Tangled in Divine(Divine Creek Ranch 14)(30)

Chris could just imagine what he’d bring. Strife. Fear. Uncertainty. Dissatisfaction. He doubted he could make Gwen happy long-term. But with Julián in the mix, he stood a better chance than he did on his own. Julián could serve as a buffer, help to even out Chris’s failings. Maybe Gwen would be understanding.

He’d heard that one of the ladies that owned Discretion over in Morehead was part of a threesome, and one of the guys was just as likely to pick at her and push her buttons as he was to kiss her. They made it work because the other guy in the relationship was smooth, and balanced the bickering out. It could work like that for him with Gwen and Julián.

“Just tell me what you feel for her based on your meeting, Chris. You’re overthinking this.”

He couldn’t even look at Julián as he let it all out, knowing that Julián loved the same woman he was talking about, and had for quite some time. “All I did was look in her eyes and I was hooked. I couldn’t even move at first. Her voice sent an electrical current through my body, only it felt good. Damned good in fact. She kept glaring and cussing at me and I just wanted to kiss her. I felt like dirt when I realized she’d hurt her elbow on my truck. I hate that I intimidated her. She’d hardly let me touch her but I wanted to hold her and protect her so she’d never be scared, or tired, or hurt ever again. I guess I slipped into my comfort zone when I was teasing her but the truth is I just wanted to take her someplace safe and quiet, and hold her and look into her eyes.” He could go on and on but it all boiled down to one thing. The lump grew in his throat. “I just want to make her happy. I just want to love her.”

He looked over at Julián and was taken aback by the smile on his face. “That’s what I saw in your eyes when you were looking at her. I’ll let you in but you have to curb the urge to pick at her. She hates that.”

“I can do that. Will you help me out, if you see me going there?”

“I’ll try, man, but it’s up to you to change those habits. That’s all it is.”

Yeah, a lifetime of bad habits. But with Julián in the mix, he stood a better chance of not fucking up. “Thank you.”

“She’s coming home with us tonight after Grace’s party.”

Chris gulped hard. “Seriously?” He braced himself. “Don’t worry, I won’t horn in on y’all. This is gonna be a lot for her to take in all at once anyway—wait. Does she know that you and I are talking?”

Holy shit!

“No. She has no idea. I want to ease her into things gradually. For now, she sets the pace on anything that happens. Anything at all. But that doesn’t mean keeping your feelings for her hidden. She needs to know how you truly feel, so you’ll have to let your guard down.” Julián gave him a significant look. “It’s gonna mean showing your feelings for her when others are around tonight.”

“Shit.” Crash course in social etiquette. Note to self—keep your trap shut.

“Yeah, exactly. And even then, we have to bear in mind that she fully intends to get back on the circuit come March, and she’s likely to view anything between us as temporary. We’ll have to allow that and just hope for the best. Hope that we don’t both…”

“Get our hearts crushed?”

“Good way of putting it,” Julián said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Remember the other day at the jewelry store, when I was trying to pick out a gift for her?”

“Yeah.” Chris smiled, thankful for the reminder that Julián faced uncertainty too. He was as much at risk for a broken heart as Chris was.

“You asked if there was a chance I might never see her face-to-face again and if I could lose my chance at letting her know how I feel. That applies to both of us now. This is our chance, starting now.” Julián looked one hundred percent sure of that fact. Chris felt trepidation but he drew strength from Julián’s certainty.

“I don’t want to fuck things up between the two of you.”

“Something tells me—my gut, I guess—that she’ll be even happier if it’s the three of us.”

Chris ran his hand through his short black hair and leaned forward. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. There’s something else you should know. You need to take this as a sincere warning, okay?” The look on Julián’s face was dead serious.

“Damn. Okay. What is it?”

“I’ve seen you sneak up and tickle the women in your family, to get a reaction, you know?”

“Oh yeah. They love it,” Chris said with a chuckle, thinking of the last time he made his older sister, Alessia, squeal. He only did that to women he really felt close to and cared a lot about.