Nicole Edwards - Travis

“I know Travis, yes. But I guess you could say I’m better friends with his brother’s wife than with him.”

“Zoey?”

“Yes.”

“She didn’t mention you,” Kylie said snidely, unsure why she was feeling so defensive.

“No? Did she happen to mention my husbands?”

“Your –” Wait, what? “Husbands? As in plural ?”

“Yes. My husbands. Cole Ackerley and Luke McCoy.”

Kylie had heard Travis and Gage mention the name Luke, but she wasn’t sure if it was the same guy. Common name, could be a coincidence.

“You have two husbands?”

“I do. And we have a daughter, her name is Hannah.”

“Pretty name,” Kylie said, feeling her defenses go down as she stared at Sierra. Truthfully, she was too tired to fight this woman she didn’t know.

“Thanks.”

They sat in silence for a second and Kylie watched Sierra, a million questions suddenly running through her head, but she wasn’t about to ask them. She bit her tongue and kept her mouth shut, scared of what might come out if she opened it.

Sierra poured them both a cup of coffee, pushed one of them toward Kylie and then sat with her hands wrapped around her mug, her forearms resting on the table as she leaned in. Kylie felt as though the woman was giving her full attention, but she had no idea why.

“See, when I met Luke and Cole, I’d never been in a relationship that involved three people,” Sierra began, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Kylie was ready to bolt.

That, or Kylie was going to pelt Sierra with questions that she knew were better left unanswered. She’d learned her lesson already.

Sierra continued, “They had quite a bit more experience than I did though. In fact, they’d even been together before I came along.

“I have to say, it wasn’t much fun meeting a few women who’d been with them in the same capacity that I had. The threesome thing seemed a little out of the realm of normal for me, so I didn’t think that it was quite so… popular. One day you’ll have to come to our club and meet some of the other people who share the same lifestyle that you and I do.”

“I don’t share that lifestyle,” Kylie said defensively. She clamped her jaw shut as soon as the words escaped.

“I beg to differ, but go ahead, ask me any questions you might have.”

Kylie was hanging on every single word, but she didn’t want to be. “When you say you met the women, how exactly did you meet them?”

“One of the women that they were both with happens to be my sister-in-law. She’s also one of my best friends. And no, I didn’t like the idea at first, but Sam is an incredible woman and never once did she share any details with me that she felt would intentionally hurt me. Nor did I ask.”

“And it’s not weird? Knowing that they’ve been in these same situations before, but you haven’t?”

“When you lost your virginity, was the guy you were with also a virgin?”

Kylie didn’t even have to think about that one. “No, he wasn’t.”

“Did it bother you that you were giving up your virginity to a man who’d been with other people?”

“No, but it’s not the same thing.”

“No? Sure sounds like the same thing,” Sierra said, the inflection of her tone never wavering. She was calm and incredibly sweet, and it was obvious she was trying to give Kylie some sort of message here.

“The men you’re with have pasts, just like you do. Gage happens to be friends with a woman he’s been intimate with. But Zoey happens to be married to a guy she loves who happens to be Travis’ brother. There’s nothing you can do to change who they were before.”

Hearing Sierra use Gage’s and Travis’ names made her heart hurt. The few days she’d been separated from them hadn’t helped to ease any of the pain either. In fact, the longer she was away from them, the worse it seemed to get.

“I don’t want to change them,” Kylie retorted.

“But you’d like to erase their pasts, right? At least, the part where they experienced something that you had no clue about?”

‘No, that’s…” God that was exactly what she’d been doing. Kylie had been so selfish that she walked away from Travis and Gage because of what they’d done before her. And the worst part of it, she walked away without giving them any explanations.

“Now, I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, but I want you to know that you aren’t the only woman who has been in your situation. I’ve lived it and like I said, I love Luke and Cole very much, and we have a daughter together. We’ve had some bumps along the way, but we’re solid. It has never been easy, nor do I expect it to always be.

“And just like you said, although it is relatively the same thing as when you lost your virginity to a man who wasn’t a virgin, you still can’t compare your unique relationship to a traditional one. Things will be different. It’s expected,” Sierra reached over and put her hand on Kylie’s. “But when you love them as much as you do, it’s totally worth it.”

Kylie stared down at the small, soft hand resting on top of hers. The tears came, and no matter how hard she tried to stop them, they wouldn’t listen. She tried to keep her sobs to herself, but the pain overwhelmed her and she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

She was the one who brought this on herself. She’d not only hurt herself, but she hurt the two men she loved more than anything in the world.

♂♀♂

“Where’s Sierra?” Travis asked Luke when he dropped into the seat across from him at a huge table at the back of the diner. He ordered a coffee when the waitress passed by, then looked at Luke as he waited for an answer.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“How’s the baby?”

“Perfect as ever,” Luke said and his whole face lit up as he answered.

When it appeared Luke wasn’t going to initiate further conversation, Travis figured he’d fill the silence. “What business did you have down here?”

“Needed to talk to a friend,” Luke said. “His family’s worried about him, and they thought it might help if I talked to him.”

The hair on the back of Travis’ neck stood on end. It was a warning because as soon as the feeling came on, he looked up to see Gage and Cole heading their way.

“Sierra’s not coming, is she?” Travis asked Luke, feeling blindsided.

“She’s here. She’s talking to someone at the moment,” Luke explained as Cole sat down beside him. Gage took the seat beside Travis, and it felt as though the four of them were facing off.

No one could ever accuse Travis of being stupid and he was getting pissed that Luke would think he could pull one over on him. “What the hell is going on?” Travis barked, trying to keep his voice low so as not to alert the entire restaurant. Leaning forward, he pinned Luke with a glare as it dawned on him what Luke said. “Fuck, I’m the friend you needed to talk to, that it? Since when did we become friends, McCoy?”

Luke leaned forward, his eyes glowing with the same frustration currently lighting Travis up from the inside. “Since we went into business together,” Luke stated matter-of-factly. “And for the next few minutes, you’re going to sit here and act civil. You can thank me later.”

“Thank you? For what? Interfering when your advice isn’t needed?”

“That’s what you think,” Cole interjected.

The four men sat back as the waitress set four coffee mugs and a carafe on the table before shuffling off. Travis didn’t blame her, the tension at the table could be cut with a knife.

“Enlighten me then,” Travis told the two men when they were alone once again. “You here to save the world?”