Cait expected things to change, radically. She figured she’d move into Tristan’s room or maybe they’d redesign the loft so they could have one big bedroom. They’d have sex all the time—okay, maybe not constantly, as they still had jobs to
do and Mrs. Collins was still visiting—but a lot.
She’d be completely sated in every way now that she’d faced her fears and seized her future with the men she loved.
Instead they didn’t have sex at all. Even kisses were rare.
Work had been a convenient distraction. They were all busy wrapping up the end of the year stuff and preparing for the new one to come. Abe had loved Cait and Tristan’s ideas for his spring campaign, but he’d had tweaks. There were always tweaks. That still didn’t explain the guys acting so distant.
At first she chalked it up to Mrs. Collins’s presence. But even after she went home, they seemed almost…disinterested in acknowledging their new relationship. Tristan, in particular, had turned into a shadow of the guy she knew. His parents’ reaction had hit him hard.
Had he decided they’d made a mistake? Maybe his urgency for the three of them to hook up had diminished once everything was out in the open.
So much for the holiday season. They’d just taken down the tree, but Christmas felt like a lifetime ago. With everything they were dealing with, it wasn’t that much of a surprise that there hadn’t been a lot of ho-ho-hoing. But now that it was a new year, she didn’t want to spend more time in limbo. Not when she’d finally gone for what she wanted, scary as it was.
A couple of days after Mrs. Collins left, Cait cornered Matt when Tris went out to get their dinner. Divide and conquer was a time-honored offense for a reason.
“So,” she said, slowly crossing her legs. She’d deliberately worn her shortest skirt, and from Matt’s heated glance, he’d noticed. “Have you two resumed your previous relationship without telling me?”
“What?” A loud clacking of keys commenced. “Of course not.”
“Sure about that?” She walked over to his desk and ran her fingers around his collar. “If you aren’t getting any from me, you must be getting it somewhere.”
“No. Jesus, Cait. We’re not like that anymore.”
“Oh, okay. I get it. The three of us hooked up so that I can get less sex now than I did when I was a damn virgin. At least back then I could use my vibrator.” She rolled her eyes and gripped the desk behind her. “Maybe I’ll do that tonight. Just get into bed with you guys and go to town. You snore so loud you probably wouldn’t even notice.”
Matt’s jaw worked as he rose. “This isn’t funny.”
“No, it’s not. Why won’t you talk to me? How am I supposed to fix things if you both clam up and pretend everything’s fine?”
“This is new for all of us. We’re just sort of feeling our way in.”
She grabbed his hand and brought it to her breast. Even that brief contact caused her nipple to pebble. “Feel me.”
He closed his eyes. “Don’t, Cait. Don’t force this.”
She stepped closer. “Do you still want me? Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
A brief smile. “Of course I do. No hypothetical needed.”
“Do you still love me?”
“More than ever.”
Relief poured through her as she linked hands with him. With all the thoughts twirling through her mind, one stood out from the rest. “There’s something I want to tell you. While it’s just us.”
“Okay.”
“Christmas Eve, the day Tristan and I—”
“Were bumping uglies when I came back to the loft. Yeah, I remember. Or actually you were licking uglies.” His grin didn’t quite hide the concern lurking in his expression.
“That’s not all. Tristan mentioned kids. How he didn’t think he should have them because the CF gene could be in his DNA.”
“Oh.” Matt’s throat worked. “You don’t think that’s bothering him too, do you? He can’t have just realized that.”
“No, but I think he’d just figured out how to handle it. With us.” She gathered up her courage. “He suggested that someday you and I…could have children. As good as his own, he said.”