Free Triple Beat-nook by Mari Carr Page A

awesome.”
    “Yeah. Something like that.” And even though she genuinely agreed, now that she had landed, doubt was starting to creep in. “I’m not sure—”
    Aiden reached out and clasped her hand in his. “Not tonight, Dani. Let’s just savor it for a little while.”
    She nodded. “Okay. You’re right. It was awesome, just like Bryson said. I’m just not sure we should do it again.” Even as she spoke the words, she felt the sharp sting of regret. How the hell was she supposed to spend the next several years with these men and not want a repeat of that every single damn night of her life?
    “Tomorrow,” Aiden whispered. “We’ll worry about it then.”
    Though there was no answer in his response, for some reason, it comforted her. He was right. They had plenty of time to sort through what had happened. For tonight, she was too tired and too damn happy to let anxiety and fear in.
    “Tomorrow,” she repeated, pleased that Aiden hadn’t let go of her hand and even more delighted when Bryson rolled to his side to face her, his hand resting on her stomach.
    Her last cognizant thought before sleep came to claim her was, I could get used to this .
     
     

 

Chapter Four
     
    Aiden stumbled to the main room after carefully untangling himself from Dani’s sweet embrace. He wasn’t sure he’d ever woken up happier to find a naked woman wrapped around him. Typically, his morning-afters consisted of awkward conversations and rapid goodbyes. It had taken more strength than he thought he possessed to leave Dani and that warm bed.
    He was drawn out by the realization that Bryson was no longer in the bed with them. That…and the smell of coffee.
    Bryson turned as Aiden leaned against the counter that separated the kitchenette from the spacious sitting room. He lifted the pot, a silent question that Aiden answered with a nod.
    “Yeah. Thanks.”
    Bryson poured both of them a cup, handed one to Aiden, then took a quick sip. He pointed to a menu on the counter near Aiden. “Thought we could order some room service for breakfast. I’m starving.”
    Aiden felt the same hunger. They’d obviously worked up quite an appetite. “Sounds good.”
    Despite his desire for food, he didn’t give the menu a second glance. He knew Bryson too well. Knew it was up to him to start the conversation or it would never be had.
    “Are we going to talk about last night?”
    Bryson shook his head. “Not interested in doing a bunch of analysis, Aiden. Running through the song, line by line, until you’re satisfied we’ve got every damn word just right.”
    Aiden rolled his eyes. Bryson would exist in permanent jam-session mode if left to his own devices. “We can’t ignore what happened. Can’t pretend we both didn’t just fuck our best friend last night.” Aiden ran his hand through his hair as he spoke the truth aloud. “Jesus.”
    “It’s fine, Aiden. It was good. Shit, it was better than good. But you heard Dani. It was a one-time thing. She’s not looking to expand on it.”
    Aiden frowned. “That’s not what she said.”
    Bryson set his cup down. “Yes, it is. She said we couldn’t do it again.”
    Leave it to Bryson to hear what he was expecting to hear rather than the more subtle truth. “No. What she said was we shouldn’t . That’s different.”
    Bryson snorted. “Only to you, Mr. Semantics.”
    Aiden refused to be deterred. “Regardless of what Dani said, what did you think about it?”
    Bryson looked down at his coffee cup, toying with the rim. Aiden had known this would be a difficult conversation for his friend. Bryson was the visceral one in their trio.
    While Dani and Aiden wrote the love songs and broken-heart ballads filled with introspection and self-awareness, Bryson’s music and lyrics were simpler, running along the lines of “Friends in Low Places” and “Red Solo Cup”. His songs were destined to be feel-good, do-whatever-the-fuck-you-want, barroom staples, while Dani and Aiden wrote