by Terry Towers
Once dried and dressed, I exited and was relieved to see that Craig was ready to go and was sitting in the living room, waiting for me to emerge, I assumed.
But there was something about the expression on his face. I knew the expression—it was the look he got when he was up to something. A cat that ate the canary kind of look. I didn’t like it. But what in the hell could he have gotten up to?
Maybe I was being paranoid.
“Was there anyone at the door?”
He didn’t miss a beat, giving his head a shake. “Nope.”
I forced myself to smile at the man I once loved. I really could have sworn there had been a knock. “Are you set to go?”
He hesitated. “Yes, I’d say I’m done here.” Standing, he came towards me and I backed away, allowing him to pass. If he thought he was going to get a hug then he was sadly mistaken. The only thing I wanted from him was to have him out of my house.
Walking over to the door, I pulled it open and waved him out. “Have a safe drive home.”
Nodding, he paused yet another second. Was he thinking if he dragged his heels long enough I’d reconsider?
I had news for him.
“Goodbye, Craig.”
Giving me a final nod, he walked past me and left. I didn’t bother to see if he got onto the elevator. I simply closed the door, glad he was gone. I had more important things to concern myself with right now, like getting ready for work and making it there on time.
Rushing into the bedroom, I sat down at my vanity and quickly applied a thin layer of make-up. I simply didn’t have time for a full look today. Once done, I hurried from my bedroom, grabbed my purse, slipped on my shoes, and left.
~*~ TT ~*~
Nate
We’d agreed to wait until after our shifts to talk to Layla. Text messages were so impersonal and if we were to reconcile then it should be face-to-face. But I was never a man who sat around and waited. I needed to see her now and Darrin was tied up at the station. When I say tied up I mean, confined to office work until all Black Skulls arrests had been made and the suspects relocated.
So here I was sitting outside of Layla’s office building waiting for her to emerge for her lunch break. Darrin might be a little pissed at first, but once we had her back, that was all that would matter to him.
She had lunch at the same time every day, like clockwork. Most days either myself or Darrin would meet her for lunch, sometimes both of us. Looking down at the dozen yellow roses sitting in the passenger seat, I wondered if I should have gotten red. God, I was so damned horrible at this romantic shit.
And then she appeared. She didn’t hesitate. She turned right and began making her way up the sidewalk at a brisk pace. My entire body went rigid and a shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins upon seeing her. I’d never been this excited to see a woman in my life. It had only been a few days since our blow-up, but it felt like months.
I was just getting out of the patrol car when I caught sight of someone in uniform to the right of the office building doors. I recognized the officer, it was Darrin with a bouquet of red roses. Fuck, I knew I should have gone with red. How in the hell did he get off the desk work? No doubt he was right about what color she preferred. Besides, red was love, yellow was friendship, wasn’t it. Fuck if I knew. Maybe I needed to start watching some chick flicks to get the knack of being romantic.
It’s not a competition, I told myself. It would never work if we continued to make this a competition.
My first instinct was to go to Layla, but upon giving it some thought, I decided meeting up with Darrin first would be the best solution. I ran across the street to meet up with Darrin.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him, cutting him off at the pass.
He stopped and stared at me—he didn’t look overly thrilled to see me. “I’d ask you the same thing. I thought we’d agreed after work?”
“We had. Weren’t you on a desk for this week?”
“I get lunch breaks.”
Looking over my shoulder, I caught sight of Layla’s dark hair flying out behind her as she rounded the corner. “Since we’re here, with flowers, I guess we approach her now and get this figured out once and for all.” It was more of a statement than an actual question.
Chapter 22
Layla
I was in a hurry. A big, big hurry. My lunch hour was normally an hour, but the boss scheduled me for a meeting with a prime client. Why this client was given to me was a mystery, but I certainly wasn’t going to turn it down, even if it meant scarfing down my meal or going hungry until I got off work. I’d been given a promotion, so maybe with the promotion came new, higher profile clients.
Pulling open the doors to the Avenue Deli, I walked in, saw the long line, and groaned loudly, causing the couple before me to turn and give me a peculiar stare. Looking at my watch, I discovered I’d already wasted five minutes.
I just had to suck it up and hope the people at the counter worked quickly. I could always eat while walking back to the office—not ideal, but it was looking like my only option.
“Layla!” The sound of my name being called out just as I made it to the register caused my entire body to freeze. It sounded like one of the brothers, but they hadn’t met me for lunch in days. It was more likely my imagination.
“What would you like, ma’am?” the young man behind the counter asked, pulling me from my trance. I quickly ordered and as I was about to pay, the smell of a cologne I was all too familiar with drifted to my nostrils.
“Layla. We need to talk to you.”
Clutching my credit card, I turned to see both brothers, holding roses and standing off to the side of the line.
“What are you two doing here?” I asked, forgetting that someone was waiting for payment and others were behind me waiting to order.
“He’s waiting for payment, lady,” a deep voice said from behind me.
Shit! I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks as I redirected my attention to the counter attendant and passed him my card, muttering a quick, “I’m sorry.”
Completing my purchase, I slipped out of line and headed to the other end of the counter where my food was to be served, the brothers in tow. “What’s going on?” I asked as I stood waiting for my number to be called.
“There was some Craig guy who answered your door this morning, said you were his fiancé.”
Oh hell, there had been a knock on the door. Of course, Craig had lied about it. He’d told them he was my fiancé? What were the brothers thinking right now? They must be thinking that I’d slept with him as well.
Oh God!
My number was called, but I didn’t hear it. Nate took my number from my fingertips and passed it to the attendant, retrieving my lunch in a to-go bag.
“We need to talk.” After Darrin passed me the roses, which I automatically lifted to my nose and smelled, he grabbed my upper arm and directed me away from the crowded counter and to a vacant corner of the deli, Nate in tow.
Sitting down at the table, with the brothers across from me, I accepted the roses and sandwich, putting them on the vacant stool next to me. “Look, I can explain.”
“Isn’t Craig the name of your former guy back in Maine?” Nate asked.
“Yeah. It is.” I bowed my head, cringing. “And that was him in the flesh.”
“Was he telling the truth?” Darrin asked, frowning.
“Just a few days ago you were in love with us? Now you’re back with your ex?” Nate cut in with a clipped tone, before I could respond.
I sat up straight in my chair, tilting my chin up. “First, I haven’t heard a thing from either of you since…” They nodded in unison. “Second, how could you think I’d just hop into bed with someone just days after?”
“You were in the shower, it was evident the guy slept over and he’s your old fiancé, it isn’t that much of a stretch, is it?” Nate replied.
I was getting angry. I’d hoped when I saw the brothers again that it would be with them saying the
y loved me and couldn’t live without me. Instead, I was being accused of cheating on them?
“We hadn’t even broken up,” Darrin piped in.
“I would guess no communication for days after a fall out would be a clue.” God, why did I have to be so combative? They came bearing flowers. They came to reconcile. I needed to let it go so I could be happy. This was what I’d been wanting.
“So, you want him, this is over?” Nate leaned over the table, his expression unreadable.
Of course, that wasn’t what I wanted. I groaned inwardly. Looking down, I gasped as I noticed the time. I had five minutes to get back to work. I hadn’t even touched my lunch and I was beginning to feel hunger pangs in my stomach.
Damn and double damn. “I gotta go, guys.” Gathering the roses in my arms, along with the sandwich and my handbag, I got up. “I have a new client meeting in just over five minutes. Thank you for the roses.”
A part of me wanted to say screw the meeting and stay here with them and work it all out. But I couldn’t. I had a job to do and it was important that I get it done. Reconciliation would have to wait. It just wasn’t a good time.
Getting up from the chair, I rushed to the door, the brothers in hot pursuit.
“We can discuss this as we walk you back,” Darrin said, holding the door open for me, allowing me to pass.
At least they weren’t willing to give up no me.
“Craig drove down here to see me. He wanted to get back together. I told him no,” I said once both brothers had caught up and were within earshot.
“Did he stay overnight?” Nate asked, a hint of grit in his voice.
“Yes.”
“If that’s the case, why allow him to stay? Why not kick his ass out?” I could see the jealousy in Nate’s stare, not something I would have ever expected to see from him a few months ago. But now it was shining through with crystal clarity.
“There were no rooms anywhere. I looked. So what could I do, I let him stay. It meant nothing. And as soon as he was up and dressed, I told him he had to go.” My building came into view. We wouldn’t have enough time to hash it out right now.
Once we reached the front doors, I spun to face the brothers. I looked from one to the other, raking my fingers through my hair. “I’m not engaged. Certainly not to that man. Why he lied, I have no idea, but he did.” I looked down at my watch. I was one minute late. “We’ll talk tonight, okay?” Without waiting for a response, I spun around and entered the building.
That went badly. I looked over my shoulder as I entered the lobby. Both men were standing outside the building, in discussion. As if feeling my eyes on them, they both looked in my direction and our gazes locked. I smiled, hoping they’d understand that I was theirs and only theirs.
~*~ TT ~*~
Darrin
“We need this to be perfect,” I said, checking on the status of the lasagna. It was nearly done and so it was almost time for the garlic cheese bread to go in the oven. Checking my watch, I estimated that she was due home in about ten minutes. I’d texted her earlier, after our meeting with her at the café, and confirmed.
“Do we really need all this fuss?” Nate called to me from the living room. His duty was to make the place a haven of romance while I prepared dinner. Maybe I should have switched jobs with him.
“Believe me, we do. Tonight we’re going to make sure everyone is on the same page and that there’s no misunderstandings. It doesn’t hurt to show we care about her and are making an effort. This could be the first day of the rest of our lives together.”
“She smiled at us. You saw the smile.”
I poked my head out of the kitchen and into the small dining room where Nate was just finishing with the candles and was now carrying on to setting the table. “I did. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to iron out the waves that have been caused. When we make love to her tonight, its going to be perfect.”
Nate laughed. “You should be writing romance novels, brother.”
“I’ll keep that in my back pocket if my career with the force ends.”
~*~ TT ~*~
Layla
Exiting the elevator, I found myself unsure of where to stop first. Go straight to Darrin’s place, or drop my stuff off home and freshen up before proceeding. I’d found a vase in the breakroom and combined the roses in the vase, setting it on my desk for the rest of the female staff to eat their hearts out over. Darrin had sent me a text which came with a little urgent icon saying to go straight to his place after work—no stops.
As much as I wanted to see the guys, it wouldn’t hurt to at least freshen up a little. The city was as hot as Hades today and my white blouse was sticking to me, showing the outline of my beige lace bra.
I was pulling out my keys as I reached the door to my place when I noticed the handwritten note, taped to my front door:
Come straight over. You’re perfect as you are.
I chuckled, pulling the note from the door and stuffing it into my handbag. Giving my head a little shake, I decided to do as advised and head for Darrin’s place. My heart rate accelerated as I approached. I was pretty sure that everything was going to be all right, but sometimes life threw a curveball at you. Reaching his door, I knocked. Within a moment of knocking, the door was pulled open to reveal Darrin.
He gave me a hesitant smile, then opened the door wider. “You look beautiful.”
“Liar,” I laughed. “I’m wet and sticky.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Nate added, stepping out from the dining room.
Both men looked amazing. Darrin was wearing a buttoned down blue shirt that matched his eyes perfectly, along with a pair of blue jeans. Nate had on his typical black t-shirt that hugged his torso wonderfully. Damn, these men were drool-worthy specimens.
“What was the big rush?” I asked, stepping into Darrin’s place and being assaulted by the delicious aroma of lasagna and garlic bread. It was one of my favourite dishes. “You boys didn’t make lasagna just for me, did you?”
“Fuck no. Who said you’re staying for supper? We’re just going to have a quick chat with you and throw you out,” Nate teased, taking my hand and leading me into the dining room.
I gasped as I entered the dining room. The lights were out and there were candles lit throughout. The table was set as if they were having royalty over, with full settings and even napkins folded as little swans sitting on the plates.
“What’s the occasion? You guys did all of this just to talk?”
“As my brother said, this isn’t for you,” Darrin said from behind us, appearing at my other side. “We like to romance each other every once in a while.”
I shot him a doubtful look, but at the same my heart was fluttering in my chest. They wouldn’t have gone through all this effort if they didn’t want me, despite the misunderstanding. “Thank you, guys.”
“Sit.” Nate guided me to a chair and pulled it out for me. Once I was seated, he pushed it in. “And we’ll bring out the dinner.
I watched them as they disappeared into the kitchen and a few minutes later re-appeared with what I’d guessed earlier—lasagna, garlic cheese bread, and Caesar salad. I absolutely loved Caesar salad, it smelled almost as good as it tasted.
Once they were seated and the portions served, the room grew silent. I didn’t know where to begin, and by judging from their expressions they didn’t know either. There was so much ground to cover to clear up the misunderstandings.
Halfway through the meal I couldn’t handle the silence any more. “Look, guys, I’m really sorry about the Craig thing this morning. There’s nothing going on, I swear to God. It’s just you two. I swear it.”
The brothers exchanged a look. I’d gotten to know them very well over the past few months, but from time to time they’d share a look as if they knew what each other was thinking and they were having some sort of mental conversation. Maybe one day I’d be able to figure out what those looks were all about. Though that day wasn’t today.
&
nbsp; In unison, they both dropped their cutlery and each one took one of my hands in theirs, giving my hands a squeeze.
Darrin was the one that spoke first. “We know. We’ve discussed it at great length and this past week has been a series of miscommunications and assumptions. We don’t want that any more.”
Does that mean they don’t want me?
“Okaaay.” I looked from one brother to the other. “Which means?”
Nate took over. “It means that we were stupid to set a bunch of rules when it came to this relationship. That is on us. Shit happens, especially when it comes to people in love. It’s not realistic to limit sexual contact or expressions of feelings.”
“In love?” My gaze pierced into him as I waited to hear the exact words. Sure, Darrin had told me the other day, but he’d spoken for both men and I hadn’t heard those three words directly from Nate before.
“It means I love you. I’m in love with you and have been for a while, even though I wasn’t willing to admit it, not to myself and certainly not to you. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve said those words, and perhaps part of me thought I wasn’t even capable of that emotion.”
Smiling, we shared a look. The look was warm and promising. It was the look of a man who wanted nothing more than me to love him back.
Darrin squeezed my hands, directing my attention to him. When our eyes locked, he said, “We’re both in love with you, Layla.”
“What about… the future? Can this work?” I’d also been doing a lot of thinking when it came to the technicalities of this and I saw the difficulties.
“We’ll make it work, honey. Who marries who or whose babies you bear is irrelevant as long as we’re all together.”
Marry? Babies? They’d really thought this through. My heart soared. This was for real.
“You’d both do this for me? Me?” I’m sure I was sounding pathetic, but I needed 100% clarity. My heart was on the line. These past few days had been sheer torture.
“Layla.” I turned my head to look at Nate again. “There’s no other woman we’d even consider doing this with, you’re special. There’s so much love in you to give.”
