Love in 3D
LOVE IN 3D
💙❤️💜
MARIE HARTE
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and plot points stem from the writer’s imagination. They are fictitious and not to be interpreted as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locations or organizations is entirely coincidental.
LOVE IN 3D
ISBN-13: 978-1642920765
Copyright © August 2022 by Marie Harte
No Box Books
Cover design by Black Bird Book Covers
All Rights Are Reserved. None of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for reviews or promotion. http://marieharte.com
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PRAISE FOR MARIE HARTE
“She really loves telling stories. A little too much, maybe.”
Mom
“…the novel is an infuriatingly puerile slog.”
Publisher’s Weekly for The Troublemaker Next Door
“Why do all these books have so much sex in them?”
Random Amazon Reviewer
“I’m not sure if you’re trying to be funny or not. I don’t think this is going to work.”
John S., an unsuccessful Tinder date
“She never missed a day of recess or lunch.”
Ms. Zeewy, 5th grade
LOVE IN 3D
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Also by Marie
About the Author
CHAPTER 1
Dear Aunt Truth: We’ve been together for six months, but now he’s icing me out. What should I do? I love him more than life itself, but my brothers want to beat the snot out of him.
Dear Iced Out: Have a little dignity and find a new man who is mature enough to talk to you about your relationship. And don’t send your brothers after him. What are you, five?
“You can take your inner needs and codependency crap and shove it, you jackass!”
“Calm down, Dan. I didn’t mean it like—”
“I heard what I heard. You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
Justine Ferrera peeked out from the stairwell and watched 2C, her tall, buff, too handsome-for-his-own-good downstairs neighbor, confront “Dan,” a tattoo-laden giant wearing a tank top and shorts, showcasing a lot of unforgiving muscle.
More swearing. A lot of intense glaring between the men that took on new meaning as they talked about an injured third party and feelings. Was this some kind of love triangle gone bad? Was she watching two men involved in a polyamorous relationship? Her eyes widened at the thought, which then bode the question: why could she never be the meat in a hot-guy sandwich?
“Oh man, love gone wrong in the best way,” her best friend murmured beside her. “All that hunky muscle, those sexy, testosterone-filled glares.” Katie sighed. “Yum.”
Justine shifted to see better. “What are they saying? It got quieter.”
“Now I can’t see. Move over,” Katie whispered. “I am so jealous you live here. Yesterday at my place, seventy-nine year old Mrs. Purcell was duking it out with the Super over her dying Christmas wreath. It’s the same thing every year. She tries to hold onto the brittle thing, needles everywhere, as long as she can. But by May, we’ve all had enough. My building is filled with old people battling over door decorations, laundry carts, and freight elevator access.” Katie paused. “Of course, I constantly struggle for the elevator and always end up carting my laundry around by the basket. Hmm. Maybe I should get in on those fights, might make my life a little easier.”
“Shh.” Justine clapped a hand over her friend’s mouth and stared in shock as angry Dan took a swing at the hottie from 2C.
But 2C somehow dodged and maneuvered around the brute, putting Dan in a headlock he couldn’t break out of.
She eyed the straining forearms and bulging biceps from 2C and indulged in a few rushed, heated fantasies.
“Super sexy,” her best friend said, muffled against Justine’s hand. Then the weirdo licked her.
“Ew.” She wiped her hand on Katie’s jeans. “You’re disgusting.”
2C glanced over and saw them staring. He grimaced. “Enough, Dan. My neighbors are going to call the police if this keeps up, and I don’t think you or I want any more drama. It’s over.” He relaxed his hold and pushed Dan away.
Dan gave him a courtesy one-fingered salute, turned, and breezed past Justine and Katie down the stairs, swearing all the while.
They exchanged a look. What now?
Katie shoved her into the hallway. After shooting daggers at her friend, Justine approached 2C with a bland smile.
He dragged a weary hand through hair colored a deep brown that bordered on auburn in the right light. Rocking the facial hair—a full goatee and beard lining a square jaw—he seemed a mix of tough guy and sensitive soul, judging from the apology in his expressive brown eyes.
“Bad breakup?” Katie asked, following behind Justine.
He sighed. “You could say that. Women suck.”
Well then, maybe not so much an apology as stupidity shining in those eyes.
“Men aren’t much better,” Justine muttered.
He frowned at her.
She frowned back.
“Should you be in this building?” His deep voice held more than a thread of disapproval.
Justine had no idea her neighbors lived such turbulent lives. Aunt Rosie owned the unit but hadn’t lived in it full-time until this past year. Though close to her aunt, Justine hadn’t ever visited due to a grueling work schedule and her aunt’s chaotic lifestyle, though they talked often. But hadn’t Aunt Rosie told her the place was quiet and full of nice, fairly boring people?
Having just settled into her aunt’s unit two weeks ago, she hadn’t yet met everyone in the cozy TCA—which sounded much cooler than Tuscan Cosmo Apartments. But this guy seemed anything but quiet or boring.
Time to introduce herself, apparently. “Hi. I’m Justine Ferrera. I think I’m above you in 3D. I’m subletting from my aunt.”
“You’re Rosie Gallo’s niece?” Instead of smiling, he looked her over with suspicion.
“You’re—” being a bit of a dick. No. I can’t say that. One, Aunt Rosie will be coming back to live here at some point. I can’t make enemies with her neighbors. And two, I could never say something so rude.
“I’m what?” He raised a brow in challenge.
“Being a bit of a dick,” Katie said with a wide smile, reading Justine’s mind.
2C’s expression darkened.
“You’re just as nice as my aunt said you were,” Justine blurted, lying to keep the peace. “I mean, we heard you trying to deescalate the situation. Sorry we intruded.” She yanked Katie with her and fled for the stairwell. “Bye.”
Once on the ground floor and headed to their ride share, she let Katie yammer on and on about getting a backbone and facing bullies. Several minutes into their ride, Katie had yet to shut up about it.
“Okay, already. And ironic,” Justine cut in, “since you’ve been bullying me since we got in the car!”
“You really have,” their driver agreed, grinning at them in the rearview. “But honey, it sounds like that guy upstairs was a jerk.”
Katie nodded. “Vindication. He totally was.” She turned back to Justine. “You need to stand up for yourself more.”
Justine groaned. “I’m trying. It’s not easy.” Not having been raised in her family with so many demands and expectations. No wonder she had issues. Her oldest sister acted like a tyrant, the second oldest like a doormat, and she fell somewhere in between, doing her best to avoid domineering parents.
“I know.” Katie punched her in the arm. “I’m sorry. I just hate when guys push people around. Especially when it seems like all the good-looking ones are assholes.”
“Preach,” the driver said.
Justine would have been more annoyed, but the girl power solidarity felt good. Then their driver mentioned a few hidden gems nearby, restaurants and shops Justine would have to check out later. She’d previously lived in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, so Fremont was a change for her. A good one, though, she kept telling herself, trying to believe it.
When they arrived at the club, Justine noticed a small group of guys waiting by the side, one of whom she recognized as Katie’s other best friend. She swallowed a groan. “You promised tonight would just be for us to hang out and commiserate over how much we hate our jobs.”
“And how much we hate our bosses—although mine just left and I love the new gal. But hey, we’re going to bitch and complain, sure. And maybe you hit it off with a few friends I invited. The male kind.” Katie exaggerated her wink.
“You know, my head is starting to hurt. I might have a cough too.” Justine gave a few fake coughs, but Katie wasn’t buying it.
“Nice try.” The car stopped, and they left with a goodbye and hefty tip to their driver. “Get the lead out, Ferrera. Your ovaries aren’t going to wake up if there’s no one to greet them in the morning.”
“What the hell does that even mean?” Justine pasted on a smile as they approached Katie’s friends.
“It means you’re going to thank me tomorrow.”
“Or I’ll be cursing your name while battling a hangover and regretting a terrible Friday night where the men have no game.”
“Or that. Either way, you’re going. So move.”
CHAPTER 2
Xavier groaned as he let himself back into his apartment. Great impression to make on the new tenant. With a splitting headache and overdue project, dealing with his ex-girlfriend’s brother had been last on his To-Do list. And of course, just his luck, Justine in 3D looked beautiful and all put-together while he looked his worst. Brawling in public. Jesus. He hadn’t gotten into a physical fight since college, back when Auggie had been all about doing terrible things on campus then blaming Xavier for it.
Twins. He loved his sister, but Auggie could be over-the-top on a good day.
His phone buzzed. Speaking of over-the-top... “Yo, Auggie. What’s up? We doing dinner tonight or what?” He wondered what Justine and her friend had planned for the evening. If Justine had a boyfriend or significant other. Odd that her aunt had never mentioned her, considering he and Rosie had been good friends for months.
And of course, they kind of worked together.
“Bro, I need help.”
Xavier swallowed a sigh. “Of course you do.”
“Don’t be pretentious. Buzz me up.”
“Do you even know what pretentious means?”
He winced at the vitriol that accompanied his sister’s answer and buzzed Auggie in, which reminded him he only had himself to blame about Dan—the guy he never should have allowed in the building. Apparently, Christine still didn’t like the word “no.” They’d broken up a month ago, and she continued to harass him, now using her brother to send messages.
Last time Xavier would make that mistake.
He’d known he and Christine were over a while ago, but he’d tried his best to make it work. As a therapist, Xavier knew all about dysfunction and lying to oneself. Christine had been pleasant...at first. A nice woman, attractive, self-sufficient. The perfect companion.
Until she’d revealed certain truths, become clingy and codependent, and had made his life a living hell with petty jealousies and insecurity. Auggie hadn’t liked her either, and that was typically a telling sign that things wouldn’t work out.
Xavier could count on one hand the number of times they’d approved of each other’s relationships. A real pair, the both of them.
“We’re so pathetic,” he muttered as Augusta Hanover pushed through the door.
Though obviously not identical twins, they might as well have been. They shared the same features, voice inflections, and had that twin-brain, where they had a tendency to pick up on what the other might be feeling or thinking. Auggie was incredibly pretty, more redhead than brunette, tall, and had a trim and toned physique. She’d never taken crap from anyone in her life—a clear balance to Xavier’s people-pleaser mentality.
He had a few inches on his sister in addition to muscle but wasn’t nearly as defined. Auggie, a personal trainer and gym-worshipper, had an aggressive drive and a tendency to go after what she wanted. Unlike Auggie, he got the twin share of charm, had a smile that could kill from twenty paces—according to Mom—and the patience his sister lacked.
They were two halves of the same whole. Unfortunately, most significant others wanted the entire piece, not just a half, and neither he nor Auggie had yet to find that perfect partner for more than a few months here or there.
“Xavier, my dearest brother, you still pale beside the glory that is me.” Auggie flexed, showing off some impressive biceps, looking cute and fit in a pair of workout shorts and a tee-shirt, her hair pulled back into a long ponytail. “If only you had my brain, my sense of style... breasts.”
Xavier rolled his eyes. “If I wanted a ‘boob’ I’d look no further than you. Idiot.”
Auggie grinned and flipped him off.
“Thanks. But I already had one of those earlier.”
“This?” She pointed that middle finger at his face “What happened?”
“I went against my better judgement and let Christine’s brother in to talk to me. The only good thing about the visit was I got to return her grandmother’s necklace without meeting up with her.”
“The same necklace she deliberately left here last time so you’d have to talk to her again?” Auggie asked.
Xavier sighed. “Please don’t say it.”
Auggie shrugged.
A few seconds passed.
“Itoldyouso,” Auggie blurted. “Ah, that feels better.”
After a second of glaring at each other, they eased into smiles and laughed.
Xavier looked his sister over. “You working out more?”
“Yeah. There’s a new event I’m entering in August. It’s a fitness competition with major sponsorship. Winner gets backing from the sponsors, a fifty thousand dollar prize, and emcee rights for the winter competition, which includes major branding and marketing. It’s huge, Xav.”
“Where’s it being held?”
“Our great city of Seattle. Duh.”
“Hey, for all I know you’re going to Hawaii on another ‘work’ trip.”
“I wish. And that Hawaii trip was legit. I worked out, trained two guys at the hotel gym, and had a hell of a time with Barry. You know, before we broke up.” Auggie plopped herself on the couch and eased her forearm over her eyes. “My life is a mess.”
“When isn’t it?” Xavier muttered but didn’t react when Auggie moved her forearm to glare before covering up again. Taking one for the team, he asked, “Okay, Ms. Messy, what’s wrong?”