The Confession

“Don’t give us that shit,” Connor snarled.

“It’s not shit. Despite the fact Beck and I have experience and skills, it’s still way harder with three people than two.” Though they had faced challenges the twins might never—like Heavenly’s father dying and Beck’s long-lost family returning—his brothers were naive if they thought they wouldn’t face adversity. “At the start of the summer, when I told you that you’d need to grow up to make this kind of relationship last, I was being honest. Sex is easy. And between three people who click, it’s absolutely off the chain. I admit it.”

“Damn straight,” they affirmed together.

“But there’s more to life than sex, guys. You say you’re adults. Then stop acting like teenagers whose sole goal in life is getting ass. You will want to settle down one day, and I’m giving you sound advice. You just don’t want to hear it. But if you’d stop rebelling and start thinking about your future for a hot second, you’d realize I’m right. And I’m telling you, since Beck, Heavenly, and I moved in almost four months ago, we’ve had to work hard to stay together. We use all our skills. It doesn’t just happen.”

“You’re living together?” Connor’s mouth dropped open wide.

Jack didn’t look any less shocked.

Seth shrugged. “Why do you think that fucking expensive apartment was just sitting there vacant when you two rolled into town? The fact is, I was considering breaking the lease before you showed up.”

Scowling, Jack sized up the house. “So this is Beck’s place? Did he already live here with Heavenly when you moved in?”

“No. We were both single and trying separately to date her. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d shared women before. I had, casually. That’s why I know that three people trying to make a life together is totally different. But Heavenly needed us both.”

Jack snorted. “Yeah, she figured out two cocks are better than one.”

Seth slapped him upside the head. “That’s not what I mean, dipshit. I’m saying that Beck and I put aside our individual wants to have her for our own because she needed the support and stability we give her together. She was going to school, trying to support herself and her father while he was sick and dying…” He didn’t owe the twins his girlfriend’s life story, but he wanted them to understand. “She was drowning emotionally and financially, and she didn’t know how to ask for help. Beck and I taught her. We each gave her things she needed and—”

“You both top her,” Connor observed astutely.

Apparently, what they’d learned at Club Graffiti about the lifestyle had helped them identify the earmarks. “Yeah. And once we figured out how to provide the support she needed while also respecting each other, she flourished.”

Jack scratched at his chin. “Okay. I get it. You’re not just fucking. Good for you. But Connor and I are still at the hit-it-and-quit-it stage. If we need advice on how to keep a girl for more than a night or two, we’ll know who to ask. In the meantime, keep your well-meaning advice to yourself, huh?”

Seth opened his mouth to object, then shut it. At twenty-one, his dad’s good buddy had tried to tell him how to live. Granted, Gene had saved his life at sixteen and tried to be a dad after his own had been killed in the line of duty, but he’d been too much of a hothead to listen when the man had insisted that neither he nor Autumn was mature enough to get married. Seth had resented the fuck out of him…but over time, he’d been pissed at himself for not listening. He and Autumn hadn’t been ready for that kind of commitment.

The twins weren’t, either. If he backed off and let them carry on—and probably fuck up once or twice—maybe they’d come to him for help when they were ready to think about spending more than a night with a woman. “All right.”

“Really? You’re going to stop lecturing us?” Connor sounded suspicious.

Seth tossed up his hands. “Yep. Not another word.”

“Good. If you weren’t going to shut up, I would have had to tell Mom the shit you’re doing out here in Hollyweird.” Jack gave him a cocky grin.

“Nice try. We’re already planning to tell her everything after her wedding.”

“Seriously?” he scoffed. “Dude… Good luck with that.”

Seth knew they were going to need it. “Thanks. But if you two want to be assholes, I can tell Mom about your proclivities, too. And I’m not relying on her to help fund my last year of college, so…”

“Damn it, you always end up getting the last word,” Connor groused.

“I’m still better at some things than you. Arguing is one of them.” Seth winked.

Weirdly, he was convinced that, as horrible and embarrassing as the twins finding them mid-coitus had been, this conversation was for the best. “You guys want to stay for dinner?”

They both nodded. “That would be great.”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Jack added.

“Good. Heavenly made plenty. Did you two get off work early?”

Jack and Connor exchanged a guilty glance, then Jack winced. “Not exactly.”

Seth raised a brow. “What ‘exactly’ happened?”