Any Given Sunday (2 page)

She sighed contentedly when he pulled free, gathering her closer.

As they lay in each other’s arms, sleep coming to claim them, Sean turned to kiss

her on the brow. “I want to tell people about us.”

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Mari Carr

She nodded once. “It’s time,” she agreed.

For a brief moment he considered making the confession that was on the tip of his

tongue, but the words wouldn’t come. There was one secret he could never tell her.

Never tell anyone. Silently, he prayed it wouldn’t come back to destroy the bond they’d just forged.

“Tomorrow.” He tightened his grip on her. “We’ll tell everyone tomorrow.”

Her breathing slowed, became softer when she drifted off to sleep.

A sound in the hallway distracted him from saying more. He listened to Chad’s

footsteps walking away from the room. His heart stuttered slightly as Chad’s door

closed with a soft click.

Sean’s mind whirled over the evening, considering how it was possible to

experience utter happiness and absolute sadness at the exact same time.

Lauren loved him. Sex with her rocked his world. He’d promise her forever and

mean it.

All those things were true. However, there was one other truth—a bigger truth—

tarnishing this moment.

Chad was on the wrong side of the door.

10

Any Given Sunday

Two years later…

“Okay, that box goes in the kitchen,” Lauren said, directing Killian and her

Pfaltzgraff dishes to the last available bit of space on the island counter. She grinned.

She’d always wanted a kitchen with an island.

“Thanks again for helping us move, K.” She smiled as Killian Collins gave her a

wink.

“Beats the hell out of working. We’re at the roofing phase on our latest job site and believe me, it was no hardship to leave that task to someone else.”

“I really don’t think we could have done this without you and the other guys.”

“Hey, K. Where are you?” Killian’s twin brother, Tristan, called from the hallway.

“They found me.” Killian grimaced before yelling, “In the kitchen.”

“Come give me a hand with this box. Fucker is heavier than shit.”

Killian shrugged. “Duty calls.”

Male voices calling directions to each other sounded from all around the house.

Lauren followed Killian out of the kitchen to check their progress. She and Sean had

loaded the pickup trucks of every friend and relative they had and started the big move at the crack of dawn. Now it was just after noon. She was starving and exhausted.

She took a calming breath as she watched the Collins men lugging furniture and

boxes into her new home. She and Sean were moving into a house in a quiet suburb on

the outskirts of Baltimore with their best friend Chad. She should be excited, happy.

And for the most part she was, but there was also a niggling little feeling that kept nagging at the back of her mind, telling her something wasn’t quite right.

She’d dated Sean for two years. Moving in together was clearly the next step in

their relationship. She’d been thrilled when he’d found this house and asked her to

share it with him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the odd feeling something wasn’t quite right. She wondered if she was rushing into this new stage before she was ready.

She grimaced as she looked around the new house filled with boxes. Everything

would be fine once they unpacked and got into a routine.

It’s just cold feet.

“Foosball table coming through,” Sean called out as he and Chad made their way

down the hall.

Lauren blocked his path. “Where do you think you’re heading with that?”

“Dining room.”

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Mari Carr

She shook her head and pointed to the right, in the opposite direction of the dining

room. “Office.”

He and Chad put the table down despite the groan of protest from Tristan, who’d

been following them with two large lamps in his hands.

Sean gave her an exasperated look. “Lauren, we already discussed this. There’s a

table in the kitchen and you know that’s where we’re eating. The dining room is gonna be wasted space. How in the hell are you going to get any work done in an office with a foosball table in it? Think of the temptation.”

She smirked. “I don’t find foosball to be a temptation.”

Chad toyed with one of the plastic players on the table. “Well, I do, and I don’t

want my GPA slipping this late in the game. We’re only a couple of semesters away

from getting our doctorates.”

“Sean, we’re moving into this house because we decided it was time to grow up, to

leave the college scene behind and start working toward a solid future. A foosball table in the dining room sort of defeats that purpose. Besides, it only has to stay in the office until you guys finish fixing up the basement. Chad wants it down there with him.”

Sean moved closer to her and tugged her ponytail playfully. “Why don’t we

compromise? We’ll put it in the dining room until we get a dining table. After that,

we’ll move it to the office.”

She considered his compromise and decided it was a fair one. They’d already made

plans to buy a table later in the week, so she wouldn’t have to wait long. “You

promise?”

Sean crossed his heart, laughing. “I’ll even seal the deal with a kiss.” He leaned

forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Even after two years with Sean, her heart began to race the second his lips touched her.

“I promise too,” Chad added as they started by her. He placed a quick kiss on her

cheek and wiggled his eyebrows. Her libido kicked into overdrive despite her attempts to keep it in check. Not cool. She should
not
get hot and bothered every time Chad touched her. She was head over heels in love with Sean.

Still…

She stepped out of the way as they continued toward the dining room, Tris at their

heels.

“Nice house.”

Lauren turned around and spotted Sean’s sister, Riley, and her husband Aaron

coming in with more boxes. “When did you two get here?” Lauren asked.

“Just now. Thought we’d grab some stuff off the truck and start helping.” Riley

turned around and put her box on top of the heavy one Aaron was already carrying.

“These say books, so I’m assuming they go in the office we just passed.”

Lauren nodded, confirming Riley’s assumption.

“Put those in there, sugar, while Lauren gives me the tour.”

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Any Given Sunday

Aaron groaned. “If I fucking pull a muscle, Riley, you’ll be sorry. Probably be laid

up for weeks. No boom-boom.”

Lauren laughed at Aaron’s taunt as Riley started to grab her box back. Aaron

chuckled and moved away before she could retrieve it.

“Gotcha,” he teased as he walked to the office.

“Asswipe,” Riley muttered, though her face betrayed the truth. Lauren didn’t think

the honeymoon would ever end for those two. They’d eloped in Vegas over two years

earlier, but they still only had eyes—and hands—for each other.

“Thanks for coming over to help, Riley. I really do appreciate it. Actually, I don’t

know how we could have moved all this stuff if it weren’t for your family.”

Riley took her arm and propelled her up the stairs. “Gotta be some perks to having

four overgrown, overbearing brothers. Top of that list is that they can move all the

heavy shit. So we’ll start the tour upstairs. What are the sleeping arrangements?”

Lauren led her toward the first room at the top of the stairs. “Sean and I have the

master bedroom and until the guys finish building the basement apartment for Chad,

he’ll be in the guest room.”

“Mmm hmm,” Riley hummed.

Lauren tried to figure out what was going on in the woman’s head. She’d been

making odd comments about this move ever since they’d announced it to Sean’s family.

Lauren suddenly wondered if she hadn’t been as good at hiding her secret lust for Chad as she’d thought.

“This is the master bedroom. It has a great bathroom through those doors—big-ass

Jacuzzi tub and everything.” Then she sighed at the pile of boxes lining the walls, the dismantled king-sized bed and the drawer-less dressers. God only knew where the

drawers had ended up. “Jeez. It’s gonna take ages to get this place put together.”

Riley was standing at the doorway, looking down the hall. “Where is Chad sleeping

again?”

“A little farther down the hallway, on the right. The guest bathroom is toward the

end. What’s the obsession with sleeping arrangements, Riley? You know as well as I do it makes sense for Chad to move in with us until he and I graduate.”

In addition to being Sean’s sister, Riley had become one of Lauren’s dearest friends

over the past few years. Despite that fact, sometimes Lauren struggled with Riley’s

unusual view of the world and life in general.

“All I’m saying is, are you sure you don’t want to share a room with Sean
and

Chad? Let’s face it. You’ve got the hots for both of them. There’s a lot of pent-up lust hovering in the air whenever the three of you get together. It’s sort of stifling really.”

Lauren sat down on a box, resting her elbows on her knees. “I’m committed to

Sean, Riley. We’ve been together over two years. I’m not about to make a pass at his

best friend.”

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Mari Carr

Riley claimed the box next to her. “I’m not saying you should throw Sean over for

Chad. Just add another man to the mix.”

“Jesus. You know, we’re not all as crazy as the Collinses. Most of us mere mortal

beings just get through the days living normal lives, either alone or in pairs. Besides, I’m attending school to become a doctor. Of psychology. Not sure how living in a

ménage would go over with my patients when I open a practice.”

“I don’t see anything weird about living in a threesome. Look at my brother Killian.

He’s been happily shacked up with Lily and Justin for years. I’ve always thought you, Sean and Chad were destined for the same.”

Lauren shook her head. “Killian’s deal is the exception, not the rule. I don’t know of another person in the world living in that kind of setup.”

“So that means no one else is? Pardon me, babe, but you don’t know that many

damn people. I bet there are loads of threesomes out there making it work.”

“Why am I having this conversation with you? How do I let you drag me into stuff

like this? The point is moot. I’m in love with Sean. We’re eventually getting married and living happily ever after. The end.”

Riley refused to be deterred. “And Chad?”

“Chad will hopefully be what he’s always been. Our best friend. And God willing,

he and I will achieve our dreams and open a practice together. This move hasn’t

changed anything except our address.”

“I don’t buy it.”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “What don’t you buy?”

“If you and Sean are so committed that you’ve decided to buy this house together

and start shacking up, if this is just the first step toward marriage, then why bring Chad into the mix?”

“I’ll admit the timing wasn’t ideal, life-wise, but look at this house, Riley. It’s

gorgeous. Sean was helping Killian and Justin do some construction work on it so the

former owner could sell. Sean took one look and knew it was our dream home. It’s an

easy commute to the pub for Sean and close to the university. When he brought me here to look at it, we knew we wanted it.”

“It is beautiful. I guess I’m just worried you’re both rushing things a bit.”

Lauren sighed. She’d been feeling the same way lately. Sean hadn’t exactly pushed

her into buying the house, but he’d been so excited when he’d shown it to her. His

enthusiasm had been infectious. Now that she was here, the reality of what she’d

committed to was hitting her.

“Like I said, we weren’t looking to buy a house until after I graduated in the spring.

We couldn’t leave Chad high and dry with just two more semesters to go. With Chad

and me only working part-time while we finish grad school, having him rent the

basement apartment helps us make the mortgage until I find a job. Besides, Chad

couldn’t afford the college apartment without a roommate, and while I know he

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Any Given Sunday

wouldn’t have minded advertising for one, it didn’t seem fair to put him in that

situation. He and Sean have lived together since high-school graduation.”

“So this house-sharing deal is definitely a short-time thing?”

Lauren nodded. “Yep. Just until Chad and I earn our doctorates and find jobs.”

Riley reached over and grasped Lauren’s hand. “I’m really happy for you, Lauren.”

Riley’s words and her kind touch proved to be too much. Suddenly Lauren heard

things falling from her lips that she hadn’t meant to share. “When Sean brought me to see this house, he had a picnic basket with wine and bread and cheese. After taking me through the whole house, we sat on the floor in the living room. He pulled out the food, poured us some wine and told me he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life

with me.”

Riley laughed. “God, that’s sappy. Sounds just like my baby brother.”

“It was completely romantic. I looked at him and I knew. God, Riley, I knew all the

way to my soul I wanted to live this lifetime with him.”

“And now you are,” Riley said.

Lauren looked down, tried to find a way to explain. “I made a choice. Part of being

an adult means you have to make difficult decisions.”

Riley’s eyes narrowed. “You chose Sean.”

“And I don’t regret that. Not for a minute,” Lauren interjected.