“Interesting idea.” He nodded. “I like it. I’ll talk to him, then her.” He motioned toward the room. “How much notice are you giving me?”
“As long as you need. I’m in no hurry,” I admitted. “But I needed to make the decision so I can move forward.”
“It’s safe to assume you won’t handle the training classes going forward?”
“No.”
“Any suggestions on your replacement?”
“Ximena,” I answered instantly, making Trent laugh again.
“Mistress X running the class. I like it.”
“She’ll do a great job.”
“She’s young,” he noted.
“Yeah, but she’s got more experience than most.”
He nodded. “Like I said, I hate to have you step down. But I expect to see your ass in here.”
It was my turn to grin. “I’ll stop by from time to time,” I told him. “Wouldn’t want to give it up completely.”
Trent refilled the glasses and passed mine back to me, and I lifted it when he held his up.
“To a new normal,” he said with a glitter in his eyes.
Yeah. I could toast to that.
Jamie
“WHY AM I SO NERVOUS?” I RAMBLED as Edge pulled the car into his sister’s driveway.
“No reason to be, cupcake.” Cav peered back at me from the front seat. “She doesn’t bite.”
Edge laughed. “You’ve already met her, Jamie.”
“Yeah. At the bar. This is vastly different.”
Edge slipped out of the car, opened my door. He took my hand and helped me out.
Before he turned toward the house, he pulled me in close, bent his head, and kissed me. “She’s going to love you, Jamie. Almost as much as I do.”
My entire body warmed, my smile not as nervous as it had been.
When he released me, I smoothed my shirt and my skirt, took a deep breath, and nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
By the time we made it to the front porch, I was trying to figure out the fastest escape route. If I scaled the bushes, perhaps I could be down the street before she opened the—
“There you are,” a familiar voice sounded from just inside the house. “I thought for a minute you were going to stand me up.”
“Gretchen, you remember Cav.”
“Hey,” she said sweetly, hugging him when he stepped inside.
Still time to scale the bushes, I thought as I shot my eyes to the street. Then run like hell.
“And this is our girlfriend, Jamie Lautner.” He urged me through the door.
Nope. Time jut ran out.
“I’m going to greet you first. It’s very nice to meet you,” Gretchen said with a wide smile as she pulled me in for a hug. “Then I’m going to ask my brother to clarify that statement.” Her bright blue eyes returned to his face, curiosity reflected there.
“Later, Gretch.” He chuckled. “Where’re the rug rats?”
“Uncle Greg!”
“There she is,” Edge said cheerfully.
The next thing I knew, Edge was swinging a little girl up into his arms, blowing a raspberry against her neck. She looked a lot like her mother, long dark hair, same kind smile, her blue eyes darker.
“Jamie, meet Julianna. Say hi to Jamie.”
“Hi, Jamie.” Julianna squirmed out of his arms. “I’m six. How old are you?”
I peered up at Edge and smiled. “Twenty-four.”
I didn’t imagine the look that Gretchen passed her brother.
A man appeared, his eyes bouncing between us. He held out his hand to Cav. “Good to see you again, man.”
“Same, Rick. How’s work?”
Rick sighed. “Busy. But the holidays are coming up, so that’s to be expected.”
“Rick manages a chain of department stores,” Edge explained. “I’d like you to meet Jamie Lautner. Jamie, this is my brother-in-law, Rick Reilley.”
I shook his hand when it was offered. “Nice to meet you.”
“No need to stand in the doorway,” he said, motioning us farther into the house. “Dinner’ll be ready in five. Hey, Gretch, will you get Matt and Heidi? I texted them, but they’re ignoring me.”
Gretchen grinned. “Not the first time. Come on. Let’s sit in the dining room. I’ll grab the wine.”
Edge took the lead and I followed with Cav on one side, Julianna on the other. The little girl tugged on my hand.
“Jamie, will you sit by me at dinner?”
“Of course I will,” I told her. “Which seat is mine?”
“This one,” she said, pointing. “You’re pretty.”
“Thank you.”
The next hour passed by in a blur of conversation. I was introduced to nine-year-old Matthew and twelve-year-old Heidi. Both had joined us at the table, not bothering to hide the fact they’d rather be anywhere else. Through the conversation, I learned that Gretchen and Rick had been married for fifteen years. Both worked full-time. Gretchen was into hot yoga and Rick had a weekly poker game with the guys on Friday nights. They each had their own routines, their own hobbies, but they were happy.
Edge had shared with Gretchen my love for her bookstore/bar, which resulted in a long conversation about how it came about. Although I’d walked into the house a nervous wreck, somewhere along the way, I settled in, feeling more at home than I expected.
Right up until Gretchen moved us into the den. She excused herself to get Julianna in bed while Rick poured coffee.
“She’s gonna grill you on the relationship,” Rick noted, speaking to Edge as he placed the mugs on the coffee table.
“Probably.”
I had seen the look on her face when Edge had introduced me as their girlfriend. I wondered if the reaction would always be that way. I knew it wasn’t a conventional relationship, and back in the beginning, I’d been a little concerned about what others would think, namely my best friends. But once I’d shared the news and got their acceptance, I found I didn’t care what anyone else thought about it.
“She’s just curious,” Cav said. “It’s not every day her brother tells her he’s in a relationship.”
“Try never,” Gretchen said when she returned. “Not once in his thirty-six years has my little brother introduced me to a girlfriend. Much less…” She waved her hand between the three of us, sighed. “All right, brother of mine, you’ve got some explaining to do.”
She took a seat in the chair opposite Edge.
“About?”
She waved her hand to me and Cav. “You’re a we, huh? The three of you?”
“We are,” he said, not a hint of insecurity in the words.
“As in you love the two of them, they love each other and you?”
“Exactly.” It was obvious he didn’t want to delve into the details.
“How does something like this come about?” Rick asked, his genuine curiosity evident.
“It just does,” Edge stated.
Gretchen looked at me. “Are you a submissive?”
“Not really, no.”
“Did you meet at that club?”
I nodded. “Technically, yes.” I smiled. “But he was just giving me an introduction to the place.” I went on to explain my reasons, my doctorate and my dissertation.
“Hmm.” Gretchen glanced from Edge to me to Cav, then back to Edge.
“Say what’s on your mind, Gretch,” Edge said with exasperation.
He’d already relaxed on the sofa, his arm around my shoulders, so I could feel his tension.
Gretchen finally grinned. “You do make a very cute thruple.”
“Thruple?” Cav laughed. “That’s a new one.”
“You like it?” She waved a hand toward us. “It’s fitting.” Gretchen peered over at her husband. “Don’t you think?”
“I try not to get involved,” he said, looking directly at me. “My wife’s got no filter. She calls it as she sees it.”
“I don’t mind,” I assured him, snuggling closer to Edge an
d squeezing Cav’s hand, which mine was safely tucked into. “It is what it is.”
“I like her,” Gretchen said, meeting Edge’s eyes. “She can handle you.” She looked at Cav. “And you.”
“She can.” Edge grinned before pressing his lips to my forehead.
I didn’t know about all that, but I knew I was head over heels, and this was right where I wanted to be. Gretchen and Rick weren’t the last people who would look at the three of us and wonder how it all worked. As long as it did, that was the only thing I was worried about.
“Dad would’ve liked her,” Gretchen stated.
There was no mistaking the way Edge’s entire body went still. “Gretch. Don’t.”
“What? You haven’t told her?”
I glanced sideways at Edge, noticed the strain on his face.
“Don’t you think—?”
“Please,” I interrupted, lowering my voice. “When he’s ready to tell me, he will.”
Gretchen held my stare and something in her blue eyes softened. “You’re good for him, you know that?” She smiled, but not before I noticed there were tears in her eyes. “Really good for him.” She shot to her feet, made a beeline for the kitchen.
Edge stared after her and I pulled out of his hold. “Let me go talk to her.”
He looked at me and I could see the worry on his face. He didn’t want me to know the story. I cupped his face. “It’s fine. I’m just checking on her.”
When I got up, Cav moved closer to Edge. Before I was out of the room, Cav had changed the subject, engaging Rick in a conversation about sports.
I stepped into the kitchen to find Gretchen staring out the small window over the sink.
“Gretchen?”
She turned around. “I’m sorry about that.”
“No,” I said softly, stepping closer. “Don’t be. There’s obviously a story there, but it’s his story to tell.”
She kept her eyes on my face, nodded. “I meant what I said. You’re good for him.”
I smiled.
“Cav, too,” she added. “They’ve been friends for so long.” She waved her hand toward the den. “I should’ve known something like this would happen with them.”
I remained silent.
Her voice was soft when she continued. “I honestly can’t tell you the last time I saw my brother smile. And I have never seen him look at a woman the way he does you.” Her eyes cleared, her smile brightened. “He’s happy. Really happy.”
She laughed and it sounded slightly hysterical.
“Is there going to be a wedding soon?”
It was my turn to let out a hysterical laugh. “Not soon,” I assured her. “But maybe one day.”
Gretchen’s dark eyebrows dipped low. “How does that work? Three people? You can’t all get married to each other. Isn’t that illegal?”
I grinned, relaxing. “When it comes to love, it just works itself out.”
CAV
“WELL, THAT WAS INTERESTING,” I SAID IN an effort to break the silence as we drove back to Edge’s apartment.
“I like her,” Jamie noted from the backseat. “The whole family, actually.”
“Julianna took a likin’ to you, that’s for sure,” I told her.
Edge didn’t chime in during the entire drive. When we stepped into his apartment, I considered offering to take Jamie home, not sure where his mind was at. Ever since Gretchen had brought up their parents, he’d been unsettled.
Jamie appeared concern as she stood near the door, dividing her attention between the two of us. Edge went straight for the refrigerator, pulled out a beer.
“My mom was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia right after I was born,” Edge said, his face blank as he stared off into space.
I reached for Jamie’s hand, led her over to the sofa.
“Growing up, Gretch and I spent a lot of time with our grandparents, my father’s parents,” he continued. “We lived with them. They had money. Lots of it. A mansion, butler, housekeeper. All that shit. The house was huge. I remember some days I wouldn’t see my mother or my father at all, even though I knew they were there.
“My mother was in and out of mental hospitals, mostly at my grandfather’s insistence. He said my mother needed the sort of help we couldn’t give her. Not even the nurses he’d hired to help my father deal with her. My father loved her to distraction, enabled her, refused to listen to reason. Sometimes I didn’t understand why, because she wasn’t a nice woman much of the time. But when she was … she was great.”
He took a long pull of his beer, exhaled.
“I remember my grandfather trying to convince my father to have her committed permanently, said it was the best thing for everyone. My father was so pissed. They argued and my father vowed to never let them see me or Gretch again. I was fourteen. Gretch was seventeen, I think, about to graduate from high school. My grandfather knew we wouldn’t be safe if my father took us away from there, so he gave in. Promised to help in any way he could.
“So he did. For the next couple of years, he supported my father. My mother stayed in the hospital for longer that time, almost a year. My father insisted she was getting better, said the medication was working and he wanted her to come home. He wanted her to spend some time with me before I graduated. I didn’t think it was so much about me though. More that he was lonely, so I defended him when my grandfather argued. Offered to help out when they needed me.”
Jamie squeezed my hand but neither of us moved as Edge continued to stare at the wall of windows.
“It worked for a little while. My mother came home. I was a junior in high school, had my own car. My grandfather had started pitching in, too, helping more after my grandmother passed away. I could tell he didn’t like my mother being in the house. She scared him. She was often paranoid, and it took effort to get her settled. But my father was happier, so my grandfather and I agreed to make it work.”
Edge paused. I knew how this story ended and it was a tragic tale, one that had broken my heart when I’d originally heard it many years ago.
“I left for school one morning.” Edge’s voice was deeper, angrier. “It was a Friday. I remember thinking I wanted to spend the weekend somewhere else, somewhere I didn’t have to endure all the arguments, the fighting. My mother was having a particularly bad day, had thrown something at the housekeeper. My father and grandfather were arguing. I never asked to stay at a friend’s, but I did that day. I’d needed the break from them. The last thing I heard was my grandfather insisting he was going to have my mother committed again. Said it was the only safe thing to do.”
When Edge paused this time, Jamie got to her feet, walked toward him. He didn’t look her way, didn’t even flinch when she wrapped her arms around him from behind.
“I stayed at a friend’s house that night. Didn’t come home after school because I didn’t want to hear it anymore. Gretchen called me, asked if I was at home. Said she needed to talk to Dad, but he wasn’t answering. I told her about the argument, said I wasn’t going home until Sunday night. I needed a break.”
Edge took a deep breath and it shuddered when he exhaled.
“Gretchen called me again that afternoon, told me I needed to go home, to have Dad call her immediately. It was important. I didn’t ask her why, didn’t care. Still don’t know what it was about.”
He swallowed hard, set the beer on the counter.
“I walked in and found my father and grandfather dead in the living room. The house was a wreck. Broken glass, torn furniture, the curtains hanging off the windows. My mother was in the kitchen, on the floor in a pool of blood, the gun still in her hand. From what the police said, she’d shot them both, then destroyed the house before putting the gun to her own head and pulling the trigger.”
“Oh, God,” Jamie whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
Edge turned, put his arms around her, and held her tightly. I watched, unable to move.
“She was sick,” he muttered. “We all knew it, but we p
retended it didn’t matter, that we could handle it on our own. Gretch did research on the disease, said it was genetic, that one or both of us could have it.”
I hadn’t heard this before, so I got to my feet, moved to stand beside them in the kitchen.
Edge met my eyes. “I’ve had this voice in my head for the longest time. Thought maybe I was going insane, too.”
I didn’t look away. Couldn’t.
“I ignored it, fought it. Did the opposite of what it was telling me to do.”
Jamie pulled back, stared up at him.
“It wasn’t telling me to do specific things. More like to let things go, to stop fighting myself. Nothing harmful.”
“Your conscience,” Jamie whispered. “Not a voice.”
He smiled. “Yeah. It took me a long time to realize that. You, actually,” he said, “both of you. When I accepted what I really wanted, to love you both, it disappeared completely.”
“You’re not crazy,” I told him, stepping closer and sliding my hand around his head, pulling his mouth to mine.
“No,” he said softly. “Not in the technical term. But I am crazy about the two of you.”
“Ditto,” I whispered, smiling against his mouth.
“Hey,” Jamie said in a huff. “Care to include me in this mushy moment?”
She broke the tension in that instant. Edge reached for her, lifting her off her feet and setting her on the counter.
“I love you,” he said as he leaned in, pressed his forehead to hers.
“I love you, too.”
“What am I?” I harrumphed. “Chopped liver?”
Edge threw his arm around me, jerked me forward and crushed his mouth to mine. When he released me, Jamie did the same.
“I quit the club,” Edge blurted.
Jamie and I drew back at the same time, staring at him. He could clearly see our confusion because he continued.
“I talked to Trent. Decided it was best to resign my position. I’ll stay on until he fills the spot. I’ve been getting in my own way for too long, trying to structure a world that I fit in, rather than fitting in the world I want.”
Jamie stepped up, cupped his face. “Whatever makes you happy… That’s what I want.”
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