Page 25 of Room for Three

But it’s wrong.

The sudden thought, and in Travis’s voice no less, is a jolt of reality that zaps through me. As the fantasy-come-to-life fades and the realness of what we’ve done creeps in, I feel a swell of panic.

“Fuck,” I hiss, gripping her wrist. “Savvy, no. We can’t do this.”

It takes a monumental effort to pull away from her and to remove her eager hand away from my dick. When I see her hooded eyes and puffy lips, I almost ignore my morals and go in for another helping of this sweet girl.

“That was the best thing to happen to me all day,” she says in a soft voice. “Why can’t we do it?”

My self-control hangs on by a thin, fraying thread.

“Because it’s wrong,” I rasp out, trying to convince myself as well.

“Why?”

There’re probably a thousand reasons I could give her—she’s too young, she needs us to care for her, she’s our best friend’s daughter, she’s still in high school, she’s vulnerable after having been creeped on by the Monahans. I don’t mention any of the obvious ones.

“Travis. I can’t do this to him. I promised.”

A tear streaks down her cheek, and she gapes at me as though I’ve betrayed her in some way I don’t understand. “I see how it is.”

“See how what is?”

“Where I stand in this…situation. It’ll always be you and him against me.”

I scowl, confused at her words. “What the hell, sweet—uh—Savvy? We’re doing this to protect you!”

She angrily swipes at her wet cheek. “Under the guise of heroism, he breaks the poor girl’s heart. Take me home, Cole. I’m tired.”

After she climbs back into the Explorer, she slams the door. The finality of it makes my chest echo with unfamiliar pain.

How did I manage to fuck up an already delicate situation?

More importantly, how do I fix it?

Travis

They were being weird last night.

Not like I even had a chance to ask them about it, because they each went to their respective rooms after Cole picked Savvy up from work.

Did he tell her what I told him?

Probably. Cole isn’t great at secret keeping.

Maybe she’s pissed. Who the hell knows. All I know is that I’m growing weary of all the tension in our home. Plus, my back fucking hurts from sleeping on the couch this week.

Cole’s about to find himself a new bed mate if it doesn’t improve.

When I hear a door open and then the bathroom door close, I know Savvy is up which means I can get to working on more invoicing before I head out for the day. Yesterday, she undressed with me in the room. She’s lucky I’m not some perv and looked. It was a mega test to my self-control, though.

Cole is already out on his run, having slipped out without so much as a word. But, because he’s Cole, he made coffee, something I’m forever grateful to him for. Since Savvy is in the bathroom, I quickly change into my work clothes in the middle of the living room. I throw on deodorant and brush my teeth at the kitchen sink, then make a couple of cups of coffee for us.

She’s still in the bathroom, the shower running, when I make it upstairs, so I set her coffee down by her bed and then settle in at the desk. The pile of paperwork never ends.

I’m focused on my computer when I hear Savvy enter the room. “Hey.”

When she doesn’t answer, I glance over at her.

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