“Sweetheart?”
Eli’s tension communicated to her on an instinctive level. “Mmm.” It was the best she could do and she hoped he understood.
Eli leaned closer and kissed her shoulder. “Hold still.”
“Mmm.”
He eased out of her and she sighed. Her eyes closed, she let herself drift in this wonderful oasis of happy she’d just discovered.
She felt so sated and relaxed, she didn’t even move when Eli came back to clean her. Maybe she dozed because it seemed like only a couple of seconds passed, and she was being tucked in between her lovers.
“That was incredible,” Eli said.
“Heaven,” agreed Jeremiah.
“Mmm.”
Both men chuckled. “I think we broke her ability to speak,” Eli said.
“No.” Nancy sighed. “That was just simply beyond words.”
“Well, you’re not,” Eli said. He moved so he could look down at her. On her other side, Jeremiah mimicked his action.
“I’m not what?” Nancy thought maybe they might have broken her comprehension, not her speech, since she didn’t follow.
“You’re not beyond words. I have the perfect ones for you.” Eli caressed her cheek and ran his finger back and forth just under her bottom lip. “Nancy Jessop, I love you with my whole heart. I want to be with you, only you, for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
Nancy had to blink back tears. She didn’t get a moment to respond, because Jeremiah gently turned her face toward him. “Nancy, I love you more than I knew I could love. I want to have children with you and grow old with you. Will you marry me?”
This was a moment she’d never believed she’d know. It was a moment so special, so wonderful, so sacred, she needed just a few seconds to savor it. Her men didn’t look worried—likely because they could read her answer in her eyes.
“Yes, please. I want very much to marry you both.”
Eli wiped the tears on her left, and then gave her a sweet, sweet kiss. Jeremiah brushed away the tears on her right, and sealed her pledge with a kiss just as sweet as Eli’s had been.
“We’ll talk about the future,” Eli promised. “You’re more important to us than our careers. We’ll come up with something, the three of us, that will work for us.”
“I’m not worried.” Nancy smiled. “I figured out, just recently, that my home isn’t a town or a house. It’s the two you. We found each other and we love each other.” She looked from Eli to Jeremiah. “Everything else is secondary.”
Tucked in between her two fiancés—her two husbands—Nancy was content, for maybe the first time in her life, to let the future take care of itself. She didn’t need to jump in or make anything happen right now.
She was going to spend the rest of her life making love under two undercover cops, and that was more than good enough for her.
Chapter 28
Nancy never could have imagined, just a few short weeks ago when she went to the engagement celebration for her cousins Gord and Clay, that the next one she’d attend would be her very own. Lusty Appetites was closed to the public, dressed up for a party, and nearly full to bursting already. Music played on the sound system, a selection of country favorites interspersed with rock, and she thought that quite possibly everyone she knew who lived in Lusty might be in attendance.
“I think this is a nice tradition,” Eli said. He stood on her right and held her hand. People had been arriving in a steady stream for the last half hour or so. “I had no idea, that night last month when we stepped in here for the first time, that the restaurant was actually closed for business.”
On the other side of her, Jeremiah said, “Thank God you saw us right away, baby, and came at us the way you did. We’d just realized there was a private party going on and were about to leave.”
Nancy felt her face color. She supposed that, all things considered, it was time for her to fess up. She sighed, because that night she’d used guile for the first time in her life. “I know. Calling you out the way I did was the only way I could think of to make you stay.”
She felt her men staring at each other and could feel the shock that statement created.
“You little minx.” Eli chuckled. “Even then, you knew us better than we thought you did.”
“Likely nothing else could have made us dig in our heels the way you getting all snippy and telling us to go back to DC did.” Jeremiah nodded. “Well done, baby.”
“Seeing as how everything turned out, I’d say it was well done.” Nancy wasn’t surprised her men weren’t ticked, learning the truth. She stood up on her toes and kissed Eli. Then of course, she turned and kissed Jeremiah, too. A kiss just isn’t complete unless I can taste both of them.
“I guess one bit of honesty deserves another. We told you our folks couldn’t make it out for tonight,” Eli said. “But we want you to know that when we decide on a date for our Commitment Ceremony, they will be coming.”
“That will be nice,” Nancy said. “Sometimes, parents don’t get it.” She nodded toward the table where some of the older generation were sitting, drinking sweet tea and chatting. “Most of my aunts’ families were horrified when they married two men. I think only Aunt Samantha maintained her solid relationship with her mom and dad once she became a Kendall. Mom says it took a good few years before her mother came to visit. I barely remember her. I think I only saw my maternal grandmother a couple of times.”
“That’s probably because of the generation those parents belong to, don’t you think?” Jeremiah asked. “Today many more people are more accepting of alternate lifestyles. But back in the middle of the last century, people’s minds were closed.”
Nancy thought he was right. “True, although I have heard that Emily Anne and her mother are not really speaking to each other. Her parents didn’t come to her Commitment Ceremony, either.”
“There are still intolerant people in the world, baby,” Jeremiah said. He ran his hand down her back in that way he had, and it always made her feel better. “Eli and I are both lucky. Our parents have more accepting attitudes. But we helped that along, too. We told them about you—and our intentions toward you—more than a year ago.”
It was Nancy’s turn to stare, wide-eyed. Her men had told their parents about her a year ago?
“They’re really looking forward to finally meeting you,” Eli said.
Nancy shook her head and then she laughed. She hugged Eli and then Jeremiah. “I’m looking forward to meeting them, too.” Clearly the three of them were meant to be together. That thought settled her. As Grandma Kate was fond of saying, things generally did turn out the way they were meant to be, in the end.
The door opened, and Nancy grinned when her cousin Rebecca ran over to her. She threw her arms around her. “We just got back to Lusty today, and oh, my God! You’re engaged!”
Nancy was thrilled to have Rebecca there. She and her husbands had taken a quick trip out of the country. They’d wanted to check the progress of a school they were having built in South America—a project for the charity they ran together, Maria’s Quest.
After hugging her, Rebecca hugged both Eli and Jeremiah. “You’re getting one of the best women I know. You’d better treat her right, or you’ll have me to deal with.”
Eli grinned. “Yes, ma’am. Don’t worry. Both Jeremiah and I know how lucky we are.”
Cody hugged her, and then Greg repeated the gesture. He kept his hands on her shoulders when he held her back so he could look at her. “You look happy. A few times when we got together in Washington, I thought you weren’t—happy, that is.”
“I wasn’t, not the way I am now.”
He hugged her again, and then shook her men’s hands. “I look forward to getting to know you both. Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you,” Jeremiah said.
Nancy ran a hand down his back. He’d sounded very emotional and she couldn’t blame him. When Lusty opened her arms and accepted someone, that acceptance wa
s absolute.
Just as the Harper-Benedicts moved on, a lone woman came into the restaurant. She seemed a bit hesitant, as her gaze scanned the crowd. Then she saw Nancy, and headed straight to her.
“Holly, I’m so glad you decided to come.” Nancy took the initiative and gave the librarian a light hug. Then she introduced Eli and Jeremiah. Both men seemed to get that Holly was shy. They didn’t hug her, and instead waited for her to extend her hand to them.
“How do you do?” Holly offered each of Nancy’s fiancés a smile. “Congratulations on your engagement.” She looked at Nancy. “After I accepted the position here in Lusty, I did some research. Did you know, throughout history, there have always been ménage marriages? But I think Lusty is unique in her celebration of the lifestyle. Most of the ménages recorded through time have featured two women and one man.” Then Holly gave Nancy a wink that made her smile. “Lusty’s version is better.”
“We were certainly very happy to discover this town, and her history,” Eli said.
“I still have a lot to learn in that area.” She nodded to Nancy. “I’ve visited the museum, and I’m going back. I couldn’t take it all in at one time. Your mother has an amazing wealth of knowledge.”
“She does, and there’s nothing she enjoys more than sharing that knowledge with others. She’s very proud of our town.”
Holly nodded. “I’ve asked her to be one of the library’s storytellers, for when the younger students come over from the school.”
“Oh, Mom would have been tickled pink that you asked her!”
Holly smiled. “She was. She got embarrassed when I told her that she was one of Lusty’s hidden treasures, but it’s true.”
With that sentence, the town’s new librarian established herself in Nancy’s heart forever. She said, “I’ve always thought so, too.” She hugged her again. “I’m really glad you came to celebrate with us tonight.”
Samantha Kendall came over. She and her husbands had already greeted Nancy and her men earlier, and had been visiting with family.
“Holly, how wonderful that you’re here! Please, come and sit with us.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Kendall. I’d be delighted to.”
Samantha slipped her arm around her. “We’re going to have to work on you, I see. I’m Samantha.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Holly got a twinkle in her eye. “Miss Samantha.” Holly shot a look over her shoulder at Nancy, who understood completely.
Being a well-bred Southern young lady, Holly had been conditioned to always use polite forms of address to older women and men. Lusty tended to challenge more than one set of social norms.
Nancy thought again of the loneliness she’d seen in her new friend’s eyes. I’m going to make it my mission to do what I can to help her.
Jordan and Peter arrived, with little Cameron sitting happily on Jordan’s hip. After accepting her cousins’ congratulations, she reached for the little man, who very eagerly let her hold him.
“Our boy is a natural-born flirt,” Peter said. “Makes his fathers proud.”
Jordan offered her men the traditional handshake and backslaps. “Congratulations. Never thought I’d meet two men brave enough to take on the Hurricane.” He grinned, and Nancy knew he was teasing.
“Our woman really is a true force of nature,” Eli said.
“We’re the lucky ones. We’ll forever be grateful she agreed to take us on,” Jeremiah said.
“You’re smart,” Peter said, “and you have good senses of humor.” Then he smiled, and nodded. “You’ll fit in just fine.”
Jordan claimed his son back and the men went in search of food—and their wife, who was lending a hand in the kitchen.
“This is such a wonderful occasion for me!” Anna Jessop stood before them, with her husbands flanking her. She hugged Eli and Jeremiah. “I’m delighted to have two more sons. And very grateful to see my daughter so very happy at last.”
“Aw, Mom.” Nancy latched on and soaked up the mother love. Now that she was home again she couldn’t believe she’d denied herself the daily elixir of Anna Jessop’s hugs for more than a decade.
She didn’t know what the future held, as far as where they’d be or even what they’d be doing. She’d believed, when she came back to Lusty, that she would never leave again. But her men had careers, and she would happily go wherever she had to go, because of that one all-important truth she’d so recently discovered.
Her town was her town, but her men were her home.
“Gentlemen, we’ll be watching you.” Craig Jessop had hugged her, and then turned to Eli and Jeremiah.
Jack nodded. “The FBI has nothing on us.”
Nancy knew how hard it was for her fathers to keep straight faces. Apparently, her men did, too.
“Yes, sirs,” Eli said. “We’ll take excellent care of your daughter.”
“We will,” Jeremiah asserted, “and will fully expect you to let us know if we don’t.”
Anna’s cheeks carried a hint of pink. “We’re hoping the boys will be home before too long. They missed their brothers’ Commitment Ceremony, but they’ve promised they won’t miss their sister’s.”
“I look forward to meeting them. Nancy told us they’re screenwriters,” Eli said.
“They are indeed. Sometimes it makes my head spin to think of them all the way out there in Hollywood, with all the glitz and glamour, and all the famous people they know.”
Because Nancy knew her mother so well, she knew the words glitz and glamour were interchangeable with the word “temptation.” “It’ll be good to see the triplets again.”
“I haven’t had all my children together under my roof since Warren, and then Edward left for college.”
Eli kissed her cheek. “My mother often laments about the same thing. Jeremiah and I are proud to have you as a second mom, too.”
“Oh, my.” Anna beamed, and her eyes glistened. “Why, that’s just fine, isn’t it?”
For all of Nancy’s life, her mother had mixed things up and acted a little absentminded, and a little silly. But Anna Jessop’s greatest gift was that she loved completely, with her whole heart.
I hope I grow up to be just like her.
Carol, Warren, and Edward arrived, and Nancy couldn’t get over the change in her two brothers. They used to be shy, awkward geeks. Not anymore.
Carol greeted her first. Since she’d come home, she’d gotten to know this new sister. Nancy liked her a lot, and held her completely responsible for the happiness her brothers seemed to be wallowing in. Warren and Edward both hugged her—something they did easier now than in years past, and then shook hands with her men. The four males immediately fell into conversation.
“Have you set a date yet?” Carol asked.
“No. We have a lot of decisions to make. The guys aren’t sure what they want to do career wise. So we’re going to figure that out first. They have a couple of weeks of vacation time left, and then a leave of absence approved. We’ve been just enjoying the moment.”
“Well, if you are looking for a good honeymoon spot…” Carol sighed, and her eyes crossed in a way that told Nancy the woman had just slipped into a very happy place, mentally.
Nancy wondered if Carol’s reaction was because of the beautiful accommodations they’d enjoyed on Mustique Island, or if it had a more personal cause.
Gord, Clay, and Tasha arrived with their three children. Speaking of happy Jessops. Her cousin Gord positively beamed with happiness and pride. Lusty’s perennial bachelor would be having his Commitment Ceremony in two months’ time. Despite all the indications that the children were fine with the arrangement, the adults were still taking their time, and including the children in every aspect of the celebration.
“You look happy, sweetheart,” Gord said as he hugged her.
“I was just thinking the same thing about you, cousin.”
He nodded. “We’re a pair, aren’t we?”
She knew he meant the fact that they’d both tended tow
ard being loners all their lives. Though he was more than a decade older than she, this cousin had always recognized that quality in her.
“I’m helping Tasha pick out her wedding dress, and then I’m going to have a dress just like it,” Bonnie said.
“We’ve been going through every magazine and every website we can find,” Tasha confirmed.
“And having a lot of fun and special woman time, too, I imagine,” Nancy said.
Tasha grinned. “Exactly.”
“It works out perfectly,” Clay said. “We have one maid of honor and two best men—one for each groom.”
“That’s brilliant,” Nancy said. It didn’t surprise her in the least that the three adults would so completely include their children.
That was living and loving, Lusty style.
Eli shook Shaun Dorchester’s hand. “When you’re ready to plan the bachelor party, let me know.” He winked, and Shaun’s reaction was to snicker.
Adam and Jake Kendall arrived with a baby on each hip. Ginny had been helping out in the kitchen for a while, but planned to join her family shortly. Benny made quick work of high-fiving the men, hugging her, and then rushing off to join the Dorchester kids.
Adam shook his head as he watched his oldest son make a beeline for Bonnie Dorchester. “This crush has lasted a lot longer than I thought it would.”
“The boy’s got good taste,” Eli said. “Bonnie’s a little sweetheart.”
“She is that. At least these guys have a few long years before they get to that stage.” Jake grinned when the boy he was holding began to bounce.
“Not just yet, Marty.” Jake laughed as he tickled his son’s belly. He addressed the three of them. “That’s his signal he wants down. Once we get seated, we’ll use family to form a corral. Then these two can get down and explore some.”
“Mom says that so far, the twins are displaying personality traits of the great-grandfather for which they were not named,” Adam said. Then he focused on Eli and Jeremiah. “Have you heard anything from your boss about the investigation?”
“No. He knows we meant it when we said we wanted time off. Unless we have to testify—always a possibility—he promised to leave us out of the loop.”
Love Under Two Undercover Cops [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 28
