Free Riptide [Kismet Cove] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Susan Hayes

towel.
    “We’re like brothers. It’s been that way for so many years I can’t imagine my life without him.”
    “I understand. My best friend and I are like sisters. Leaving her back in Toronto was the hardest part about moving here.” She paused and then added. “But maybe we’re not as close as you and Evan. We have most certainly do not share everything .”
    Rory laughed as he carried her through a small, gravel lot and past a handful of buildings. “I’ll admit it’s a bit unconventional. I promise once we get you inside, you can ask any questions you want.”
    “I’m not even sure where to begin,” Jess said and shivered as a gust of wind drove rainwater straight the backs of her thighs.
    “How about we start with hot chocolates and double marshmallows?”
    Jess groaned in agreement, suddenly starving. “That sounds perfect.”
    As he carried up to the passenger side door of a massive black pickup truck, Rory quietly said, “You can trust us, Jess. We would never let anything happen to you. I promise.”
    Then he was bundling her into the warm interior, and she found herself hauled into his lap, his arms closing around her as he settled his big body into the seat.
    Evan smiled at them both and dropped the truck into gear. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter 6
     
    Jess woke up the next morning and for a minute she couldn’t figure out why she felt like she’d been hit by a truck. Her entire body ached, and getting out of bed was a slow-motion affair. “Nearly drowning comes with a hangover, too? Come on universe, gimme a break here,” she groaned and tried to stretch out the worst of the stiffness, but quickly gave it up in favor of a long, hot shower.
    By the time she’d showered, taken a couple of ibuprofen and downed half a cup of coffee Jess was feeling more herself, though she was still moving slower than she would have liked. She had big plans for dinner, but before she tackled that she wanted to sit down and get all her memories of yesterday down on paper. It was part therapy and part research. If she ever decided to nearly drown one of her characters, she would have firsthand experience to draw from, but only if she made notes while it was still fresh in her mind.
    Jess settled down in front of her laptop and began typing. As her fingers flew over the keys she found herself reliving every second of terror and pain she’d experienced the day before. She hadn’t meant to document the entire encounter, only the experience up until she was rescued, but as details came to her she continued to type, entering it all into a file and saving it.
    There were still some gaps in her recollection, but now she knew that she had seen a seal, and it had pulled her toward the boat! She remembered Evan helping her on board, but nowhere in her memories could she recall seeing Rory. He had to have been there. She’d heard him cursing about the cold. His voice was too distinctive to have been anyone else. Maybe the rest of it would come back to her in time, but at least she’d preserved this much.
    It had been a very surreal day, and looking back at everything, Jess couldn’t decide if what had happened between Rory, Evan, and herself was the product of stress, a real connection, or temporary insanity. “At least I hope it’s temporary,” Jess muttered to herself. “I have to be crazy, don’t I? To even consider dating two men at once is definitely not normal.”
    She pushed back from the desk and was about to get up when an idea struck her. There was one person who would never turn down a chance to tell her she was crazy. She needed to talk to Viv.
    Before Jess could second-guess herself, she turned on the laptop once again and called up her e-mail program and attached the document she’d just finished typing. She addressed it and tapped out a brief message, explaining to Viv that she needed to read the attachment and then please call her back. As her cursor hovered over the send button she nearly