"I would reward her properly if she would let me." In fact, Tate would reward her all night long.
Eric nodded. "Amen, brother. Did she eat anything tonight?"
He'd cooked a very nice roast that had filled the house all day with savory smells and made Tate's stomach growl.
"A little, but I found her asleep at her grandmother's desk with her plate half full," Kellan grumbled. "I'm going to move the office into another room. The four of us need to sit down together at meals. This whole grabbing-a-tray-when-we-have-a-minute bit isn't working, guys. We need to think things through."
Scowling, Tate almost objected. He was always thinking. "Sorry, I had a six p.m. conference call. I couldn't get out of it."
And he'd eaten lunch at his computer because he'd gotten an emergency e-mail begging for clarification on a contract some clients hadn't yet signed. Eric had been forced to leave to find a new router when the one they'd been using suddenly blew out. Tate blamed the flirty electrician.
"Clear your schedules tomorrow at eight, noon, and six. We'll force Belle to sit down with us," Kellan counseled.
"Yeah, like civilized people in a relationship." Eric looked like his patience was at an end.
"She won't admit we're in a relationship." Tate sure didn't feel like he was in one, either.
"I really thought she'd give in by now," Eric admitted, frustration contorting his expression and tightening his shoulders. His brows settled into a deep V. Tate might not be able to read most people, but he knew his best friend. "I hate how hard she's working."
"But she likes it. She seems happy." He'd noticed her smiling and humming while she painted. There was a peace to her he'd never seen before. "I think we have to really consider the fact that she's not going to leave this place. We fucked up."
Maybe he should have let Kellan go and wrapped Belle in his arms for good. He could have kissed her and told her what she meant to him and maybe they wouldn't feel as if they'd lost their chance with her. She could respond to his flirtations all day long, but if she didn't give in or let herself fall in love, it wouldn't matter.
And almost as soon as he finished the thought, Tate realized that he couldn't abandon his friend. He felt disloyal for even thinking it.
"I'm sorry, guys." Kellan stood up. "This is my fault."
"Stop. No more apologies," Tate insisted. "The question now is, what do you want out of this?"
Eric nodded. "Yeah, what do you want to do here? I think you should stay. Belle can handle you, but we've spent days just sitting around waiting for her to change her mind. It's not working."
"We need a plan." They'd thought she would come around quickly, but Tate saw now she'd been serious about her career change. Just like she was serious about the move.
"What if we can't get her to come home with us?" Eric asked.
"I don't know, but I know I'm not giving up." He loved her. He'd never felt for any woman what he did for Belle. He smiled more with her. He even liked himself better when he was around her. "If I have to move, I will. I love her. We need to put her first from now on."
Eric held a hand up. "I agree. Putting her first is the only way this works, I think. If I really thought she couldn't handle the type of relationship we want, I would allow her to choose one of us, but she needs us all. I think her reluctance now is about her wounded pride and her inexperience, not any fear she has about having more than one man."
"I don't know," Kellan hedged. "You two need to show her you can make her life better. That starts with being organized. You're right about putting her first and giving her what she needs. Any good Dom does. That means prioritizing her above business, too. Tomorrow we help her. All three of us. I've looked at your schedules and almost everything can wait."
Tate thought through his calendar tomorrow, then nodded. He'd helped with painting today, and he'd felt wonderfully close to her for those precious hours. They'd joked and bantered like old times, but a new awareness had hummed between them. While he'd worked beside her, he'd been almost perfectly content. If he could have kissed her when they'd finished and taken her to bed, he'd be the happiest bastard on the planet. Instead, when she'd tidied up for the night, Tate had sensed her pulling away. The distance between them gnawed at him.
But that wasn't the only thing troubling him.
"I want to look into that lawyer of her grandmother's. I heard some of their conversation today and I didn't like it. He told her he had to have an inventory of the house before the court will sign off on the will."