Page 25 of Tangled With You

The miracle, of course, was that Trevor wanted him rightback.

And yet here Ollie was—absolutely head over heels, not tomention desperate to finish what they’d started in Trevor’s condo—and he stillhadn’t told his best friends. Before, he’d been an idiot not to share hisgrowing feelings with them.

Now, digging in about his love life seemed crass. Hisattention—all of his attention—needed to be focused on Courtney. Finding her.Helping her. And not just because that was his job even if the kidnapper hadn’tthrust him into the middle of this. No, the truth was that Courtney mattered tohim. He loved her, no question about it.

He just didn’t love her in a way that was romantic. Notanymore. It hadn’t been for a long time. For that matter, it hadn’t been evenbefore they’d finally broken up, and it was all on him for dragging that out.

She was a friend, and he was grateful for that. Consideringeverything he’d put her through, she would have been justified to walk away andnever look back.

But she hadn’t. They weren’t close anymore, but they werestill friends, and he’d never forgive himself if she’d seen this coming—if she’dbeen in any way scared or uncomfortable—but hadn’t reached out to him for helpbecause of their past and the shitty way he’d treated her.

He drew in a long, deep breath, wishing he could talk to Trevorabout that. About how he’d let down this woman who’d been so special to him.But how could he? Courtney was his ex, and he and Trevor were still navigatingtheir way into what he hoped was a relationship and not just sex.

With a frown, he ordered his brain to settle. To quitshowing him mental images of what they could be doing to her.

Of her terrified eyes.

Of her wrists bound with cable ties.

Of Trevor’s delicious smile.

Ollie winced. Yeah, he was a mess all right.

He took a breath and forced his attention back on the buzzof activity two floors below. Jamie was there now, carrying a box of bakerygoods that she dumped on the conference table. She headed for the stairs, thenlooked up and smiled when she saw him.

She started climbing, reaching the landing as Nikki came infrom the kitchen.

And wasn’t that convenient?

“Overseeing your domain?” Jamie asked him.

Ollie shook his head, then looked between the two of them,gathering his courage. “Can I talk to you two?”

Nikki and Jamie exchanged a glance. “Of course,” Nikki said.

“Here?” Jamie asked.

Ollie considered. “How about the balcony?”

“Sounds good.” Nikki led the way through the bedroom suiteover to the balcony that had the most privacy. There was a chaise lounge andtwo chairs, and Ollie took one of the chairs while the women sat on the chaisefacing him. “So what’s up?” Jamie asked.

He started to speak, then froze.

Then he mentally kicked his own ass and ordered himself totell them because it was the truth and they wouldn’t care. They’d be happy forhim.

“I slept with Trevor.” The words fell out in a rush. “Or,more accurately, I was in the process of sleeping with Trevor when we found outabout Courtney. Even with that horrible interruption, best time of my life.”

He sat back, watching their faces as he waited for them tosay something. When they didn’t, he squirmed, cleared his throat, and went on.“I, um, I guess I’m falling for him. Actually, I think I’ve already fallen forhim.”

The two women exchanged looks, and as Ollie’s stomachstarted twisting, they both broke out into grins. “About time,” Nikki said.

“We’ve known for ages,” Jamie said. “We weren’t sure youdid.”

“You knew? That I was crushing on Trevor?”

“Oh, please. Have you seen the way you two are around eachother? It’s great. We like Trevor. I think he’s perfect for you.”

“And in the interest of full disclosure, Sylvia said she’salways wondered if you were gay or bi,” Nikki added, referring to Jackson’swife and Damien’s former executive assistant. “And that was without even seeingyou with Trevor.”