Layla had moved away from Philadelphia and her large brood of brothers a couple years earlier after purchasing the Daily Grind, a coffee shop just a few blocks from the pub.
“The coffee business is always good…mercifully,” she said.
“There you are.” Miguel bent over and gave Layla a quick kiss on the cheek before claiming the chair on her right.
Finn was only a few steps behind him. “You’re a sight for sore eyes,” he murmured to Layla as he opted for a longer kiss on her lips.
“Good to see you, Gavin,” Miguel said. “You joining us for app night?”
He nodded. “Layla promised me cheese fries.”
Finn laughed. “That’s my girl. I’m starving. Might need two plates of fries tonight.”
Gavin leaned back, enjoying the easy conversation as they all talked about work, the upcoming holidays, and the sudden chill in the weather. Finn and Miguel helped Layla brainstorm gift ideas for her brothers.
Gavin watched the way the three of them were with each other, the relationship reminding him of the one shared by his foster parents. Before coming to live with Lauren, Sean, and Chad, Gavin had never considered, never even realized, people could live in committed threesome relationships, but there was no denying that it worked for all of them.
Oliver hoped for the same relationship. Hell, his best friend hoped for the same relationship with him—but Gavin wasn’t wired that way. And he was convinced the reason Layla, Finn, and Miguel’s relationship worked was because they were all together. They weren’t two separate couples trying to blend into a threesome.
Gavin was gay, and yes, he was attracted to—and probably in love with—Oliver more than he cared to admit. And while Oliver had feelings for him too, he was just as much in love with Erin. The problem was, Gavin and Erin could never be anything more than friends. And try as he might, Gavin couldn’t see that working in the long term.
What if jealously emerged somewhere down the road?
Or what if one of the couples fell out of love?
What would keep the three of them together?
They finished their appetizers and Finn paid the bill, refusing to allow Gavin to chip in, so he promised the next time was on him.
“Are we missing a party?”
Gavin looked up at the sound of Oliver’s voice, surprised to discover he and Erin weren’t alone.
“Look who we found outside,” Erin said.
Gavin forced a smile when he spotted Brad, a male nurse who worked with Erin at Hopkins. Brad had discovered the pub a few months ago, and since then, he’d become somewhat of a regular.
“Hey, Brad,” Gavin said.
“Not sure you missed a party, but I’m afraid you missed the cheese fries,” Layla said with a yawn. “We were just heading home. I gotta be up early to open the shop.”
She, Finn, and Miguel all rose and, after a few minutes of chatting with Erin and Oliver, they said their goodbyes.
“The three of us were going to grab some stools at the bar and have a drink,” Oliver said. “Want to keep going?”
Gavin considered it, then shook his head, as Erin and Brad claimed their seats, the two of them laughing over something Padraig said that Gavin didn’t hear.
Brad was a good-looking guy, with a good sense of humor. He was also bi. As Gavin watched him with Erin, it occurred to him that Brad would be the perfect third in Oliver and Erin’s relationship.
Maybe he should give them some time alone to figure that out.
“No, man,” he said at last. “I’m kind of tired. Think I’ll call it a night.”
Oliver looked ready to persist, but Gavin must have given him a look that proved it would be fruitless. “Okay. We’re just having one. Erin and I will be up in a half an hour.”
“Take your time. Brad’s a good guy, a lot of fun.”
Oliver rolled his eyes. “Stop.”
Gavin narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“We don’t need you playing matchmaker.”
Gavin lifted one shoulder casually. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmmhmm,” Oliver hummed.
Gavin brushed Oliver’s suspicions aside. “I’m grabbing a shower and then hitting the sheets.”
“I’ll see you in the morning then.” Oliver walked to the bar, claiming the spot next to Brad. The other man placed his hand on the back of Oliver’s high-backed stool and leaned in to say something. Oliver cracked up, his loud, boisterous, infectious laughter filling the pub.
Typically, the sound made Gavin laugh as well, but tonight it just made him…sad.
Then he thought about his mother, and his mood darkened even more.
Just like that, the tension was back in his shoulders.
“Fuck,” he murmured.
Fuck it all.
4
Erin wiped the kitchen counter, while Gavin put the leftovers in the fridge. It was Friday, which meant dinner and a movie at home with Erin and Oliver, a tradition they’d started shortly after Valentine’s Day, when Erin had asked Gavin to give her a chance. Nowadays, he struggled to remember a time when she wasn’t one of his best friends, and he was ashamed of himself for acting like such a tool at the beginning.
They’d just polished off the better part of the beef stew Erin had made—God, she could cook—and Oliver had slipped away to grab a shower and change out of his work clothes. Erin kept a drawer of comfy clothes in Oliver’s room, and the first thing she’d done after arriving at their apartment was strip off her scrubs and don a soft, long-sleeved T-shirt and yoga pants. Knowing her, he figured she was about five minutes away from stripping off her bra as well.
She’d done enough sleepovers with Oliver that Gavin was used to her unfastening her bra at random times and pulling the straps off through her shirt sleeves. He’d called it a cool trick the first couple of times she’d shed the lacy material without revealing so much as an inch of skin.
“You’ve been quiet tonight,” she said, when Gavin pulled three beers from the refrigerator, popping the caps and handing her one. “You feeling okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just been
