Playing with Piper (Menage MfM Romance Novel) (Playing for Love Book 3) by Tara Crescent

both of you,” she blurts out. She’s holding herself erect, her body language betraying her agitation.
    I’m a little surprised. Part of me was prepared for her to pretend that it didn’t happen. “Do you want us to forget about it?” My heart beats faster in my chest as I wait for her answer.
    A long moment of silence passes. “No,” she says finally. Her cheeks go pink as she looks at both of us. “You weren’t weirded out by what I did. Why?”
    Owen is more direct than I am. “Should we have been?” he asks her.
    “Piper,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “We’re not going to pressure you, and we’re not going to judge you. Tell us what you want.”
    She hesitates, biting her lower lip. Finally she takes a deep breath and appears to reach a conclusion. “I want you. Both. Does that make me a pervert?”
    “ Pervert is such a strong word,” Owen replies calmly. “The two of us want you as well. But not now, and not like this.” He reaches forward and laces his fingers in hers. “Have dinner with us Sunday night.”
    “I work Sunday nights.”
    “I know. Come over once you’re done.”
    “Why not today?” Her expression is curious, careful.
    “We don’t want to rush you into anything,” I reply. “Right now, our hormones are raging, and we aren’t thinking coherently.”
    “Oh.” Her face falls. “I understand. You want time to change your mind.”
    “No,” Owen cuts in. “We’ve wanted you from the first day we saw you. We aren’t going to change our minds.”
    “Oh,” she says again, this time in a different note, on a sharp intake of breath. “Sunday night?”
    “It’s a date.”
    Though my voice sounds confident, I can’t help remembering the sadness I’d felt when my relationship with Maisie had ended. I hope I can keep from repeating the same mistake with Piper.

20
    Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.
    Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Owen:
    “ H ere’s the list .” I push the piece of paper toward Mendez. “Three of them are clean, including Piper Jackson’s place.”
    We’re at the same McDonald’s we met at last time. Mendez eats a breakfast sandwich while I sip my coffee. I’m in a peculiar mood this morning. Wyatt and I had meetings all afternoon yesterday, so we couldn’t linger at the restaurant.
    In any case, Wyatt’s right. We work with Piper. We need to give her plenty of space. The last thing I want her to think is that our investment in her restaurant is dependent on whether she sleeps with us.
    “This is great.” Mendez stares at the list of names. “What about Emerson’s ? And The Pear Tree? ”
    “I don’t know.” I take a deep breath. For the first time, I want out. I need to keep a low profile in Hell’s Kitchen; I can’t afford to snoop around for Mendez. At any time, Michael O’Connor might figure out who I am, and if he’s connected to the Westies, shit will hit the fan.
    My priorities have changed. I’ve promised to help Piper win Can You Take The Heat?. I’ve told her I’ll make her restaurant profitable. This is not the time for me to be distracted by Mendez’s dirty work. “I can’t sort it out. You’re on your own.”
    He stops eating and looks up. “Why’s that, Lamb?” he asks, his voice hard.
    I bristle at his tone. “I didn’t realize I needed to offer you an explanation.”
    He notices the steel in my expression. “Suit yourself,” he shrugs. “You’re not obligated to help me. I can find someone else to help me track Cassidy.”
    I freeze. Seamus Cassidy was the man who ordered the hit on my family. What’s he doing in New York? He’s supposed to be doing life in an Irish prison. “Cassidy is out of jail?”
    Mendez smiles mockingly. “I thought you didn’t want to get involved. Didn’t you just tell me that?”
    “Fuck you,” I growl. “You know things are different if Seamus Cassidy is back, and that’s exactly why you brought him up. Don’t think I don’t know how you operate,