Worshipped (Worshipped Series Book 1) by Brie Paisley

easy.
    I have dinner ready forty-five minutes later. The silence between the three of us is starting to get to me. I don’t know what to say to either of them. Maybe it is best to keep my mouth shut. After we eat, Isaac and Conner clean the kitchen. I noticed they are still arguing, just very quietly. Instead of trying to listen in, I call Karen. I need to hear her friendly voice.
    “Hey, Riley!” Karen answers. She is always happy to hear from me. “How have you been? I feel like I haven’t heard from you in ages.”
    “I’ve been better, to tell you the truth. I have a lot to tell you, but I don’t want to get into it right now. Let’s meet for lunch later this week and I’ll catch you up,” I promise her.
    “That sounds great. Are you sure you’re okay? You know I can always tell when something is wrong,” she tells me. That is just like Karen to pick up so easily on my emotions.
    “I’m all right, Karen, just going through a rough time right now. Please don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” I reassure her.
    “Well, if you change your mind before our lunch date, you call me.” We make our plans for that week and I let her go. I feel mentally drained after all this. I feel as if I need a vacation from all this drama.
    That’s when it hit me; why not take a mini vacation? Maybe getting away from all this bullshit will help all of us. I already feel better just thinking about getting away from all of this. I decide to find Isaac and Conner, hoping they will agree on this.
    I find them in the study. Stopping before I open the door, I don’t intend to hear what they are saying. “Conner, why in the hell did you tell her? That wasn’t something I wanted her to know. Do you honestly think she could trust us, knowing we got Caroline killed? What the fuck were you thinking?”
    “Unlike you, I don’t want to keep anything from her. She should know the truth. Being with us is a risk, and I don’t want her to think we didn’t give her a choice to leave. Caroline saved us, Isaac. If it wasn’t for her, we would already be dead,” Conner shoots back.
    I’ve heard enough. I’m too distracted to tell them about the mini vacation now. So I was right. Caroline died for them. Only Isaac feels guilty about it, but why doesn’t Conner? This day just keeps getting worse and worse.
    I go outside to be alone for a while longer. I know eventually Isaac and Conner will come looking for me. A thousand thoughts race through my head. I know for sure of one thing: I can’t leave them now. I can’t just walk away from them. So much has happened in such a short time. Maybe that is why I feel so overwhelmed. All I know is I want them, and I will do what Caroline did; I will die for them if necessary.
    About an hour later, Conner comes outside. “Isaac left, there was a problem at the company. He should be back in a few hours.”
    I’m not surprised he didn’t tell me this himself. Isaac comes and goes as he pleases. “Riley, please don’t be upset with us. We are just trying to figure a way to protect you. I don’t know what I would do if anything were to happen to you.” I know he is telling me the truth. I’ve known for a while they care for me; maybe they are falling in love with me too. My stomach does a flip at the thought. “Let’s go inside,” Conner tells me.
    We go into the living room where Conner lights the fireplace and grabs a blanket from the closet. We sit on the floor, soaking in the warmth coming off the fire. Conner pulls me close to him. It’s comforting to have him so close.
    Today I have felt nothing but distance from both my lovers. He caresses my back, rubbing my shoulders. He knows how much I need to be touched; Conner is always the gentle one.
    “I am sorry for today. It seemed no matter what Isaac and I did, it never got easier for you. We should have never got you involved in this. It’s too late for us to walk away.” He turns me around and says, “You mean so much to us,