Let It Snow (8 page)

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”

“You’ve always told me the truth, Garrett. This is the first time I’ve ever seen you do this. I had my suspicions. I knew you guys were closer than other guys would be.” She shook her head, a  sad smile on her face. “I guess I didn’t want to think about how you might not love me like you do him.”

“Oh, Brianna, love.” He caressed her face with his thumb, following the lines of her bone structure. “I love you. Never doubt that. Leo and I… yes, we had a thing. But we both knew it would never work out.”

Saying the truth out loud was agonizing, painfully squeezing. Leo was a public figure, a role model for young hockey players everywhere. He was climbing up the charts, making a name for himself. A relationship with a man could ruin his public image.

Brianna looked at him so uncertainly it tore him to pieces. He didn’t want her to ever think that she was second-rate. No matter what Leo was to him, she was still his wife. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet easily with a swoop of his arm under her knees. Her legs dangled from his arms as he brought her around to the couch and settled on the cushions with her in his lap. She curled up on him, burrowing her way into the warmth of his body.

“I love you.” The slight hitch in her voice tugged at his heart and made him want to go all “Hulk Smash” on the nearest target. He never wanted Bri to hurt. Ever. She deserved so much better.

“I love you too.” He stroked his fingers along her hip, each movement throwing kindling on the fire building inside him. Leo could be stubborn. He could be an ass. Garrett’s temper flared inside him, burning like a Roman candle, ready to explode. When he got back, he’d let Leo know that Brianna Zane never hurt for anything. That it was their job to protect her, not hurt her.

The snow had fallen steadily for hours, making it difficult for even his four by four to make it through. When he made it back, he knew he was stuck there for possibly days. He’d considered not coming back. But they wouldn’t have enough food to last them. They were his friends. He couldn’t’ do that to them.

Dread filled him as he opened the front door, halfway expecting the two to be standing on the other side. But the living room was deserted. He’d been gone hours. At close to dinner time now, he couldn’t imagine what they were doing now. Their bedroom was shut. Even the bathroom door was shut.

He’d never felt truly alone in the cabin before. Miserable and guilty, he rubbed his chest, over the anchor tattoo. Fuck, even when he was upset, he reached for something that reminded him of Garrett. He grabbed several bags from the back of his truck and brought them inside. Unloading the truck only took a few minutes. He restocked the kitchen with his newly bought groceries. The weather forecast called for the snow to continue for hours, maybe days. The roads would close in about four more hours if the snow continued this way. At least that’s what the police had told him on his way back up the mountain.

Normally, being trapped in a cabin with his best friends wasn’t a big deal. Last time, they’d stocked up the firewood and gas and had a good time with movies and long talks about random shit by the fireplace.

Things had changed.

The cabin was quiet, so he figured that Bri and Garrett were off doing couple things or maybe napping. Who the hell knew? They weren’t around, which he wasn’t sure if he should be thankful for or terrified of. While it disappointed him that they weren’t close, being a couple was something that they needed to do. They needed to reaffirm their relationship.

He rolled his eyes at himself. Relationships. Reaffirmation. Next thing he knew, he’d be all Stuart Smalley in here. What the hell was happening to him? He leaned against the counter and listened to the quiet of the cabin. Frustrated with himself, and his inability to deal with the emotions he had churning inside, he went to his current bedroom, shutting out the rest of the world.

The door burst open, bright light flooding his still darkened bedroom. Garrett’s large body shadowed over him and then he was airborne. His back slammed into the wall and shock had him crumbling to the floor.

 “Get up, asshole.”

Leo sluggishly slid his body back up to a standing position, his back biting with pain.

“Garrett, what—”

Stars burst in his vision as Garrett’s fist slammed into the side of his face. Leo stumbled to the side with the force.

Damn, Garrett packed one hell of a punch. He grabbed Garrett’s swinging arm, covering the anchor tattoo with his hand and deflected the next punch. He jumped back, and pressed his fingertips to where Garrett had hit him, just at the corner of his left eye. “What the fuck, man?”

“It’s one thing to be fucking scared, dude,” Garrett growled. “It’s another to hurt my wife in the process. I won’t let you.”

Leo balanced his hands on his knees, half bent over to keep the room from spinning. Hockey fights were one thing. There was only so hard a person could hit on the ice. This was the punch of a man who was utterly, completely pissed off. And really, he didn’t blame him one freaking bit.

“It’s better this way, okay?”

Garrett came at him again, his fist coming for his gut. Leo sideswiped him, deflecting yet again. “Fuck, stop, already!”

“Tell me why I should, you asshat!” Garrett hauled Leo up by his arms and pushed him into the wall. “You’re so fucking skittish of letting go of your precious little heart. Did you ever think about anyone but yourself?”

“Sure, I did!” Leo yelled back, breaking Garrett’s hold on him. He shoved him back. “There’s you and Brianna, Garrett. There’s no you, Brianna, and me! It’s not possible!”

“Why not?” Leo froze at the sound of Brianna’s voice in the doorway. Garrett slammed him back against the wall, his forearm digging into his throat. Leo glanced toward the door. She only wore a tee shirt, and her hair was mussed, like she’d been sleeping. Nipples stuck out underneath the fabric, reminding him of the precarious position he’d been put in.

“You’re my best friend’s wife.”

“Do you love me?” She asked quietly.

“Bri…” He didn’t want to say. Because the truth was, he’d been in love with her since day one. Same as Garrett. He never said it because he couldn’t act on it. 

“Do you love Garrett?”

“He’s my best friend. You know I do.”

“You love us both. We both love you. Why can’t it work?”

Brianna stepped further into the room. The tee she wore exacerbated the need he already had for her. Her slender legs drove him crazy. The gentle curve of her hips made him dizzy. Even with Garrett’s forearm in his throat, he couldn’t help but imagine those legs wrapped around his waist, or that ass presented to him like a gift.

“I thought you were sleeping, sweetie,” Garrett said, releasing Leo from his hold.

“I was, but then I heard a bunch of yelling.” Even her voice had that accusing tone to it. She glanced at Leo, surveying the damage on his face, then back to Garrett in surprise. “You hit him?”

“He hurt you,” Garrett replied simply. He glared at Leo.

Brianna’s eyebrow cocked upward at Leo.

He shrugged. “I deserved it.”

“Guys,” Brianna shook her head. She pinned Garrett with a stare that would have frightened Godzilla. “Garrett, go get some ice.”

“Bri—”

“Now, Garrett, before this swells more,” she ordered. He growled but left the room. Leo didn’t say a word, and neither did she. Somehow, having her upset with him, was even worse than having Garrett pissed. The air of disappointment surrounding her suffocated him.

She turned back toward Leo, fury in her eyes. “Did you really think you were protecting me?”

“Who said that?” Leo asked.

“Don’t give me the bullshit, Leo. I know better.”

“I don’t belong with you and Garrett, Bri. Three’s a crowd.” Leo’s voice was barely above a whisper. He needed her to understand. There was no room for him.  “I just thought you would need some time to process what we’ve done. We’ve changed things by having sex, much less having a threesome. Garrett and I… you didn’t even know that Garrett had bisexual tendencies.”

“I’m not stupid, Leo.” As Garrett came back in, her eyes flittered to him then met Leo’s eyes again. Her dark almond eyes were confident and sure. “I know my husband and I know the way he acts around you is different than the way he acts around his other guy friends.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not oblivious. I had my suspicions. But… you two needed to be the ones to tell me, not have me grill you about it. Both of you are horrible liars and even worse at hiding how you feel about each other. So, of course, yes, I knew.”

Retrieving the bag of ice from Garrett, she sat Leo on the edge of the bed and knelt next to him. He still towered over her. Half-lidded eyes that reminded him of chocolate peeked at him. She placed the bag over his injured eye. He winced, both at the cold and the sensitive prickling of pain in his face.

“I wish you’d understand that these feelings we have for you aren’t new, Leo.”

“We? What do you mean ‘we’?” He risked a glance at Garrett, but he was busy studying the wall where he’d just thrown Leo only a few minutes earlier.

“We love you, Leo. We always have, even if Garrett can’t admit it right now. We’re like an isosceles triangle. All our angles are equal and all our lines are the same length. But it only works when we’re together.”

He smiled and thought better of it when it reached his eye. “You’re talking about us like we’re geometry.”

“We are, sort of,” she said. “Garrett and I… we have a good relationship. He loves me and I love him. But we both know that we’re not complete.”

He saw her eyes water for a moment before she blinked the tears away. She flashed him that beautiful smile that always undid him. He’d been angry when he’d left the cabin. He’d thought about not coming back. But he had. Because deep inside, there was something there. He wasn’t completely sure what it was, but physical pain choked his breathing every time he thought about Garrett and Brianna leaving him for good, never to return.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Bri.” That was the truth. His intention wasn’t to hurt her but rather to convince her not to want him.

“Yes, you did,” she laughed. “But I know why. It’s okay.”

“You’re far more forgiving than I would be,” Leo told her. Garrett grunted his agreement but didn’t look at them.

Bri glanced at Garrett then back to Leo where she handed him the ice pack. “Maybe it’s because I’m not the one you hurt the most.” She stood up, her dainty little feet making soft little footfalls as she walked back toward the door. “I’m going back to bed. I’ll not push the issue right now, Leo. You guys have worn me the hell out and I need some time away from you two. But later? We’re going to discuss this.” She glanced back at Garrett. “Like adults.”

Talking about his relationship with anyone, much less with his married best friends wasn’t high on his priority list. She knew that. She probably knew he’d also do anything to get out of it later, yet she was letting him off the hook now. Confusion clouded his judgment with her, and especially with Garrett.  Around them, rational thought took a vacation.

 “Thanks, Bri.”

“We take care of each other, Leo,” she said, “because a triangle needs all of its sides to be strong.”

She stopped in the doorway and glanced at Garrett. Leo watched as Garrett squeezed her hand lightly and gave her an apologetic smile. Then she left.

Garrett glanced at him, pinning him with an angry stare. Leo sighed, finally seeing what Bri had meant when she’d said she wasn’t the one hurt the most. “Garrett, I—”

“Shut up.” Garrett’s voice was gravelly. “I don’t want to talk right now.”

As Garrett stormed out of the room, Leo dropped his head in his hands. He’d made a major mess of things.

~*~*~

The next morning, Garrett was not as pissed as he wanted to be, especially when he saw the mess she’d made of the kitchen for breakfast. Pancakes piled high on a plate by the stove. Flour all over the counters. The stove had burn marks where the pan had been sitting. Leo was going to have a conniption. He scooped her into his arms, dropping a soft kiss on her lips. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey,” she said, a smile bright and clear on her face, very different from the heartbroken woman from the night before. Her ability to bounce back amazed him, though he knew she was holding it back. “Where did you put my shampoo? I couldn’t find it earlier.”

“In that little plastic case you have all your lotion stuff in,” he said.

“Oh, good, because I need to take a shower and I’m not happy with the frizz.” She waved at her non-existent frizz. She was always so paranoid. She never realized just how beautiful she really was.

“Don’t you think you’ve taken enough showers?”

“You can never be too clean!”

He smiled and slid his hand underneath the boxers she wore. He was disappointed to find she was wearing panties underneath, so he slid his hands inside them, palming her ass cheeks in his hands.

“I love your hair,” he said as he dropped his face into the elegant curve of her neck. Lightly, he nibbled on the skin there, reveling in the softness of her flesh. “It makes me crave fruit.”

“Hey, hey,” she pushed him away from her neck. “I’m doing stuff here.”

“Leo’s going to have an epileptic fit over the state of his kitchen.” Not that he really cared at that point if Leo was angry. His rejection stung, he understood it but he still hated it.

She stopped and smiled at him, the true vixen inside her showing through. “I know.”

“Are you being messy on purpose, baby?” He asked her, but couldn’t help the smile growing on his face.

“Maybe,” she replied. He slapped her bottom, and she squealed as she jumped. She turned and glared at him. “Don’t do that!” He chuckled as he stole a piece of bacon. She slapped his hand. “Quit! That’s Leo’s plate!”

“Oh?” Garrett grinned and plucked another piece off. “He doesn’t need to eat that much anyway.”

She groaned. “You’re such a dick.”

“You like my dickiness.” He chuckled and shoved the rest of the piece in his mouth. She sidled up to him and cupped him through his boxers. He nearly choked on the piece of bacon he was eating.