Crossed lines

Chapter four

Joan’s POV

I don’t know where the confidence came from. Perhaps it was the hair, perhaps it was the fact that both men had been staring at me like I was the most interesting thing they’d seen all day.

Whatever it was, I was beginning to regret it.

I picked up my bag and headed back towards them

“Hey I’m ready “

The playful one laughed, his eyes settling on me with an expression that made me suddenly very aware of what I’d just asked.

“Well, you really want this ?”

I smiled. “Is that your way of backing out?”

His brother looked at him, then back at me, wearing an expression I couldn’t quite decipher.

I should have stopped there.

I should have laughed, told them I was joking, and gone to find the actual masseuse like a normal person.

Instead, I stood there waiting for their answer, pretending my heart wasn’t beginning to act ridiculous.

“My brother already agreed” the playful one said.

Oh.

Oh, no.

He was actually entertaining this.

I laughed, hoping it sounded casual. “Really?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “Unless you’re having second thoughts?”

The audacity.

I opened my mouth to deny it, but the words got stuck somewhere between my brain and my mouth.

Because, suddenly, I was having several second thoughts.

These were two men I’d never spoken to before today. Two men who’d been staring at me from across the room, looking like they couldn’t decide whether they wanted to approach me or run away from me.

And now I’d practically volunteered to be alone in a room with one of them.

What exactly was wrong with me?

I could still back out.

A simple laugh. A little joke. Something about how I was only teasing.

Nobody would blame me.

Well, maybe they would. The playful one looked entirely too pleased with himself, and I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d made me nervous.

Besides, it wasn’t as though I’d asked them to marry me.

It was a massage.

A perfectly normal, professional massage.

With two ridiculously attractive men who had somehow managed to make a perfectly normal afternoon feel like the beginning of a very questionable decision.

“Come on, then,” the serious one said, his voice pulling me out of my thoughts. “We’ll show you the room.”

My stomach did a little flip.

This was really happening.

I glanced towards the reception desk, briefly considering making a run for it. The receptionist was busy with another customer, and I could easily pretend I’d forgotten something.

My phone. My purse. My entire personality, for all I cared.

Instead, I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder and lifted my chin.

I could do this.

I was an adult. They were adults. I had asked a question, and they had agreed.

There was no reason to behave like I was about to walk into a lion’s den.

Even if, judging by the way the playful one was smiling at me, I might have been walking into something considerably more dangerous to my peace of mind.

I followed them down the hallway.

Bruce the playful one glanced back at me. “You’re awfully quiet now.”

“I’m enjoying the ambience.”

He laughed. “Of course you are.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he grinned like he’d won something.

God, he was annoying.

Handsome, but annoying.

I’m beginning to know them apart now ,

Bruce is super playful and Bryce is super serious

I don’t even know which personality I prefer

We stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway. The serious one pushed it open, revealing a softly lit room with a massage bed, neatly folded towels, and the faint scent of lavender.

Nothing intimidating about it.

Nothing remotely alarming.

So why was I standing at the entrance like I needed to sign a waiver for my own stupidity?

I took a breath.

Then another.

You asked for this, Joan .

I stepped inside.

The playful one followed, while his brother lingered near the door for a moment before coming in behind him.

And just like that, the option of pretending I’d never made the request seemed a whole lot less convenient.

I set my bag down, turned to face them, and forced a smile.

“Well,” I said, trying to sound much braver than I felt, “this is interesting.”

The playful one chuckled.

“Oh, sweetheart,” he said, closing the door behind him, “I have a feeling it’s about to get a lot more interesting.”