Next to Heath sat a bottle of wine and three stemless metal cups. As they got closer, between the bright moon and the fiery glow coming from the fire pit, she spotted a spread laid out consisting of fruit, cheese, and crackers.
They were having a picnic? At night?
It hit her then. Unlike when they had shared dinner atthe lake a few weeks ago, this was the exact spot where she and Dayne encountered Heath for the first time. She didn’t know it at the time, but it was the start of something great.
However, the nights were becoming too cold to be sitting outside since winter was right around the corner. Reminding her again, bad weather would make it a lot more difficult for her to continue to drive from Carlisle to Fisher Falls every weekend.
She was so different now than the first time she stepped onto this property. She was more open-minded, more well-rounded, and so much more sexually fulfilled.
It didn’t take long for her to feel as at home here as in Carlisle. Maybe even more so at Double D, since she was never alone. If she wasn’t with Dayne or Heath, plenty of activities could keep her occupied and someone was always around to talk to, whether it was a guest, employee, or one of Dayne’s siblings.
Dayne and Heath helped her settle on the blanket before Dayne joined them both on the ground.
Heath’s rumbled, “I missed you,” paired with a quick lip touch swelled her heart.
“I missed you, too.” More than they knew.
“Two weeks felt like a lifetime,” Heath admitted next.
It was crazy but true. “Agreed. Thank you for that titillating entertainment you two provided last weekend.”
Heath’s lips curled up at the corners. “Knowing you were watching?—”
“And participating,” Dayne added, grabbing the wine and working free the cork partially jammed into the bottle.
“Made it even better,” Heath finished, handing him the first glass to fill.
As soon as it was, Dayne offered it to Cara. “Don’t drink yet. We should make atoast.”
Hmm.“What are we toasting?”
Dayne avoided her question as he filled the other two glasses, giving one to Heath and keeping the other for himself. He lifted his cup in the air. “To six months together.”
“Has it really been half a year?” Cara whispered, also lifting her wine. Time had flown.
Heath lifted his cup, too. “Crazy, right?”
At once, they tapped their glasses together before taking a sip. The Cabernet Sauvignon was from a local vineyard and was one of her favorites.
What was going on here?
This picnic by the lake that included both her favorite wine and favorite men couldn’t be because they’d been seeing each other for six months. There had to be more to it than that. She couldn’t imagine someone like Dayne celebrating six months of exclusivity.
“So…” Dayne started after he downed what seemed like half his wine.
Her eyes sliced between the two men. The fire reflected off their faces, creating pockets of shadows so she couldn’t read their eyes or expressions.
Her stomach twisted. “So…”
“We have to tell you something,” Dayne announced next instead of simply saying what needed to be said.
Why was he dragging out whatever it was?
She pressed the backs of her knuckles to her mouth and held her breath.
“I’m moving onto the ranch.”
For a few seconds, what Heath said didn’t sink into her brain. When it did, her mouth dropped open and she glanced between the two. “What does that mean exactly?”