Page 102 of Triple Threat

“Don’t start,”I murmured when Kyle opened his mouth to say something sarcastic or obnoxious as we stood in front of the museum. Conan choked on a laugh, his fingers threaded through mine, his other hand on a silver tipped walking cane that held a sword inside it. He’d shown me.

We’d parked in the garage across the street, valet of course, and now we stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the museum’s main entrance. I was having a bit of a moment, the ghost of memory sending a tingling wash of goosebumps along my scalp and down my back. Kyle put his arm around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my temple and I smiled, glad neither of them were going to get weird about being affectionate simply because we were in public.

I’d learned a long time ago it didn’t matter; people were going to judge no matter what, and I honestly didn’tcareanymore. I couldn’t remember a happiness and contentment like this. I think, if I had to remember, there were two places in my memory that stood out the most. When my parents were alive and the stolen moments I’d had as a teen when it was just me and Kyle and no one else and he and I could pretend the bad didn’t exist for a while.

At least I could… for moments at a time.

“We going in or what, beautiful?” Kyle finally asked, and I shook myself as though waking from a dream and laughed nervously at how ridiculous I must look. Conan gripped my hand in a light squeeze to reassure me and I looked up at him. He smiled down at me and jerked his head with its fiery and perfectly styled shock of red hair at the museum.

“Nothing’s off-limits today,” he said with a wink of his own and my smile formed and grew on my face.

The museum was holding a special exhibition on Monet, and there was a room devoted to British fine art from the years 1560 to 1830. I wanted to see it all and to Kyle’s credit, once we started looking at the art, he didn’t have a single quip or comment to make, at least at first. He was just as drawn to it and enamored with it as Roan and I were. Just like when we’d been kids.

Speaking of, just like when we were kids, more often than not, I would turn away from a piece to say something to him and would catch him watchingmealmost more intently than I was looking at whatever piece was before us. It still made me color, a rush and breath of warmth coloring my cheeks.

I honestly hoped that he would never get tired of looking at me that way. I know I would never grow tired of the way it made me feel.

As for Conan, he held my hand in the crook of his arm as we appreciated what was before us, his attention as rapt as mine on the art, his thumb stroking gently over my fingers. Absently, he would lean down and murmur observations about any given piece to me and I would smile and we would discuss.

Kyle joined in sometimes, but when he grew bored with standing too long at any given display, the cutting remarks would begin. Eventually those would have Conan chuckling and me giggling, pressing a hand over my lips in an effort to contain myself until we finally moved on to get him to stop. It quickly became our favorite game as we moved from exhibit to exhibit throughout the museum.

I was well aware of the wide-eyed stares we were getting from around us. I mean, I was with two incredibly handsome men dressed extremely well in tailored suits. While I felt a bit underdressed between the two of them in my jeans, sweater, and simple black overcoat neither Kyle nor Conan seemed to care and I was sure that wasn’t what the lot of the people we encountered were staring for.

No, they were staring at the light and casual touching I shared with the men. Conan holding my hand, Kyle touching my back, each of them murmuring close to my ear and pressing the occasional light kiss to my temple.

It was obvious to anyone that didn’t cast just a cursory look in our direction that we were all three a couple… er… I don’t know what else you would call it. A throuple?That sounds dumb,I chided myself.

At any rate, their open-mouthed stares and whispered comments didn’t bother me, surprisingly enough. Instead, they had the opposite effect. Bolstering my confidence beyond anything I’d ever felt before. I smiled as we moved through the hallowed space filled with paintings created by countless master’s hands and it was wonderful.

We saved the best for last. The exhibit of Monet’s work especially taking my breath away only to have it stolen once more when I looked up and realized both of my men were staring at me the way I had stared at the painting in front of us.

We all three laughed a bit, me nervously, when Kyle said, “Whenever you’re ready babe, just let us know. We’re starving…” and I realized that they’d been talking over my head and I hadn’t even realized it; I’d been so drawn into Monet’s work.

“Just a few more?” I wheedled.

“We only have a few left,” Conan said, drawing me along to the next piece.

“You do you, baby,” Kyle agreed. “I’m not trying to cut things short. Just letting you know where we’re at.” I smiled and laced the fingers of my free hand with his as we moved along.

“Are we getting close to our reservation?” I asked.

“Yes,” Conan said. “But a few moments more won’t hurt.”

“Okay,” I said, but I did keep things in mind and while I didn’t rush looking at the last few pieces, I didn’t linger as long as I would have liked, either.

“Come on, Poppet,” Roan said finally at the last piece. “Let’s get some lunch in you, yeah?”

“Sure,” I said biting my bottom lip to hide my smile. “Sorry for taking so long.”

“Not at all.” He raised my hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across my fingers.

“That was, surprisingly, fun time,” Kyle agreed, and I didn’t bother trying to hide my smile at that.

“We’ll get you cultured yet, mate,” Conan declared and Kyle scoffed.

“Yeah, next outing, I get to pick. Maybe get Sadie to drive a tank over something at that place out in Vegas.”

“They have a place that you can do that?” I asked, contemplating it.

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