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“What accident? There was a pop and a bang and smoke—”
“There will be an investigation,” Paxton reminded me gently, casting Lincoln a look that I understood too well.
They thought I was becoming unraveled, but that wasn’t fair. Things like this just didn’t happen out of nowhere.
“We’re lucky no one was hurt—or worse,” I grumbled, flopping down on one of the wooden Adirondack chairs and taking a swig of my beer, extending my legs out in front of me.
“But no one was hurt,” Lincoln insisted. “Everyone is okay—including Mylee. Mylee is okay. Take a breath, man. We’re not going to let anything happen to her. I promise.”
Swallowing, I met Lincoln’s eyes and saw the sincerity there. He did care for her as much as I did, even if he had been determined to keep her at arm’s length after what he had endured with his ex, Angela. But that had all changed, apparently.
“Damn straight we won’t,” Paxton agreed, taking a seat at my side. “But she’s a survivor too, Kai. Don’t discount how tough she is. She’s been through all kinds of shit.”
“I’m not,” I said quickly. “I just…”
I pursed my lips and spun the bottle in my hands. “I didn’t think I’d get so close to her. But she’s really something.”
Lincoln also sat, but no one spoke for a moment, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
“Is she really leaving in seven weeks?” I muttered, asking the question that I knew they were asking themselves silently.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Lincoln admitted. “I can think of a place or two for her in Silverpiece if she wants to stay past her contract.”
“You mean make her business consultant title a real thing?” Paxton asked dubiously.
“Maybe,” Lincoln said. “But there are already existing positions that I think she’d be really proficient at filling.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Have you talked to her about this?”
“No… I wouldn’t without discussing it with you first.”
I hesitated. “Would that work?” I asked haltingly. “I mean… you know. After…”
I gestured vaguely between the three of us. “Long term?”
“Why wouldn’t it?” Paxton asked, sounding confused. “It’s working now, isn’t it?”
He glanced at Lincoln as if waiting for an argument, but there was no protest.
“But is it working because it’s new and we know it’s going to end, or because—”
Paxton’s groan cut me off. “Why are you always such a pessimist?” he demanded. “Why can’t you just accept sometimes that good things happen?”
How could I explain to him that the Nerd from Nantucket didn’t necessarily believe that a beautiful, witty, intelligent woman like Mylee Lynn could stand him for longer than a million-dollar contract dictated? Maybe she would still find Paxton and Lincoln appealing and entertaining after the three months were over. But me?
I didn’t say any of this aloud. Paxton would just laugh at me.
“We’ve worked so closely together for years, Kai. It only makes sense that we would find ourselves in an arrangement like this. Mylee is too special to let go, and we’d be fools to believe we’d ever find anyone else like her, let alone another two women like her,” Lincoln added gently.
Paxton snickered. “Trust me. There aren’t any others like her.”
“You would know. You’ve fucked half the Northern Hemisphere.”
“And most of the southern, too,” I quipped.
“Oh, fuck both of you,” Paxton laughed, swatting at me with his open hand. “Like you two are virginal angels.”
We all chortled and sat back, my head tipping to look up at the stars overhead. I’d been here before, second-guessing my own success, wondering what I’d done to deserve something so good.
