Magic of Three by Jenna Castille

have been from meeting you at work.”
     
    Oh please let the sky fall now and put me out of my misery . “He told you about that?”
     
    “He told me about meeting an amazing woman at work.” Julian gave her a smile that set her pulse racing. “Then, to his amazement, there she was the next day at the restaurant I decided to take him to.”
     
    Lisa tried to laugh off her discomfort, seeking refuge in emotional distance since physical distance was impossible. “Surprises all around, I guess.”
     
    “Good ones, I hope.”
     
    “We’ll see.” Lisa managed to look him in the eyes. Where she got the nerve she couldn’t say. “So what now? Planning on sharing me? Playing rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to keep me or who gets first dibs?”
     
    Julian’s expression took on a predatory glint, sharpening his craggy features. “I’ve always been a passionate believer in sharing. Why should only one person reap the benefits?”
     
    Lisa broke eye contact, looking for an avenue for escape. But how could she escape from her own arousal, her own rampant desires? The warm metal of her car door grew slick under her sweaty palms. “Okay…I’m getting a little out of my depths here,” she admitted.
     
    “And you don’t need to decide anything right now,” he answered, stepping back ever so slightly. Lisa took a deep breath, peeling her hands off the car. Julian reached forward with a crooked finger, nudging her chin up. When she met his gaze, her own filled with confusion and conflicted emotions, he continued. “That’s what the date’s for. Getting to know you. You getting to know us. Details come later. First let’s see if we all get along. Okay?”
     
    Lisa didn’t know what to say. Her mind flew in so many different directions she couldn’t latch onto a single thought. Even after her talk with Janice she hadn’t imagined this situation would come up. She wanted to know more. Hell, her thighs tingled every time she looked at Julian. At the same time this addition of Tim to the equation lingered on the other side of the forbidden.
     
    But did she really need to decide now? Julian stared at her, his eyes beseeching. Could she say no to a simple date? Did she have to walk away?
     
    “One date?” she asked, floundering under the sudden brightening of his expression. “No promises?”
     
    “No promises,” Julian replied, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. Barely a brush of lip on lip but it rocked Lisa to her core. “Get your cell and program in my number.”
     
    She fumbled for the door handle behind her, afraid to break away from him and lose the feeling of connection. “What about you?”
     
    “You have a pen?”
     
    She reached in her car, scrambling around in the middle console. It took a few moments of rummaging for her to find a pen beneath the mass of junk. Julian took it from her and raised his forearm. “Shoot.”
     
    Lisa rattled off her number and he wrote it on his skin. She smirked.
     
    “What?”
     
    Lisa shrugged, holding in a chuckle. “Just a high school flashback.”
     
    “Hey, if something works, stick with it.” He shot a playful wink before he tossed the pen back to her. “Now your turn.”
     
    Lisa pulled out her cell and programmed in the number he gave her. “That’s my home number. With our shifts, either Tim or I are usually home. If not, it’s forwarded to my cell. Day or night you can reach me there.”
     
    “So if I have spur of the moment second thoughts, I can get you?” she asked, half joking, as she chewed on her lower lip.
     
    “Nope, no second thoughts.” He pulled her into his arms, reached up and tapped a finger against the tip of her nose. “I won’t answer the phone for second thoughts. And you don’t seem like the type to stand a guy up. You’d call first. So get that whole ‘second thoughts’ thing out of your mind.”
     
    Lisa felt a goofy grin cover her face but couldn’t seem to shake it. Damned if the man didn’t know