Page 57 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
Chase took my hand, staring down at where our fingers were intertwined. A faint smile touched his lips, and a look of nostalgia crossed his face. It was there one instant and gone the next though.
“Elise, I’m sorry,” he said.
Hearing him apologize, when he’d done nothing wrong, took me by surprise. He turned those blue eyes up to me, and my heart melted. God, he was so gorgeous.
“What are you sorry for, Chase?” I asked. “You really have nothing to be sorry for at all.”
“For being a petty, jealous little bitch, and for treating you like a child, I do,” he said. “Truth is, I was jealous, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. At least, not until now. But if you’re happy, I’m happy for you. I just wanted you to know that, I needed you to know that.”
I gave him a small, warm smile. “Jealous of what exactly?”
He gave me a knowing grin. “Of you being with other people, of course,” he said simply. “I love you. I’ve wanted to be with you for – hell, I don’t even know how long to tell you the truth. But if that’s not what you want –”
“Who said that’s not what I wanted?”
“But you’re with –” He stopped and looked at the others in the truck, a look of confusion spreading across his features. “Well, I don’t know who, but you’re not with me, that’s for certain.”
“Who says I have to be with any one of you in particular?” I asked.
Chase looked stunned and confused. “But, is that what you want?”
“It’s what I want, but I don’t know if that’s what everyone else wants to,” I said, biting my lip. “I’m not the only one who should be involved in making this decision.”
We were talking as if we were alone in the truck, but the others were there, listening. They’d just remained quiet as Chase and I tried to come to terms with the situation. I could tell they were all paying keen attention to our conversation though. Nolan already seemed pretty accepting of the arrangement. Sean and Trevor too, maybe. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if my All-American boy would be okay with a poly-style relationship. It took a special and different kind of person to be involved in the kind of relationship where we could all live happily ever after as one, large family. I didn’t know if Chase had that thing inside of him, but I hoped that maybe – just maybe – we could make it all work out somehow.”
Losing any of my boys at that point would have been hard; it would have killed some small part of me. I knew though, that I needed to leave it up to them. They were the ones who’d have to share my love and attention, and I couldn’t force them to be willing to accept that. I couldn’t force them to want to do that.
Chase cleared his throat. “So have you talked about this with the others?”
“I’m talking about it now,” I said. “They’re welcome to hop in at any time. They all know that. There’s no sense in holding your tongue around me.”
No one said anything, not at first. The air inside the cab of the truck was a little stiff and awkward, but I knew they were all turning things over in their minds. I’d dropped a bit of a bombshell into the middle of things, and now they were having to pick through all the rubble, to sort it out in their own minds.
Eventually, Nolan was the one to speak up first. “I’m okay with it,” he said. “As long as Elise is happy, I’m fine with it.”
Always the pragmatic one, of course. Trevor and Sean were the most likely to get jealous and to be possessive, so I had more than a little worry about what they might think or say. Thankfully though, they were best friends. They had a brotherly love between the two of them that allowed them to work well together. They complemented each other, rather than served as each other’s rivals, and they never tried to one up the other – except in friendly competition, of course. “It won’t be easy,” Trevor said from his spot in the passenger seat. “But I love, Elise, and I love you guys too. You guys are my family. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make this work. I’m committed to all it.”
“You’d even be willing to take anger management classes?” Nolan teased from the driver’s side.
Trevor scoffed. “I don’t need any of that shit.”
Nolan side-eyed him, and Trevor laughed.
“Fine, I meant, I don’t need any of that where you guys are concerned,” he said. “You’re my brothers. Nothing will ever come between us.”
“Not even a girl?” I asked.
“Not even a girl,” Trevor said. “But you’re more than just a girl, Elise. You know that, right?”
