Tangled in Divine(Divine Creek Ranch 14)(29)

His mother had always told him that his face was an open book, his emotions easy to read, which would always make him a target for assholes. That was one of the reasons he teased so much. It was all a bluff. It wasn’t as important to keep that part of his nature hidden.

Growing up with all his older brothers, it paid to learn to hide vulnerabilities and feelings. He loved them all, but they’d made his life, as the baby of the family, a living hell when he was growing up. He’d learned to get along, and once he’d gotten bigger than most of them, they’d left him alone. By then, he’d gotten good at hiding his feelings.

But for some reason, Gwen seemed capable of laying his every emotion bare, even in her sleep.

Chris eased into the chair, testing its strength as he sat down in it, and eventually relaxed. He was a big guy and breaking furniture was beyond humiliating. He knew from experience. The memory made him cringe.

He searched for the right words as he faced his friend. “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to kick my ass. I guess it was pretty obvious what I was thinking in there, huh?”

“I saw,” Julián acknowledged quietly, lightly rubbing his fingers through the closely trimmed hair over his ears, like he was thinking. He finally clasped his hands behind his head, and let out a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry, man,” Chris said. “I’ll steer completely clear of…her while she’s in the area. You won’t have any trouble from me. You’re my best friend.” My only friend, really. He knew that was his own fault. He didn’t trust people easily and tended to steer clear of gatherings like this Christmas party that Grace was hosting, and they were attending, that night.

“I understand. And that’s the reason why I’m telling you what I’m going to tell you.” Julián leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table and smiled at him. “Relax. You look ready to bolt or defend yourself. Anyone looking out a window at us would think we were fixing to fight.”

The conflict that was growing in Chris made it nearly impossible to relax.

Julián leveled a serious gaze on Chris. “Tell me something. What do you think of all the ménages in Divine?”

“I don’t—why do you ask?” What the fuck?

“You remember me telling you that I had a brother who lived over in Lusty?” At Chris’s nod Julián continued. “Peter is involved in a ménage, with his wife, Tracy, and his husband, Jordan, so it’s not all that shocking to me. I wondered what you thought of that kind of arrangement.”

Dude, seriously. Who am I to judge? I’m doing good just to get a date on the weekend.

Julián met his gaze, seeming unconcerned that Chris couldn’t formulate a rational response, and continued. “I wouldn’t be opposed to a ménage but there would need to be a very high degree of trust between me and the man I’d be willing to share a woman with. And I would not be interested in more than sharing the woman. Peter is in love with Jordan in the same way he’s in love with Tracy. But that’s not how it works for me.”

“Your brother is bisexual.”

“Yes. I’m not passing judgment. That’s just not me.” He chuckled wryly and added, “I don’t find your ass attractive at all.”

Normally, Julián’s humor would earn him a middle finger or some other acknowledgment but right then he needed to be clear on what Julian was suggesting more than he needed to by snarky. “Julián, what are you getting at?”

“If I let you into the relationship—make it a ménage—what do you bring to the table?”

Chris blinked a couple of times as Julián’s words registered. “What the fuck—what do you mean?”

Julián seemed amused by his shock. “If I were to include you in our relationship, what would you do for her?”

“Julián, she can barely stand to talk to me, much less be around me. What’s the point in even asking?”

Looking out at the horses grazing nearby in the windswept pasture, Julián nodded in agreement. “You definitely get a reaction out of her, based on what little she told me about your meeting. Were you pushing her buttons on purpose?”

Disgusted with himself, Chris let out a sigh. “I was trying to curb that but you know pushing buttons is practically in my DNA. I seemed to find every one of hers earlier.”

“I could tell. But there was more to what happened at Divine Drip than what she was saying. Something about her responses to you made me curious. And then there was just a few minutes ago with you in the den. I could practically read your mind in your expression. So I’m gonna ask again. What can you bring to this relationship?”