Page 66 of Rules Of Our Own

Warmth floods my chest, and I take my first bite before I can overthink how thoughtful that is. I moan the second the food hits my tongue, and River leans back and props his elbows on the counter, facing me with dark eyes.

Alex grins. “You keep making sounds like that, I’ll cook every meal for you.”

I tilt my head to the side. “Come to think of it, what are you doing here?”

Alex places a hand to his chest. “You wound me, woman. I’m helping move us.”

Okay, that makes sense…

“Wait? What do you meanus?”

“Well, I’m moving in here, and you’ll be taking my place across the hall.”

My fork clatters on my plate. “I thought you said you had a friend.”

Alex points his thumb at his chest. “Friend.”

“You can’t do that. I can’t force you to live together. I’ll figure something else out,” I say as I go to stand, but River moves fast and places both hands on the island counter.

“We can, and we are. After the shit that went down last night with that asshole, do you really think we’d put you up just anywhere?”

“He won’t follow me here.”

River’s face grows serious. “Are you sure about that? Did you know three women are killed every single day by their intimate partners? Every. Single. Day. He may be a regular asshole and not a complete psycho, but do you really want to risk it? Because I don’t.”

Fear lances my veins, and my eyes burn because I never thought I’d be in this position, and I fucking hate how helpless I feel.

“We can still report him,” Alex adds.

I shake my head, knowing just how pointless that would be. Even without his father’s influence, this kind of thing is never taken seriously until it’s already too late. “So you’re really okay with moving in here and me taking your place?”

“Kitten, I’m more than okay with it. Not going to lie, my initial thought was for you just to move in with one of us, but we thought you’d be more comfortable with your own space. Were we right?”

A tiny part of me is disappointed, but the more rational part knows I need a clear head to get my feet under me. “So you say it’s next door?”

River eyes my near full plate. “Finish your breakfast, and we’ll take you over there.”

I take another delicious bite but quickly spot something out of place. “You’re not eating?”

“We ate a few hours ago. Thought you’d like to sleep in.”

I try not to let the idea of them cooking breakfast together for me go straight to my head. After all, River still hasn’t warmed up, even after his display of protectiveness.

I take a deep drink of my coffee before addressing the elephant in the room. “So what happens between us?” My voice shakes. I’m not sure how I want them to answer; either way scares the crap out of me.

Alex rubs a hand against my spine, and I relax into it. “Nothing has to happen. We can figure whatever this is or isn’t out slowly. There’s no rush. We aren’t going anywhere.”

It’s like the pressure I’ve been holding inside me releases, and I take a deep breath. I had no idea how much I needed to hear that.

Alex kisses the top of my head. “Come see your new place. We’ve been working on it all morning.”

CHAPTER31

RIVER

I runmy hand through my hair, pulling at the ends the second my apartment door clicks closed behind me. We’d spent the last half hour helping Mia get settled, and every second of it felt like absolute torture.

From the moment she woke up, I wanted to go through all the reasons the three of us should be together. But I fucking know the last thing she needs is some asshole guy pressuring her into something she’s not sure about. Not after everything that happened with her ex.

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