazing weeks virtually inseparable,” he says and pours the wine evenly into the four glasses.
“Pretty much.”
“But here’s the thing. You don’t have to say goodbye,” August replies. He sits in the armchair while Theo, Dominic and I share the large, ridiculously comfortable sofa. “We certainly don’t want to say goodbye. Especially not after your mother invited us to dinner.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, heat bursting in my cheeks. “Oh God.”
“We all had notes taped to our doors,” Theo laughs. “Helen Baldwin has a flair for the dramatic, I’ll give her that.”
“It’s Helen Astor-Baldwin, if you don’t mind,” I shoot back, affecting my mother’s haughty tone. “She insisted on keeping her maiden name when she married my father.”
Theo rolls his eyes. “Of course. Astor. Yet another uppity dynasty of Manhattan. And with Helen being the third daughter, someone had to carry the name forward, even if it meant it would have to share the limelight with Baldwin.”
“Fun fact: she only gave it to my sister. Crystal Astor-Baldwin. I’m just Phoebe Baldwin.”
“My God, the more I learn about your family and the complex dynamics behind it, the more I’m inclined to just move the four of us to Hawaii forever,” Dominic sighs and takes a long sip of his wine. “I might as well just buy the damned state altogether and seal an island off just for us.”
I can’t help but laugh. “It’s not the worst idea, given the circumstances. I do apologize on my mother’s behalf, however. You really don’t have to show up for dinner tomorrow. It’s okay.”
“Is it, though?” August’s eyes narrow with suspicion. “I’ve known that woman to hold a grudge or two.”
“She’ll get over it,” I insist. “Really, you don’t have to go.”
“What if we want to?” Dominic asks.
I give him a confused look. “Why would you?”
The question leaves them temporarily speechless. I’m trying to understand why until Theo laughs and goes over to the window.
“What do you think the past two weeks have been for us, Phoebe?” he asks.
I don’t know how to answer without the risk of insulting them one way or another. My tendency to self-sabotage keeps rearing its ugly head while the crisp taste of the chardonnay quietly reminds me of our first night together. Their touch. Their kisses. The way they completed me in every possible way.
“I don’t know. Fun?” I muster an answer which sounds reasonable.
“Fun,” Theo scoffs. “That’s all it was to you?”
