Insatiable by Opal Carew Page A

glanced from one to the other. “The way it’ll be between us … the awkwardness. I’m sure we’ll never see Evan again.” She glanced at Brent. “You won’t want him around. You’ll resent him.” She turned to Evan. “And Evan will be uncomfortable being around us.” At the rigid stance of both men, she knew this wasn’t going very well. “You two have been friends for too long.”
    She knew how much they meant to each other. How deep their friendship had been. She didn’t want that to end. If there was any way she could salvage that …
    “Crystal, you can’t honestly expect us to continue our friendship as if nothing happened,” Brent said.
    “No, you’re right. The real issue is that something did happen.” She stood up straight and pushed back her shoulders. “Evan and I have slept together. And we’ve discovered we have strong feelings for each other.” She stared Brent straight in the eye. “And I don’t think I can just walk away from that.”
    “Are you saying you’re choosing him over me?” The pain in Brent’s eyes tore at her heart. “But last night I thought … I was sure you still loved me.”
    “I do still love you.”
    “Then why would I stay?” Evan asked.
    “Because I think I’m falling in love with you, too.”

 
    Ten
    “So let me get this straight.” Brent leaned back in his chair and stared at Crystal.
    After her shocking statement, they’d decided they needed to regroup. Go outside and get some fresh air. Now they sat at the table on the patio overlooking the pool and the glittering turquoise ocean beyond.
    “You want Evan to stay at the villa with us?” Brent continued.
    “That’s right.”
    “In the next room?”
    She hesitated.
    His eyebrows arched. “Are you saying I’m going to be in the next room?”
    “Well … uh … no.”
    Damn, she hadn’t thought this out. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was suggesting. She just knew she needed time to figure things out. And if Evan left this island and went back home, she’d probably never get the chance.
    “I assume Crystal doesn’t want me to just be a houseguest on your honeymoon,” Evan said. “Don’t you want to explore your feelings for me? See where that might lead?”
    “And how is that going to help us patch things up?” Brent demanded. “I take it you’re suggesting you have sex with him. While I’m sitting in the next room.”
    “And I assume she’ll still be having sex with you, too. With me in the next room,” Evan said.
    Brent’s hard stare latched on to her. “What exactly are you suggesting, Crystal?”
    “Oh, God, I don’t know exactly. This is hard on me, too. I didn’t ask to be put in this situation. If I could unwind the clock to last Saturday, I would. Then you and I would be married now.” A quick glance at Evan and the devastated expression on his face sent her heart clenching. “Except that would be a lie. I guess that’s not what I want at all. All things happen for a reason. I believe that. And this happened so I’d wake up and realize that the attraction I felt for Evan couldn’t be ignored.”
    “The attraction you felt for Evan? How long has that been going on?” Brent demanded.
    Her stomach fluttered and confusion skittered through her. God, she’d already hurt one marriage because she’d had feelings for another man. Was she destined to ruin her relationship with Brent in the same way?
    “It’s not like that,” Crystal responded. “I was attracted to Evan the first time I met him, but I was already going out with you. And I knew I was falling in love with you. So I suppressed my feelings for Evan, assuming they were just an attraction to a handsome, sexy guy. But when I thought you’d left me … when I faced those feelings without you in the picture…” She sucked in a breath. “Brent, if I’m really in love with you … ready to commit to you for the rest of my life…”
    Oh, God, could she really say this out loud? She drew in