Sonnie went even redder somehow. “No. I mean, yes. It’s not like real moving in, though. They’re just helping us while it’s crazy here.”
“So, you’re really dating all three of them?”
Biting her lip, Sonnie looked at the three of us, unaware of how that small gesture affected us. “I don’t know.”
Without hesitation, the three of us all answered together. “Yes.”
“We can talk about it, Rosie. I know it’s not conventional and I’m sure it’s not what you ever expected. If it’s too much for you, just say so and—”
“Oh, my god, Sonnie. I’m almost sixteen; I can handle the idea of you dating three guys. Why would I care? Nothing in my life has ever been normal so why would I expect it to get that way now?” Rosie didn’t see the way Sonnie’s shoulders sank and the pain on her face. She just shrugged and moved towards the back of the house. “At least I’ll get to swim in a pool. That’s pretty cool.”
I wrapped my arm around Sonnie and pulled her into my chest after Rosie disappeared down the hallway. “None of us ever had normal lives, Sonnie, and we all turned out okay. You’re doing good with her.”
Shaking her head and pulling away from me, she cleared her throat. “I’ll go and pack a few things, too.”
I turned to my best friends after she left and frowned. “Well, this is going well.”
Price, still stroking his evil cat, sighed. “I admit today could’ve started a little less chaotic.”
“What you said out there was pretty good. Were you being serious?” Drake watched me nod and rubbed at his jaw. “I thought so. Last night was different, but it was the best sex of my life. She’s fucking special. We need to talk to the publicist about how to make sure this doesn’t get out of hand. I don’t want it becoming some fetish bullshit people gossip about.”
“I agree. We got off track from the original plan, but as long as we can contain the circus, this could be fine.” I looked towards Sonnie’s room. “She’s not going to be able to go back to the bar right now. There will be a crowd of people there, waiting on her.”
Price finally put the cat down and dusted the hair off his shirt. “I’m pretty sure she’s not going to take that well.”
Rosie rejoined us with a backpack stuffed to the brim. She dropped it at her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked so similar to Sonnie and even had the same mannerisms. “Are you guys going to hurt my sister? We know the routine. Our mom had so many different boyfriends around all the time. If you’re just going to hurt my sister, you should fuck off now.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Your sister know you talk like that?”
“I’m almost sixteen.”
Price grunted. “That’s not an answer.”
“You didn’t answer mine first.” She glared up at us, just as stubborn as her sister. “I mean it. She’s a pain but she doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”
“We’re not going to hurt her.” Drake pointed at the door, meaning the people beyond. “We’re sorry this happened. We like your sister and want to spend time with her. She’s pretty great. You should be nicer to her.”
“And you should learn to close your blinds if you’re going to have my sister over.” Rosie wasn’t backing down. “Did you see what they’re saying about her? My sister hasn’t had a boyfriend the entire time she’s been taking care of me and the first time she tries anything, it’s all over the news and people are calling her the worst things.”
“We’re going to fix it.” I promised her and I meant it. We had to.
She glared at the three of us. “You better fix it. No one hurts my sister.”
CHAPTER 24
Price
We dropped Sonnie, Rosie, and Monster off at my house and then drove straight to Paul Higgins’ office. I was having a hard time focusing between thoughts of Sonnie in my house and Rosie standing up to three adult men to protect the sister she pretended to not like. I wanted to be back there with them. I’d never had women at my house before. Even my housekeeper was a guy named Kevin. It wasn’t intentional. I hadn’t even realized it until I saw Sonnie standing on my front porch. Seeing her there, I was struck by how much I’d been missing.
Samantha hadn’t arrived yet, thank god, and despite Paul’s hesitation about starting without her, we insisted. If we could take care of things and get out of there before Samantha showed up, all the better.
“How do we handle this?” Drake took the lead, thankfully.
Paul cleared his throat and steepled his hands together. “Well, there are a few things we have to talk about first.”
Cole motioned for him to go on. “I don’t mean to rush you, but I’d love not be here, so…”
“There’s still no clarity about your sexuality.” He saw us start to react and rushed on. “Yes, you’ve been spotted with Ms. Morgan, but all three of you together were spotted with her. The public isn’t sure if this is a group sex thing or what. The point of my tasking you with each publicly dating a woman was to put space between the three of you, as well.”