“Unique. Smart. Fun. Sexy. Beautiful.”
Ben smiled. “All those things and more. She’s warm. Generous. Everything I’ve ever wanted. Maybe everything I never even knew I wanted.”
Alex nodded. “Exactly.”
“And the worst part is, we have no idea how Victoria feels. She might see us as just a vacation fling.”
Alex sighed. “Yeah, that’s a possibility. But the only way to find out is to tell her how we feel.”
“Scary thought.” Ben stood and walked to the doors leading out to the terrace. He stared out over the water, then turned to face Alex. “I’m going to be honest with you, Alex. I’ve never been more scared of anything in my life. I’ve faced monster waves, the end of my career, and nothing was more daunting than that. But laying my heart at a woman’s feet and asking her to love me back—that is something that scares the shit out of me.”
Alex stood, too, and walked over to Ben. “I’ve never told a woman I loved her before. Hell, I’ve never had these feelings before. She could shoot us both down, you know.”
Ben took a long swallow of beer, staring at the can before lifting his gaze to Alex. “There would be a lot of good reasons for her thinking we were both crazy. I mean, we both travel nearly all year long. And she has a career where she travels as well. This could never work.”
Alex went back to the sofa and sat. “It’s a pretty fucked-up situation. But you know what? We don’t even know yet how she feels. Maybe she feels the same.”
Ben raked his fingers through his hair. “God, I really hope she does the feel the same.”
“So maybe we should talk to her about it first, and figure it out from there?”
“Yeah. You’re right about that. Let’s give it a few more days. She wants to spend Christmas with us. We’ll do Christmas, then talk.”
Alex nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“And whatever happens when we tell her,” Ben said, “we’ll deal with it. Either way, we know how we feel. And we’ll accept whatever her decision is.”
“Agreed.”
At least Ben knew he and Alex were on the same wavelength as far as their feelings for Victoria.
The bigger question was—how did Victoria feel? And how would she react when they told her how they felt about her?
Chapter Thirteen
After the competition ended, everyone packed up and left.
Everyone except Victoria, Ben and Alex.
She was glad they had decided to stay through the holidays. To her, the holidays always meant vacation. Though she normally didn’t mind spending Christmas alone, this year she would have felt something was missing.
Which got her to thinking about Ben and Alex again.
Soon they’d be off to their next surfing competition, and she’d head back to New York.
And they’d never see each other again.
The thought of it made her rub her stomach. She’d been doing that a lot lately, and she knew why.
She was in love with them. With two men. It was the most ridiculous thing ever.
Or was it? And how was she ever going to tell them? Would they laugh at her and tell her it had been fun sex, but that was all? And would they run like hell to get away from the crazy woman who thought she’d fallen in love with her hot island flings?
She might be insane for even thinking she was in love. What the hell did she know about love, anyway? Sure, she’d had friends who had fallen in love. But it had never happened for her and she’d been more than satisfied with how her life had turned out. She had a great career that made her happy.
She didn’t need all this . . . turmoil.
But she’d never run from anything in her life, and she didn’t intend to start now.
She planned to tell them today. And if they laughed at her, or abruptly left her, then she’d deal with it.
It wouldn’t be the first Christmas she’d spent alone.
She’d gotten small gifts for Ben and Alex and they were going to a holiday luau today to celebrate Christmas.
She’d stayed with them last night in their suite. Actually, she hadn’t spent a night alone since the first night they’d all slept together. Normally she liked sleeping alone, sprawled out on her big bed, but she was growing accustomed to sleeping with one of them on either side of her. She’d occasionally wake up in the middle of the night, knowing she could reach out and touch both of them.
And if one—or both of them—woke her to make love . . .
Well, a woman couldn’t complain about being wanted like that, could she?
This morning she told them she had a few things to do before the luau, so she’d headed back to her suite to shower and get ready. She’d put on her makeup, chosen a red sundress—appropriate for Christmas—and was slipping on her sandals just as they knocked on the door.
When she opened the door, her breath caught.
Sure, they wore shorts and button-down short-sleeved shirts, but they still took her breath away. Alex wore a white shirt and Ben wore black.