But whatever. She decided to play it safe. Her loss, not ours. Jeb’s pissed that he’s the reason she broke up with us. But if Charlotte had been right for us, Jeb’s so-called intensity wouldn’t have been a deal breaker. I’m not nearly as optimistic as Nico about most things, but I agree that there’s somebody perfect out there for the three of us.
Just wish we’d found her before this pandemic hit and shut down the whole damn state. My brotherhood with Nico and Jeb is enough for now, and I know there are a lot of other former foster kids out there who don’t even have that. But I’ve got to admit, sometimes it feels like we’re never going to find that wife we’ve been craving ever since we decided to share one.
Jeb wrenches his bedroom door open, and it hits the back wall so hard, the sound jars me from my thoughts of the girlfriend who didn’t work out.
Nobody behind door number two either—no surprise there. Who would want to sleep in that box Jeb calls a bedroom? It only takes him a few seconds to do his point and scan with the rifle.
“Maybe he’s left,” Nico says as we watch Jeb kick open the door to the third bedroom and flip on the light.
I agree, “Yeah, maybe—”
The sound of a scream cuts me off.
Oh, hell, he’s still here. And “he” is a she, if I’m reading the pitch of that scream right. I open my mouth to tell Jeb not to shoot as we rush forward, but I don’t have to.
Just as we get to the open doorway, Jeb lowers the gun with one hand and covers his eyes with the other. And I immediately see why.
There’s a terrified woman standing in the middle of Nico’s room.
She has huge brown doe eyes, lush hips, curves for days, creamy light brown skin, and two long golden braids covering her bountiful breasts. She’s hot as hell…and completely naked.
I blink. And another part of me rises as I take in the sight of her.
It looks like a real-life Goldilocks has broken into the home of us three Wisconsin Bears.
Chapter Three
GINA
Oh my God, I’m being attacked by a bear.
That’s the first thing I think when the giant shaggy creature comes crashing through the bedroom door. I jump out of bed to look for something to defend myself, only to realize…
It’s not an animal who charged into my room, but something far more dangerous, a man. A very shaggy man in a bulky brown surplus coat. He’s large with a burly reddish-brown beard and angry blue eyes.
He’s also holding a gun.
I scream. And to my shock, he immediately lowers the gun and covers his eyes.
That’s when I look down and realize I’m naked. The towel must have fallen off when I scrambled out of bed. And by the time I lift my gaze, there are two more men standing behind the first one in the doorway.
I glance around for the towel, but it’s nowhere in sight. Crap! Crap! Crap! Now I’m wishing I’d been unmannerly enough to wear my dirty clothes to bed.
These other guys aren’t nearly as shaggy as the first one. One has sandy blond hair, a classic peacoat, and only a light shadow of stubble covers his jaw. The other man is also clean-cut, but his jacket is bright red and puffed, with a Wisconsin Bears football logo stitched into the left chest area. It fits him perfectly.
He has ink black hair, dark brown eyes, and tanned skin that makes me think he’s either dark Italian or Latino.
Other than their taller-than-average height, the two new arrivals look nothing alike. However, they are both gaping at me. Probably because I’m naked as the day I was born. I used to be a stripper, so I should be comfortable with my body and being in front of guys naked. But my stint as an exotic dancer was years ago. I’m also aware of how crazy vulnerable I am without a bouncer to back me up.
And to think I’d been so grateful to the higher power earlier tonight. Now I’m wondering if this has all been some kind of set up to ensure maximum embarrassment.
I stare at them. And two of the three guys stare back at me.
I have a feeling all of us are too shocked to speak.
The blond guy recovers first. “What the hell are you doing in our cabin, Goldilocks?”
“I’m sorry,” I say, holding out both hands. “My car broke down. And I tried to walk somewhere to find a tow—”
“You tried to walk?” says the possibly Latino guy. His expression is much softer than the sandy blond’s. “But there isn’t anything for at least twenty miles on either side of us.”
“Yeah, I figured that out the hard way,” I admit with a grimace. “And by the time I got back, my car had disappeared.”