“Now you know.” Andy shook his head. “She’s as fragile as a piece of glass. She wants nothing more than to be loved but she’s terrified. She needs to be loved. If you really mean what you say, you have a lot of work to prove yourself to her.”
“And to us,” Vince added.
“Thank you. Thanks for telling the truth. And thanks for being here for her.” I looked over at Marco. He smiled that sexy sweet smile that I love and nodded.
“Will you help us? We just want to learn to love her.”
“We’ll see. Anyway, it all depends on her. What she wants.”
“Of course. If she tells us ‘no’ and means it, I promise we will accept her decision.”
Andy still looked unsure of us. I guess I didn’t really blame him. These two had been looking out for her most of her adult life. We come along and upend it. If it was me, I think I’d be pissed.
“I know there isn’t anything we can say that’ll make your believe us. I suppose we just have to prove it to you.”
“We’ll keep an open mind. But you two have your work cut out. I honestly don’t know if she will even try now.”
Marco looked sincere as he proposed an idea.
“How about we keep in touch? That way you know what’s going on even if Harry doesn’t tell you.”
It was Andy and Vince’s turn to exchange looks. They both nodded.
“Okay. We’ll swap phone numbers, but the slightest hint of trouble and that’s it.”
“Fair enough.”
We gave them out numbers and got theirs. I thought Marco and I got off lightly. These two guys were not the type you messed with. We needed to get them on our side if we were to have any sort of chance with Harry. I stood and shook hands with them both. Marco followed suit, we left via the extension to make sure everything was secure.
We’d be back tomorrow.
Chapter Five
I woke up with a headache. Actually, it was more than a headache—it was a couple of men with jackhammers in my head. I looked down, surprised to see I was still dressed, and then I remembered what had happened yesterday afternoon.
I anguished.
Oh my god, what would Marco and Bryan think of me? I acted like some crazy madwoman.
What the hell was I thinking?
What on earth was I going to do?
I rolled over and thought of going back to sleep but I felt lousy, the aftereffects of the sleeping pills Vince had given me. I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. Standing under the shower for ten minutes made me feel a little better. I washed my hair and then myself. Turning off the taps, I dried myself and dressed in jeans and an old paint-stained T-shirt.
I wandered out into the kitchen, my wet hair wrapped in a towel, hairbrush in hand. Glancing at the oven clock, I saw it was nine-thirty. I could hear the workers outside. I wondered if I should see if either of my builders were there but I chickened out. To be honest, I would be surprised if I ever saw them again.
I picked up the phone and rang Vince’s office.
“Hi, it’s me.”
“Hi, sweetie. How’s my favourite girl?”
“I’ve got the mother of all headaches, and I feel like a complete idiot. Apart from that, okay.”
Vince laughed.
“Want to talk about what happened?”
I sighed.
“I made a complete and utter fool of myself, Vince.”
“Come on, sweetie, don’t be that hard on yourself.”
“I did. I freaked out on two hunky men who only wanted to be nice and kiss me.”
He laughed.
“Question is, did you want to kiss them back?”
I felt stupid and embarrassed, but this was Vince.
“Yes, yes I did. Those two, well they’re together and they kind of offered me a chance to get to know them both. I…I’m a fool.”
“You like them.”
“Yep. More than like. They…oh hell, they press every button I have. Then when all they were going to do was kiss me, I turned into some crazy woman and ran screaming from the room.”
“I’m sure if they really like you, they’ll be back.”
“Oh, Vince, come off it. You saw me. I was nuts. I thought he was back. I…”
I could feel tears start to run down my cheeks. I rubbed them away with the back on my hand.
“What did you tell them?”
“Harry, I think you need to talk to them. You need to tell them about your life.”
“Vince, I doubt there is any chance of talking to them. I’ll be lucky if I even see them again.”
“You might be surprised. Anyway, if you do, you have to tell them. If they’re worth anything, they’ll listen.”
“What if they don’t? What if?”
“Harry. Listen to me. If they don’t then they aren’t worth the trouble. Anyway, this is about you. This is about what you want. If you think you’re ready to try, then try. Don’t blame you for liking the two hunky builders. They are H.O.T.”
“Vince! I’ll tell Andy on you.”
“Don’t worry, he thinks they are, too.”
I laughed. Vince made me feel better.
“I’m going to have a coffee and dry my hair. You be good. Thanks Vince, thanks for being there for me.”
“Always, sweetie, always. Promise me you’ll try. It’s time for you to start living again, and what better way than with two hotties!”
“Ha ha, you just want me to go out with them so you can see them again.”
“Guilty.”
“Bye, Vince. Thanks.”
“Bye, sweetheart.”
I hit the “end-call” button. I felt much better now I had talked to Vince, but I wasn’t optimistic like him. I doubted I would see my builders again except for professional reasons.
Making a coffee, I went out onto the back deck to drink it and try to dry my hair in the spring sun. Sitting in the sun, I dragged a brush through my hair and sat with my feet up on a chair opposite. I could hear voices as the men worked, there was occasional laughter and the sound of someone singing off key.
I saw movement to my right and saw a workman filling a bucket from the back tap. He waved over to me and I waved back. It was pleasant in the sun, I could feel myself dozing. The jackhammers in my head finally giving up.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
I opened my eyes with a start. Bryan and Marco were walking toward me. Oh hell! What on earth was I supposed to do now?
“How are you, babe?” Marco looked concerned.
“Okay.”
I answered warily. He beamed at me, those Latin looks of his making my heart race. Bryan sat down on the deck alongside of me and looked up.
“We’re sorry about yesterday. It was our fault.”
Surprised, I looked at him and then Marco.
“No. It wasn’t,” I whispered. “It was all mine.”
Marco moved from behind me. He lifted a hank of my hair and ran it through his fingers. It was rather arousing.
“Your hair is beautiful. I love the colour, so rich. I have a thing for long-haired red heads.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. Bryan laughed.
“You have a thing for one long-haired red head.”
“True, but then, so do you.”
His hands on my hair were so sensual. I closed my eyes and let the feeling wash over me.
“Harry? Can we start again?”
I opened my eyes and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Seems like I’m always asking that. We want to get to know you. How about letting us take you out for dinner tonight?”
“Dinner? You want to take me out?”
“Hey, don’t sound so surprised.” Marco laughed. “We want to woo you till you can’t think of being with anyone else but us.”
I wasn’t sure how to take them. They seemed like they genuinely wanted to spend time with me. I was certainly attracted to them both, but was I game enough to take the next step an
d go out with them?
Neither of them spoke. It was up to me. I found I wanted to. I discovered that somewhere inside I was ready to take a chance but first I knew they deserved an explanation.
I sat up straight. Marco came around to face me. He lifted my feet and sat on the chair opposite. He put my feet on his lap and was gently rubbing them. It was damn hard to concentrate.
“Something happened to me years ago.” I just blurted it out. They looked at me in surprise but they both smiled.
“Last night. I’m sorry. I panicked a little then I…Hell, I went a little nuts. I thought you were someone else.”
Bryan reached a hand up and put it on my arm. He gave it a gentle squeeze. If this was going to happen, if I was going to date these two, then I had to be honest upfront. They deserved that, especially if I kept freaking out. I looked at them both then stared at my hands in my lap.
“Just over twelve years ago I met this man and we started to go out. I thought he was nice at first. We’d been going out for a couple of weeks. He started getting possessive then he turned physically and verbally abusive. I told him it was over. He hit me. I told him to leave me alone.”
I knew I was crying but I had to get this out. I was grateful neither of them spoke. Just Marco’s hands on my feet and Bryan’s on my arm were giving me strength to see this through. I took a deep breath and let it out.
“He left but he kept turning up at odd times. He would threaten me, hit me. I went to the police and they put a restraining order in place that he wasn’t to contact me. Didn’t stop him. Somehow he managed to avoid the police and still keep harassing me.”
Could I do this? Could I finish?
“Take your time, sweetheart. We’re not going anywhere.”
I couldn’t look at him or Marco. I knew I would break down if I did and I had to finish, I just had to. I sucked in another deep breath and continued.
“He came to my old house. He…he attacked me. I was raped, stabbed, and he kept hitting me. If Vince and Andy hadn’t turned up, I’d be dead. But they did. They heard me screaming and rang the cops. Then they came in.” I looked up at them. “You’ve seen them. They are as big as you two.”
I know at this point I was sobbing.
“He was arrested. I went to hospital where they stitched me back together. He went to gaol.”
I couldn’t speak for a few minutes, and they waited.
“I’ve never gone out since then. Well, I sometimes would pick someone up for sex. Vince and Andy have been there for me. They’ve held my hand and picked up the pieces. I’m scared. I, well, I just don’t know if I can do this.”
Marco had not once stopped rubbing my feet, the contact had made me feel good, but now I was sobbing. He put my feet on the ground and pulled his chair around to put an arm across my shoulders. Bryan still had his hand on my arm.
“Listen. Listen carefully. Neither Bryan nor I would ever do anything to hurt you. We both feel terrible that we forced ourselves on you. We should have at least asked permission to kiss you.”
Bryan turned my head with his hand and looked into my eyes.
“Yeah, we should’ve. I feel so bad knowing what you’ve been through. But Harry, we aren’t him. Will you give us the chance to prove it?”
Marco squeezed my shoulder.
“We promise to only do what you want. If you want us to go, we will. Promise. You say go and we walk away now and never bother you again.”
Looking down at my hands again, I thought about them. I had spilt out my horrors and they hadn’t turned away.
“Harry.” I looked back at Bryan. “If you let us, we can help you get through it. I promise we will give you all the time and support you want. Or if you’d rather us forget, rather we just kept this professional, then we will.”
He gently wiped a tear away from my cheek with the ball of his thumb. It was up to me. I leant against Marco, resting my head against his chest.
“You deserve happiness, Harry. Take a risk.”
I gave a watery laugh. “You sound like Vince and Andy, they keep telling me to take a chance.”
“Will you?”
I sniffed. My tears were easing off. I nodded. Bryan gave me the biggest, sexiest, most wonderful smile. He knelt and kissed me on the forehead.
“Thank you, Harry.”
We sat there for about ten minutes. No one spoke but it was comfortable. Then Bryan stood and grabbed another chair, pulling it over to sit closer.
“So dinner tonight?”
This was it. I could say no and that would be the end or I could take the risk. I chose the risk and nodded. “What if we meet you at the restaurant? That way if you feel uncomfortable with us you can leave any time.”
“You’d do that? You’d meet me there?”
“Of course. Marco and I don’t want to force you into anything. This is all about you, sweetie.”
“How about you meet us outside the restaurant? Honestly, Harry, we’ll take it slow.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
“I’ll get us a table at Guido’s for seven. Do you like Italian?”
For some reason I looked a Marco, he winked.
“Yes, yes I do.”
“Hey Bryan, Marcie wants you. Says you’re not answering your phone. Ignoring her again.”
It was George. Bryan patted his pockets and groan.
“Damn, left my phone on the car charger. Marcie’s our office master. She cracks the whip and we jump. Hand over your phone, hon.”
Marco pulled his phone out of his top pocket and gave it to Bryan who stood and walked down the yard.
“Are you okay, babe?”
“Yes. Yes, I am. I feel better now that I’ve told you my dark secret.”
He grinned at me. “Well you know our secret so only fair we know yours.”
Bryan came back and handed the phone over.
“We have to go. Slight crisis at another site. You okay, sweetie?”
I nodded to him. Marco stood. He leant over and kissed me gently. My pulse raced. Then Bryan did the same. My pulse rate tripled.
“We’ll be waiting for you tonight about seven. Okay?”
“Okay.”
They walked off but as they turned the corner, both blew me a kiss. I sat and hugged myself. I felt so good. Jumping to my feet, I raced inside to ring Vince and tell him what had happened.
“Guess what? I’m going out to dinner!”
“Hello, Harry. Dinner?”
“Yep. I told them what happened. They want to still see me and we’re going to dinner tonight.”
“That’s great news, Harry! The best. I’m so glad you’re being brave.”
“I’m meeting them at the restaurant. Their suggestion, so if I feel stressed I can leave if I want to. I feel good.”
“Harry, you sound the best I’ve heard you for ages. You need this. You need to take a chance at being happy.”
“I’m scared.”
“That’s okay, just take things as they come and have fun.”
“I’ll try. Bye. Say hi to Andy for me and give him a kiss.”
“Easy done. Bye, Harry.”
Chapter Six
I think I changed my clothes a dozen times. In the end I had to leave so whatever I had on would have to do. I was scared stiff but I was determined to do this and to enjoy myself.
I drove to the restaurant, then drove around a few times trying to find somewhere to park. In the end, I was lucky. Someone was pulling out of a nearby car park and I was able to slide in. It was only a street away from Guido’s.
I got out, locked the car, and headed off. I was so nervous. With every step, I was shaking more and more. I was so tempted to turn and run but I was also determined to do this. It was time to take my life back. I straightened my back and walked on.
As I approached the entrance, the men were waiting. I felt my heart leap. They both looked delicious. When they saw me, they both burst into smiles. I reached them. Bryan gave me a kiss and then Marco did.
“Hi, babe,” he whispered.
“Hi yourself.”
Bryan smiled down at me. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. Absolutely gorgeous.”
“Thank you.”
They moved either side of me and we walked inside. The waiter led us to a table. I sat down. Marco sat alongside and Bryan opposite. The waiter handed us menus. I was shaking so badly I dropped mine onto the table. Bryan reached over and put his hands on mine.
“Whatever you want. You’re in charge.”
I took a breath and picked up the menu. It was a complete blur to me and I gave a groan. In my panic, I remembered I’d left my glasses at home. Marco looked up from his menu.
“What’s up, babe?”
“I forgot my glasses.”
He just laughed, picked up my hand, and kissed it. I felt easier.
“Borrow Bryan’s, he’s as blind as a bat without his.”
Bryan just looked at Marco and rolled his eyes, but he did take his glasses off and hand them to me. I was amazed to find I could actually read with them. I quickly scanned the menu and decided what I wanted, then handed them back.
“What are you having?”
“I’m going with the cauliflower risotto.”
“Do you like prosciutto, babe?”
“Yes I do. Why?”
“Let’s get some Prosciutto e melone to start with. I love that.”
“Heavens, Marco, you love anything Italian.”
“Blame mama.”
“Is your mother Italian, Marco?”
“Yeah. She’s a typical Italian mama. Wait till you meet her. Drives us crazy but we love her.”
“What about your dad, is he Italian, too?”
“Yes. He was born out here. Mum came here with her family when she was in her early teens. Dad’s parents migrated here before he was born. Anyway, they met, fell in love, and married.”
“What about your parents, sweetheart? Do they live nearby?”
I shook my head.
“No, they passed a while back. I still miss them.”
Both men took a hand. I felt a little silly but I also felt comforted. The waiter came and took our orders. Both men were having pasta. Carbonara for Bryan and tortellini for Marco. They ordered the prosciutto and melon for us all along with some fresh bread. Neither men had alcohol, we all had a cider instead. I was beginning to relax a little.
Build a Love (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 5
