Their Virgin Neighbor by Saba Sparks Page A

that
too.”
    “ This is a crazy idea,”
Jack said but already, almost as if he couldn’t not, he was
considering Lee’s idea. He imagined taking Annie out for a picnic
in the woods she loved. He thought about he and Lee having her
round for meals, maybe taking her into the city. They could talk,
laugh, eat. His and Lee’s relationship was such that they were
completely at ease in one another’s company. Maybe Annie would fit
into that dynamic too. Maybe she would do so far easier than he
could envision. And it would mean that neither man would have to
compete for her attention. Neither of them would be left feeling
like they had missed out.
    Here, in the middle of
nowhere, there would be no one to judge, no one to suggest that the
three of them together would be wrong. And it wouldn’t be wrong, Jack thought.
They’d all lost things that mattered to them, every one of them was
aware how fleeting life really was, how quickly it could all be
taken away. If finding some love and passion together was a
possibility why not at least explore it?
    “ Is it really that crazy?”
Lee asked, almost as if he was reading Jack’s thoughts.
“Considering that we’ve already been deemed such by pretty much
everyone we know.”
    “ I don’t know, my friend.”
Jack shook his head. “It would all depend on what Anna
thinks.”
    “ I’m sure we could bring
her way around to our way of thinking. We’re a pretty charming pair
when it comes right down to it.”
    Jack laughed, because in reality they
were not. “I’m sure we could.”
    “ So, shall we at least
explore the possibility?” Lee asked. “If that’s what she wants?
Shall we make the offer?”
    The two of them wooing her…making her
happy…easing that pain in her eyes…
    “ Yes,” Jack said. “We
shall.”

Chapter Nine
     
    When the doorbell rang Anna’s heart
hitched almost all the way to her throat. She cast the sitting room
a quick glance and then hurried in to the kitchen. The coffee
machine was already gurgling away, and the oven was busy finishing
off their meal.
    She paused to make sure the pans were
still on low heat and then took a deep breath.
    Jack and Lee were here.
    Outside the door.
    And she was excited about that
fact.
    For Anna that feeling was something to
be cherished. Anything that broke up the dark cloud that hung over
her, or the ache in her heart, was something to be grateful for.
Add in the fact that the two hottest males she had ever met were
the ones causing it…
    She exhaled slowly, patted her hair
into place and then walked to the door. She could hear them
laughing and talking on the other side. Seemed they were as pleased
to be here as she was to have them.
    Anna opened the door and shot them
both a smile. “Hi.”
    They smiled back. “Hey, Annie,” Jack
said.
    “ Anna.”
    Lee held out a bunch of flowers. Anna
knew immediately that they were wild flowers, could tell from not
only the look of them, but because they grew in the forest where
she took her walks. In truth, there were very few flowers in the
mix, mostly there were just bits of greenery, but then this was
winter and flowers were few and far between. Anna took them with
shaking hands. The idea that Lee had tramped into the woods to pick
these for her made her heart ache in a completely new way. She was
touched. More than that she was pleased.
    “ Thank you, Lee,” she
said. “These are beautiful.”
    Jack held something out too. It was a
bottle of wine, red by the looks of it. “From my own collection,”
he said.
    Anna thanked him and took it with her
free hand then stepped aside to allow them into the kitchen. She
shut the door behind them and was immediately aware of just how
cramped the kitchen was with them inside.
    “ I have coffee ready,” she
said. “To start I mean.”
    Jack nodded. Lee gestured to the
stove. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
    “ No,” Anna said. “Go
through to the sitting room instead. I’ll bring coffee in. You