Page 27 of Tangled With You

The words were like a punch in the face. It was true. Whetherfrom general insecurity, an inability to deal with his feelings, rampantconfusion, or just generally being a prick, he’d barely even acknowledgedTrevor over the last few hours.

He glanced at Nikki, who nodded.

He closed his eyes. “God, I’m a jerk.”

“No,” Nikki said, reaching for his hand, then squeezing hisfingers. “Maybe a little, but cut yourself some slack. You’re overwhelmed.You’re dealing with Courtney’s kidnapping and with, well, all of this. It’sbeen like five seconds. But Courtney used to be your fiancée. You two have acomplicated history. It makes sense you’re confused, even standoffish. But fromhis side, that’s gotta hurt.”

“You’ve both been paying attention?” The idea was bothbaffling and completely unsurprising.

“Duh,” Jamie chimed in. “And we were starting to wonder ifmaybe we were wrong about you two.”

“I wish you’d talked to me before. I could have used an earor two.”

“That goes both ways,” Nikki said.

“Touché.” He grinned at both of them, realizing he feltlighter than he had since Horowitz had pounded on the door. “You know, you bothspend way too much time thinking about my sex life.”

“Is that all it is? Sex?” Nikki asked.

“No.” It was the easiest answer in the world. “No, and I’llrip my own heart out if I’ve hurt him.” He sighed, feeling a little bit like anidiot for being so twisted up. “This shouldn’t be weird or awkward. Why can’tpeople just love who they love?”

“Love?” Nikki asked.

Ollie shrugged. “I’m just making a point.”

The women exchanged a knowing look. “It’s sweet,” Nikkisaid.

“And you fell in love with him long before you fucked him.”Jamie grinned. “That’s kind of rare within our trifecta.”

The three of them exchanged glances, then burst outlaughing. “I love y’all,” Ollie said. “You know that, right?”

“Duh.”

“And I love Trevor. Or, I think I do.” He really did. Thesex part might be new, but he’d been slowly falling for him for months. “Why amI getting so up into my head about this?”

“Because when you crossed the line toward sex, you shiftedyour reality.” Nikki shrugged. “Made you face the fact that you weren’t onlyattracted to women. You needed time to adjust. That’s all. I mean, come on.That’s normal.”

“I guess. But why should it matter in the first place?”

“It shouldn’t,” Nikki said firmly. “It doesn’t. And fuckanyone who tells you otherwise. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t need timeto readjust. To see yourself through a different lens.”

“You’re right,” Ollie said. “And I’ll say it again. I loveyou two.”

“Of course you do,” Jamie said. “I mean, honestly. How couldyou not?”

Laughing, they headed back inside, only to freeze whenTrevor came into view. He was standing in the third-floor open area not farfrom the painting of Nikki that Damien had paid a cool million for. And themoment Ollie caught sight of him, his heart started to do that fluttering thingthat was so uniquely his reaction to Trevor.

“There you are. I was coming to tell you we’re meeting downstairsin five.”

“Sounds good,” Ollie said, as the women magicallydisappeared, leaving the two of them alone.

“You okay?” Trevor took a step closer, his brow furrowing.

Ollie shook his head. “I’m not at the top of my game. And Iowe you an apology.”

He saw a muscle twitch in Trevor’s cheek. “Do you? Why?”

“You don’t have to pretend like I haven’t been an ass.” Hereached out and took both Trevor’s hands in his own. “I’m so sorry. Youprobably thought I was avoiding you. I swear I’m not.”