Page 53 of Finding Their Place

My mind had focused on the fact she was between us.

And I wanted more of the same—preferably in a bed where I could get my hands on Garrett’s bi, needy ass too.

18

Garrett

I could feel Wyatt watching me, but I couldn’t look at him or he would see how much I wanted a piece of him. Haley had hit the damn jackpot and then some. The man was beyond fine, his front just as sexy as the back I’d seen the weekend before.

She’d called him luscious, and even though it had killed me to listen to her go on and on about his mouth and dick and how he knew what to do with both, I wanted firsthand knowledge.

Some friend I was.

And Wyatt had picked up on that shit within seconds of meeting me.

I’d felt the spark of interest—no…fuck that…out of control flame—between us, same as him, but at least he’d laid down the law about flirting. I’d refrained but hadn’t wanted to.

Haley was my person, and even though I hated the idea of sharing her with him, knowing he got all the benefits I couldn’t ever have, I had to let her go.

All week, I’d agonized over heading back to my grandparent’s house, but the thought of all those miles between me and my cuddle bug made me feel like someone knifed at my chest with the intention of carving out my heart.

I had to make things work in California.

I tore my focus off Haley standing in one of her sleep shirts, without a bra, damn her for being so perfect.

As expected, Wyatt stared at me, his face an unreadable mask.

“So tell me more about that job,” I said, needing a mind redirect.

Grounds upkeep for the extensive property including mowing, weed whacking, mulching, and two old patio areas scheduled to be ripped up and replaced with new pavers. A stone retaining wall and water garden—enough to keep Blaine and two guys busy in the months to come.

“I helped run our neighbor’s farm stand back in Pennsylvania,” I said once he finished. “But other than that, I have no experience dealing with gardening, not that that even counts.”

“If you’re willing and able—which you appear to be,” he stated, glancing down at my torso and the tight shirt I’d worn in hopes of making Haley’s new love interest jealous, “then I would hire you on my Haley’s word alone.”

His Haley.

My teeth clenched, same as it had the first time he’d called her that. I wanted to clock him in the jaw—then suck on the bruised skin.

Fuck.

I stretched my neck side to side, turning back toward the TV. “I’ll think about it.”

Which I couldn’t—not really. Seeing him day in and out all sweaty from work would only cause heightened desire, and I wasn’t about to cross that line and possibly fuck things up for the woman I loved.

I’d already made enough mistakes in my life.

Haley snuggled on his lap while we ate pizza, well, they ate, and I attempted to. With how she clung to him, I knew my days were numbered. Wyatt had become her koala bear, and it was only a matter of time before she no longer needed me.

I would lose my person, my pillow, the ear I unloaded my shit to every damn day. That sense of having no direction intensified with every ticking second, and depression hung over me like a wool blanket in the heat of summer. I struggled to breathe let alone watch the movie we’d started after eating our dinner.

While heading to my bedroom and shutting myself away for the night would have been best, I’d turned into a masochist, desperate for every second of Haley’s presence I could get before I lost her.

From the corner of my eyes, I couldn’t help but watch their interactions. Their whispers reached my ears. Haley’s giggles. Wyatt’s hand sliding up the inside of her thigh.

Seriously? They would get it on right there in front of me when her bedroom was mere feet away?

Haley knew what I’d been going through, and had Wyatt not been there, she would have had her fingers in my hair, giving me her attention.