"It's illegal," I added, then felt bad. Shook my head. "Sorry, but this is all so crazy."
The waitress brought the drinks then and I was glad for the refill. I could feel the effects of the first drink, and welcomed the heat that spread through my stomach.
After taking Tyler's order, the waitress left and all three of them watched me expectantly. And they weren't wrong. I had questions.
"Does every woman in Bridgewater marry two men?"
All three of them shook their heads. Mike lifted his arm and placed it along the back of the booth behind Cara. He was at ease, comfortable. "Not everyone. Some women only marry one man, some marry three. It's not that it's unusual, it's just … normal for us."
I wasn't sure how polyamory was normal, but the way Mike and Tyler looked at Cara, I could see they were happy.
"Yeah, but … " I fiddled with my fingers, thinking about sex and how that worked.
"The sex?" Cara asked, as if reading my mind. She grinned, then glanced at one man, then the other.
"Watch it, babe," Tyler said, putting his hand on top of hers.
"I was going to say-" She glanced slyly up at him. "-that it's awesome. What woman wouldn't want two men to take care of her? You should try it!"
Cara wiggled in her seat, her cheeks pink with a blush of excitement.
"It's not for everyone," Tyler murmured.
I laughed. "I think I need to work on one man first. Two? That's a bit of a stretch for me."
"There's a guy at the bar eyeing you," Cara said, tilting her chin in that direction.
Without any subtlety, we all turned to look.
I recognized him immediately, then sighed. "That's not a man, that's your brother," I grumbled.
Cara laughed. "Still, he's waving to you and wants to say hi."
I sighed, slid across the seat. "Wait, do he and another man share a wife?"
"Single," Cara replied.
"I'll go and talk with him and get the next round."
Mike held up his glass, almost full. "Take your time. If Declan's not the guy for you, just wait. You're going to be like a flower to the bees, sweetheart."
I gave Mike a doubtful look.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Cara giggled.
Wedged between two men, both of whom were her husbands, I could only imagine what she did do.
As I walked over to Declan MacDonald, I thought about what I'd just learned. Two men! Cara was married to both Mike and Tyler. God, how did that work out? Obviously, I'd heard of threesomes, but that was like … a one time thing, right? Get it on with two hot guys, check off that fantasy from the bucket list, then get back to reality. Follow the rules. Find a good man, settle down, get married. But Cara was married to two men. Married. As in forever. Did they all sleep in the same bed? Or …
"Hey, Squirt." Declan pulled me in for a big hug. He was as tall as I remembered, but he'd filled out. With similar coloring to Cara, no one would doubt they were siblings.
"God, Declan, it's been a long time." Even though he'd been older, in high school and had me and Cara tagging along on occasion, he'd always been nice to me. Kept an eye on me when I knew my parents didn't. I didn't have a big brother and as a kid, that's what I always thought of him to be.
He pushed me back, put his hands on my shoulders and looked me over, then frowned. "No ring on your finger? What's wrong with the men in New York?"
What was it with everyone these days? Why was everyone so damn worried about my status as a single woman? I was divorced, not dying of some incurable disease. Did I look that lonely and desperate?
Tilting my head to the side, I looked at his hand. "No ring for you either. Haven't found a wife … and another guy to share her with?"
His smile slipped a little and his eyes turned serious. "You didn't know?"
I shook my head and bit my lip. "Didn't remember. Or, when I used to come, too young to understand. I just found out, really." Glancing at Cara, she was smiling at something her men said, their heads angled close to hers. It was obvious they were together. "You don't mind? Cara, I mean?"
Declan let me go, then directed me to sit at one of the bar stools. "I'd rather not think of Cara with any man, but Mike and Tyler are good to her."
"Two?"
"That's the way it is in Bridgewater. It's the way it's been for over a hundred years. Hell, the area was founded on the principle. It's accepted, embraced even. No one divorces."
"But two!" I repeated, waving my hand in the air. "Seriously? It's not even legal."
"I heard you were a lawyer." As if that explained my answer. "Only one of them actually marries the woman. The rest is just a mutual understanding."
"Some understanding. I couldn't stand my ex-husband. Why would I want two of them?"
Declan grinned. "You might be surprised, Squirt. We're raised to put women first, in all things. We protect them, cherish them, love them. Take chivalry and amp it up about ten times. When a man finds the right woman, there's no going back. Can you say that about your ex?"
I laughed then, thinking of Chad. Chivalry? Protection? "God, no."
"You've just found the wrong guy. Guys." When I looked skeptical, he went on. "You like sci-fi movies?"
I shrugged, confused by the change of topic. "Sure." I couldn't remember the last time I was at the theater, but I could envision Star Trek and little green men.
"It's like a tractor beam. When a guy gets his sights on his woman, she's pulled right in. He doesn't waver, doesn't doubt. Never cheats, never sways. It's … powerful." He glanced up and his smile widened. "Kind of like that."
I turned to look and found a man I didn't recognize approaching us. A hot, gorgeous, virile, stunning stranger. Damn, he was hot. He nodded at Declan as he took the barstool next to me, but his attention didn't waver for long. With a short, "Dec," his intense gaze returned to me.
"Hello. I'm Sam Kane." He held out his right hand like a perfectly reasonable human being.
Me? I froze as the name registered-slowly. Sam Kane.
Sam was big and broad like a football player with the good looks of a cover model. His nose had a slight crook to it, giving him an air of danger, or at least a bar brawl or two. He screamed cowboy, and yet his dress was more corporate than Carhartts.
His greeting moved through my mind about as fast as chilled molasses through a straw. I knew I was supposed to say something, but damn, I couldn't seem to remember how to talk. This was even worse than my FUBAR on the airplane with hottie cowboy Jack. Yeah, that was fucked up beyond all recognition. Now, I was two-for-two in embarrassing myself with sexy men. Go me.
Sam Kane had been cute when I was twelve. Now, holy fuck. Beam me up, Scotty.
With a chuckle, and a protective hand on my shoulder, Declan made the introductions. "Sam, you remember Katie Andrews from … God, when we were in high school. Katie, this is Sam."
I placed my much smaller hand in his large palm and finally remembered to breathe as he gently squeezed. Tingles crept up my arm and I hoped he'd never let go. This was the teenager I'd mooned over? Shit, he was not a teenager any more. He was like sex on a stick with a fucking cherry on top.
"Hi. I … I think … you're the attorney handling my uncle's estate? Charlie Willis." That was good. I didn't fumble that too much.
His gaze narrowed and I watched the lightning quick analysis going on behind his dark eyes with helpless fascination. "Yes, and you're my ten o'clock meeting tomorrow."
Nodding, I stared at the way his dark hair curved to cover half of his forehead, inspected the sharp lines of his face and hard jaw until my attention rested on his full lips. They looked hard, but firm, as I imagined his kisses would be, aggressive, urgent, dominating to the senses.
Wow. My mind went right to the gutter, but what woman could blame me? He'd filled out, matured. Turned out to be … gorgeous. I pulled my hand free and cleared my throat. What was it about hot men in Montana? Was it the water? All the fresh air and sunshine? Hormone-free milk? Turning to face the bar, I took a sip of my drink and tried to recover. "Ten o'clock. Yes. Nice to see you again."
Nice? Seeing him again was like a cattle prod to my libido.
Turning to Declan, I gasped to discover the stool empty. Looking around quickly, I found he'd taken my place at Cara's table, where he, along with Cara and her husbands raised their glasses in salute, as if giving me permission to flirt with Sam. Alone.
Apparently, Sam saw them, too. The soft sound of his chuckle of amusement made my heart race. "Looks like I have been given permission to buy you a drink, Katie. What do you say?"
"My glass is full." Oh, yeah. Great answer. Idiot. I felt my cheeks heat, but couldn't think past the facts of the moment. Airplane Jack, with his blatant masculinity, playboy smile and rock hard body had pushed me so far off kilter that I had no chance of resisting Sam.