“Hey, gorgeous. Long time, no see.” In the process of giving her a bear hug he picked her up off the floor like she was nothing more than a ragdoll.
“Well, well,” she said, her eyes twinkling. She looked from one of us to the other. “What am I gonna do with you two?”
Sumner and I looked at each other.
We had a few ideas.
Chapter 21
AVRIL
Oh my.
Sumner had joined Chase and me. What was that all about?
He’d greeted me with a hug, and the scent of him brought back the flood of emotions that had struck me the evening before when he’d shared the story about his dad with me.
And of course made me come. Multiple times.
And now that I was looking at Chase, my heart swelled at how he’d rebuilt his life to take care of a little girl whose mother didn’t want her.
God, I loved those guys. And Ash and Gio. Shit. Did I just say love? We were bonding over pain and healing with shared passion. What could be better than that?
“Sum, you want a glass?” Chase asked, waving the bottle for him to see.
“Yessir. I’m exhausted from last night…” He looked directly at me. “But I could have a little wine before I pass out for the night.”
All right. I was beginning to see how this worked. The guys didn’t mind, and in fact seemed to like it, when I’d been with another of the group. And if they were okay with it, I sure as hell wasn’t going to be ashamed or embarrassed. I walked over to the kitchen where Chase was pouring.
“Look at these marble countertops. They’re amazing,” I said.
Sumner smoothed his hand over the white surface shot through with grey streaks. “I know I loved it when I lived here,” he said.
“What? You lived here?” I asked.
They both nodded.
“Yeah. Back when we were starting up the biz, we were roommates,” Sumner said.
“Yup. Just like in college,” Chase added.
Wow. Quite the bond.
And they were quite the pair—Sumner, tall with dark hair, and at least on that day, utterly sexy facial scruff, and Chase, blond with an adorable baby face. Maybe I’d start calling them “salt and pepper.”
They were so damn handsome.
And kind.
And smart.
And sexy…
Focus, girl.
“Is that when you developed your special… um, appetites?” I asked.
The guys looked at each other.