When Rivals Love (Bayshore Rivals 3)

“Don’t tempt her; she’ll hold you to it,” Oliver chuckles, walking into the living room.

“I will not,” I lie, my lips pull into a sly grin.

“She will, and that’s fine. Give us periodical updates. We’ll be keeping Harlow busy enough to take the worry off her mind.”

Caroline wrinkles her nose, “Ew, that’s nasty. I don’t want to hear about your sex life.”

Shaking my head, I give Phoebe one last kiss before buckling her into her car seat.

You can do this. You can do this. It’s just a few hours. I tell myself.

“Alright, we’ll see you guys later,” Caroline announces as she walks out the door, taking my entire life with her.

I watch from the window like a little kid as she puts her into the car, securing the car seat in the base.

“She’s coming back, you know,” Sullivan whispers into the shell of my ear, and a shiver rolls down my spine. It’s insane how effortless they have to be when it comes to my body. With them, I’m in tune, every muscle, every beat of my heart, they own me, consume me. There is no them and me. Just us now.

“I know, but it’s so hard. I’ve never been away from her, and all I can think about is if she’s going to get enough snuggles. Is she going to miss me? What if she cries, and Caroline doesn’t know what to do?” I’m rambling now, but these are all the things I worry about as a new mother.

“Let us take your mind off the small stuff for a few hours.” Banks sneaks up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me back to his chest. His warmth blankets me, and I melt into his touch, letting him guide me into the bedroom. Since everything that happened, we got a new house in a new area, away from Bayshore. We wanted to a new life, a fresh start, and that meant leaving the past behind.

With both Shelby and my stepmom dead, things have finally become easier, safer, and much less complicated. But the past will always be a part of me, no matter how hard I try to forget it. It will always be there.

My father has tried to contact me a few times, but I never could bring myself to talk to him. The two people that surprisingly did stay in my life are Matt and George Bishop. I don’t talk to Matt often, but we have stayed friends. We all hung out a few times, and the guys actually became friends as well. George has been telling me about my mom, my real mom. The chance to meet her was taken away from me a long time ago, but at least I have his stories to get to know her.

“What exactly are you going to do to help take my mind off of things?” I smirk, knowing damn well what they all have planned. “Didn’t we tell Caroline we were going out for dinner and drinks?”

Sullivan chuckles, and I can feel that deep husky sound in my bones. “Yeah, we could still do that, but we really thought about something else… something better.”

“It would have been weird to tell Caroline what we really had planned,” Banks points out. “Hey, Caroline, would you please watch our baby so we can have an uninterrupted fuckfest?”

Oliver punches Banks in the arm, making me giggle.

“You are such a romantic, but you do have a point,” I tease, “So… what exactly do you have planned?”

“Follow us, and we’ll show you,” Oliver says, holding out his hand to me. I take it eagerly and let him lead me up the stairs. Banks and Sullivan follow close behind.

They lead me to my bedroom, the one I hardly ever sleep in, and Oliver motions for me to open the door. I grab the brass doorknob, turn and push the door open. When I see the inside of the room, I can’t help but gasp.

The entire space is decorated beautifully. There are candles set up on the dresser and desk, illuminating the room with a dim, romantic light. Fresh cut flowers are sitting on my nightstand, giving the space a fresh, flowery scent, and rose petals are artfully laid out on the bed in a heart shape, making the whole thing just perfect.

“Oh, you guys. I love it,” I say, having to hold back tears. Tears of happiness, of course. I’m just so happy and incredibly lucky. Not only did I find one man of my dreams, but I found three. Three wonderful men who love me and would do anything for me and my happiness.

We enter the room, and like always, Banks is the first one to lose his patience. I giggle as he pounces on me like a wild animal. His lips crash against mine, stealing the air from my lungs. I’m consumed by his kiss as I pull up his shirt while he undoes my pants. We only break the kiss to pull his shirt over his head. The fabric landing somewhere on the other side of the room.