Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(22)

“I’ve known this was coming. That it was inevitable. Maybe I was in denial and wanted to keep on pretending that it wouldn’t come to this. I think we both know we have a problem.”

“Yeah,” Merrick agreed. “What are we going to do about it?”

Cade looked uneasy. He opened his mouth then closed it again, a sure sign he had something he wanted to say but for some reason was hesitating. Which wasn’t usual for him. He typically never had a problem stating his mind. It was one reason he and Merrick got along so well. They were both blunt people, and there was little room for misunderstandings when you had two friends who always said what was on their mind.

“Cade?”

Cade bit out a curse. “You’re going to think I’m nuts. Hell, maybe I am. This would probably never work.”

Merrick leaned forward, his brow furrowed as he frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. About our situation. The way things have been so far and the fact that you and I both have a strong interest in Elle.”

“Go on.”

Cade met his gaze, his lips pursed, and then he blew out his breath, puffing out his cheeks as he expelled it all.

“What if we left things as they are now? I mean with the three of us. Only we’d take things up a notch. But the three of us would remain together. She’d be with…both of us.”

Merrick reared back, leaning against the back of his chair as he let Cade’s words sink in. Holy shit, but this hadn’t been what he’d expected at all.

He cupped a hand over his nape and rubbed hard as he struggled to make sense of the situation and, hell, just to imagine it.

“That’s assuming she’d even ever agree to such a thing,” Cade said evenly. “She still has a lot of issues to work out. All we know is that we want to be with her for the long haul. It wouldn’t be easy with just one of us. But if both of us are involved? It’s going to be ten times as hard.”

“No shit,” Merrick muttered.

“Is that all you’ve got to say?” Cade asked in frustration. “I’ve put it all out on the line. Me, us, her, our friendship.”

“This is heavy shit, man. I mean, I can’t wrap my head around it. I know such relationships exist. Hell, there was a damn documentary on one of the cable networks a few months ago.”

“Think about what it solves,” Cade said quietly. “I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. Our partnership. Your career. We’d have to be extremely careful to keep this private. The thing is, Elle trusts us both. I think she feels something for both of us. Maybe I’m reaching here, or maybe it’s wishful thinking. But I think we could make this work, as bizarre as it may sound. You and I already trust each other. We’re as close as brothers. I’m not going to screw you over, and I know you won’t screw me over. If we were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and trying to salvage a very sticky situation.”

He took a deep breath and plunged ahead.

“Trust is key in a relationship like I’m proposing. We can’t be stupid, jealous bastards. We have to know going in that we’re basically a family unit and that we have to work together, not at opposites. We have a common goal. We both care for Elle, and we both want to see her happy, safe and protected.”

Merrick nodded. The more Cade talked, the more this craziness was starting to make twisted sense. Or maybe he was just scared shitless that he’d lose in a showdown, and this was his chance to hedge his bets.

“I don’t know what to say,” Merrick admitted. “I wasn’t expecting something like this.”

“You were expecting worse,” Cade said grimly.

Merrick nodded again. “Yeah. I’ve been dreading it. If it were any other girl, I’d back off, you know? I’d say no woman was worth a lifelong friendship, a partnership and a vested business interest.”

“But she isn’t just any girl,” Cade finished.

“Yeah, exactly. She’s…” Merrick broke off even as the firm realization took hold. “She’s the one.” And he knew as he said it that it was the irrevocable truth. Somehow speaking it aloud gave it more strength. It solidified what he’d been grappling with for months now. It was a relief to get it out, to say the words, for Cade to know where Merrick stood.

His pulse was pounding in his head and chest like a freight train roaring down the tracks. He stared back at Cade as the enormity of their discussion hit him like said freight train.

“Now you know why I’ve been doing so much thinking about this,” Cade said in a grim voice. “Because I feel the same way, and I know you do too. One of us has to lose, and I don’t want that. I don’t think Elle wants it, even if she doesn’t know exactly what it is she wants.”

“You’re telling me you would be okay with…sharing…her with me?” Merrick asked in disbelief.

“What I’m asking is whether you’d be okay with sharing her with me,” Cade said. “I know what I’m okay with. I don’t know what you are. I’ve had several months to make peace with this. I don’t see an alternative. At least not one that offers us all a chance at happiness.”

He was right. It was insanity, but Cade was right, and Merrick couldn’t even wrap his brain around it. Didn’t know how to respond. What to say. How to even agree to such a bizarre proposition.