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In answering, I chose my words carefully. “Not in the way you think. I love him, yes, and I love you. I’ve come to care for both of you and I’m not talking just friendship. I loved Rian with all my heart and he was stripped away from me. I love my cousin Owen, but he—too—has been snatched out of my life. And Faron, for now, he’s beyond my touch. I’m beginning to feel like a jinx, to be honest.”
“How do you feel about me? You said that you love me, too?” Bran asked. “You can be honest. I’m a big boy, I can take it.”
It occurred to me that it was time to verbalize what I was starting to suspect about myself. Bran didn’t deserve to be left hanging. It wasn’t fair, to either of us.
I worried my lip, trying to word my thoughts in the best way I could so there were no misunderstandings.
“Bran, if Faron hadn’t come on the scene, I’d probably be with you. He was…unexpected. You were unexpected. I didn’t foresee any of this when I moved to Starlight Hollow. With Rian, he seemed to be all I needed, but over the past year, I’ve slowly come to realize that I have such different sides to who I am, that now…I don’t think he could have sustained that. Rian was wonderful, but I ignored the parts of our relationship that weren’t…that were lacking. Faron fits in my life—one side of it. And you fit another side of me. I find you both sexy as hell, yet I don’t want to hurt either one of you. I think…I can’t promise my heart to only one person right now. But…I might be able to promise it to two people.”
I expected him to bluster, but he surprised me. He reached out and took my hands.
“Are you saying that you could be with us both? That you wouldn’t mind…” Bran’s expression turned from concerned to curious.
I licked my lips. “I’m saying, that I don’t want to choose. I want both of you in my life, however that ends up looking. If it’s as friends, in order to keep you near, then I’ll back off from Faron and won’t touch him again.” I let out a long breath. “But if you both agree, if you don’t mind sharing…”
“That sounds complicated,” Bran said. He hesitated, thinking for a moment, then said, “I’m listening.”
“Nobody ever said life was going to be easy,” I said. “Most relationships are messy. Once you involve another person into your life, you invite chaos. Two people require compromise. Three? I can’t envision how it would look, but it must work because I have friends who make it work. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be difficult, especially since I’m not that interested in a friend with benefits situation.”
Bran held my gaze for what felt like a million years, then he slowly leaned down, never taking his eyes off me, and he pressed his lips against mine. They were cool and magical, lighting up the dark. With Faron, it was a white fire, fully focused in the day, sunlight on an afternoon picnic while the drone of bees lingered in the air. But with Bran, kissing him was midnight under the moon, in a garden filled with fragrant jasmine and oleander.
I pressed against him, finally giving in to the desire for him. His arms were strong, he was muscled from the work he did on the farm, but he was also well read, and as smart, if not more intelligent, than the wolf shifter. He pulled me against his chest, and I straddled his hips, leaning in for another kiss, and yet another one.
After a moment, I broke away, gasping and hungry for him, as the sound of May and Grams’s voices drew near. I scrambled back into my seat, breathless, as Bran nonchalantly picked up a magazine.
“Well, the dishes are done,” Grams said. She stopped, eyeing us carefully. “May needs to go home, Bran. It was good seeing you, and thank you for watching over my great-granddaughter.”
Bran stood, giving me a smoldering look. But we just said goodnight with an awkward hug, and after I hugged May, they left. By then, Grams had headed into her room, and I was left standing alone, not knowing what to think, but thinking of Bran and what he would be like in my bed, inside me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I was saved from thinking about the situation, at least for awhile, by the doorbell ringing. Hesitantly, I moved forward and peeked out the window. There were two men, both looked familiar.
“Oh right,” I said, remembering Kyle’s promise to send his men over to keep watch. I opened the door a crack. “Hello?”
The taller man tipped his cowboy hat at me. “Von O’Brian, and Kells Cardington, at your service.”
I pulled out my phone and pulled up Kyle’s text. Sure enough, the pictures were the same, as were the names they’d given me. Kyle wanted me to know who he was sending, so I wouldn’t chance letting in a stranger.
“Thank you, yes, come in.”
They entered the house, politely standing until I ushered them over to the sofa. “Kyle didn’t have to do this—” I started to say, but Von cut me off.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but from what we understand, having a guard walking your property would be a good idea, wouldn’t it?” He was polite, good-natured, but no-nonsense, with a wavy mullet that made me think of Kevin Bacon from Tremors.
“Yes, and I appreciate it. I just don’t like putting people to an inconvenience.” I sat down in the rocking chair next to the sofa. “So, what did Kyle tell you?”
“Not much, just that you’re having some sort of problem with break-ins?”
I quickly ran down what had happened. “My shop’s a mess. I’m going to have to pay for some expensive renovations before I open again. And there’s speculation that whoever did it, may be out to get me. On a personal level.”
“We’ll keep an eye from dusk till dawn, Ma’am. James, our third man, will be here soon. Did he tell you when he was going to arrive?” he asked Kells. “With three acres, we’ll want to keep an eye on the shop, and walk the perimeter of the property, as well.”
“James is on the way,” Kells said. “I volunteer to walk the boundaries. You can watch the house, and James can watch the shop. He’s got that bum knee, you know. I can run a lot faster than he can.”
As they divvied up my property into sectors, I withdrew from the conversation and headed into the kitchen, returning with three water bottles. “Here. I don’t have any alcohol?—”
“Just as well, we’d rather not take a chance on being inebriated. We’ll just wait outside for James, if you don’t mind. We have camo parkas against the weather.” Kells stood, pocketing the bottle of water as he moved toward the door.
