A Santini Christmas

by Melissa Schroeder

  She cleared her throat and readied herself for battle. “I wasn’t planning on coming over anytime soon. I was just there six weeks ago for your wedding.”

  No matter how much she wanted to run away from the office and her personal infatuation with Rory and Zeke, she would not use a trip to Hawaii to get away. Which, even as she thought it, made her crazy. Insane. Bonkers. Any sane woman would do it without much thought. She had gone over the edge.

  And that is what those two had done to her. They had pushed her to the point that she was turning down vacations from her brother.

  “I need someone who is good at being a nerd and it comes to you naturally.”

  Most people would be upset with that comment, but not Maura. She was a nerd and proud of it. It was one of the many things Conner had taught her. On top of it, she knew he was lying.

  “First, you’re lying. Big lying, but I love you for it so okay, I’ll come see you and Jillian.”

  “And I want Rory and Zeke with you.”

  That made her to pause. Going to Hawaii would be a great escape. She could forget her problems; spend some time recharging her brain. Bringing the source of her problem with her wouldn’t give her a break. Her concentration was already shot and now she had to deal with them dressed in trunks and all oiled up? She shivered.

  “But who will run the office?” she asked.

  “Jennifer is well trained and former FBI. I’m sending a few of the new hires from here to be trained in the office with her.”

  Which made sense, but it didn’t explain why she needed to be in Hawaii. Maura knew she could definitely help with that and keeping the office running while Jennifer was training. Maura could also help with part of the training.

  “The Petersen case is going to trial next week. Don’t you think one of us should be here?”

  “No. The federal prosecutor said he didn’t need you. Which is for the best.”

  She frowned. She didn’t think so. They did all the legwork and found out that Petersen had been funneling millions of dollars through the company he was CFO for. The owner had thought there was something hinky, so he brought Dillon Securities in to look it over.

  They just didn’t know Petersen had been working for the Columbians.

  “Are you trying to get me out of the country?”

  “Hawaii is part of the country. And when you get here, you would be smart to remember that.”

  She rolled her eyes. Conner had become more Kama’aina than Jillian who had lived there for a several years. Heck, he even took off early every Friday to celebrate Aloha Fridays. That was so not like Conner—and she was glad for it. Jillian had definitely loosened her brother up. Before falling for her best friend, Conner had been uptight—and he still was to a point. But now he had someone to tell him to take a break when he got too intense.

  “Sure, sure. But, why do Rory and Zeke need to come with me?” she asked and then cringed at the whiny tone in her voice. It was worse that she didn’t know what her brother’s motives were. There were times she knew him better than she knew herself, but lately, he’d been acting very un-Conner like. If he wanted to talk about feelings, there was something very wrong. The idea that she had to spend a week with them in Hawaii didn’t appeal. Okay, that was a lie. It did. But in the wrong way.

  “Because they are associated with the case too. It would be best if you three are unreachable.”

  “So, Hawaii isn’t connected to the rest of the world? I think the Hawaiians would be more pissed about your comments than some stupid haole tourist made.” she asked.

  He ignored her question. “And, there’s that house I rented for us during the wedding crap—”

  “Oh, how I love to hear my husband say our wedding was crap,” Jillian said in the background. The amusement in her voice had Maura smiling.

  “Now you did it, Conner. And I’m not helping you with Jillian.”

  He grunted and Maura imagined that Jillian had plopped down on his lap. It was something that she did on a regular basis.

  “I don’t need help with Jillian. I can handle her all on my own.”

  The tone in his voice left little to figure out just what he was talking about.

  “Ugh, ew. I am going to bleach my brain after that image suggestion.”

  He chuckled. “It’s your fault. You sent me over here.”

  “Okay, moving onto other things, you said you had the house that you rented?”

  “Yes. I found out someone backed out of the week’s rent for it, and I jumped on it. Use the jet.”

  She wanted to argue with him, just for the fact that she didn’t want to be with the two men while they were together. Zeke and she had mutually decided he could not give her what she needed, so they had split. It was hard enough working together, but seeing him with his old lover Rory, knowing the two of them were living together now, was a little too much to take. Worse, she was attracted to both of the men. Having them in the same house, day in and day out, might just be the death of any sanity she had left.

  Before she could talk to Conner about not inviting the guys, Zeke walked through her office door, and of course, Rory followed behind him.

  “Has Conner talked to you about this trip?” she asked.

  “No I haven’t,” Conner said on the phone.

  “Trip?” Zeke asked, his brow furrowing.

  “Let me talk to him,” Conner said.

  “No. I’ll tell him.”

  She didn’t need her brother sniffing out her mood with Zeke. Both men were relentless and they would badger her. At least in Hawaii, she could ignore them and enjoy the sunshine. Not to mention, a trip to Rough ‘n Ready would help.

  “Maura—”

  “Love you,” she said and hung up.

  She took a second to gather her composure. Maura had found it best when confronted by the dual assault of having both Rory and Zeke in the room to be prepared. If she didn’t, her tongue stuck to the top of her mouth. When she felt she was ready to address them and not drool on herself, she looked at them.

  “He wants us to be in Hawaii when the trial starts.”

  The men shared a glance. It irritated her on some level she didn’t completely understand. What was she thinking? Of course she understood. It made her feel small and petty but she seemed unable to move past it. She hated they knew each other so well a glance was all they needed to communicate. Worse, she hated being jealous of it. She was envious of their intimacy and their secrets. It would be bad enough if she was just hot for one of them, but both of them had her hot.

  Both of them—and that was the problem.

  She was definitely mental. What sane woman would be envious of two men who obviously have the hots for each other?

  What made it even crappier were the dreams she had started having about both of them. It was disturbing her sleep and now disrupting her work. That was not good. Going to Hawaii was going to make it worse—unless she could find herself a Dom to play with while she was there. It might help her work out the demons that seemed to be chasing her for the last few months.

  She glanced at Zeke and tried to keep her mind on the conversation. It was hard to do because the man was beyond gorgeous. What made him even more tempting was the fact that he didn’t see himself as attractive. His mother was Haitian and his father had been Irish, and both of them were easy to see in his character and his looks—not to mention his voice. His skin was dark brown, his eyes the color of milk chocolate and he had the body of a tough Irish fighter. All sculpted muscles and that stiff upper lip. Now that he had shaved his head and grown a goatee, he was even sexier. He was often times too serious, but maybe that is what appealed to her. He was hot and smart, two things that weren’t always easy to find.

  “Maura?” he asked, those dangerous lips turning down.

  She pushed those thoughts aside. Thinking about his lips wasn’t something she should do. Especially since Rory was now in the picture.

  “As I said, he wants us there. It is kind of o
dd, but then, I can work on computer stuff there with no problem.”

  “And you agree with it?” Zeke asked.

  She didn’t really pay attention to the question. He had a baritone voice with that Irish lilt to it that just made her melt. She could remember hearing it first thing in the morning after their first night together.

  “Uh, no. I would rather stay here because I have a load of work to do, but he wants us there. I will adjust. He’s using the lame excuse that he needs us there and he’s sending new hires for the upcoming Honolulu office here to be trained.”

  “That’s actually a good idea,” Rory said.

  She forced herself to look away from Zeke to Rory. An Irishman himself, Rory was what most people would call black Irish. Dark hair, blue eyes, and a lanky muscular build made him a treat for the eyes, and she had been dying for a bite. He was unconventional in every way. He had dyed some of his hair blond, probably just because he wanted to. The tats made him stand out even today when everyone seemed to be getting one. She had only seen glimpses of them because apparently, Rory liked to have his tats in naughty places.

  He had a quick temper and she had often wondered if that is why he got into BDSM. Zeke had said when they were younger that Rory had learned to control it.

  They were opposites in a lot of ways. Zeke thought through everything. And, that is one of the reasons she had been sure he was a Dom. When she had found out he wasn’t, even after he tried to play a bit, she had been disappointed. But, apparently, that was Rory in some capacity—from the rumors she heard.

  Zeke was good at looking at the positive things and making the best. Rory had a jaundiced view of life that she truly appreciated. The few times he had been around her without Zeke, his sarcastic comments had gotten a chuckle from her.

  And sadly, she wanted them both. But they were apparently interested only in each other.

  “So, he thinks we can’t protect you?” Rory asked with a sarcastic tone.

  “I can protect myself, thank you very much,” she said watching him settle in the chair in front of her desk and then lift his feet to the edge. “Feet off, McAllister.”

  Rory gave her a sweet smile, although there was nothing sweet behind it, and did as she ordered. She had a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to women telling him what to do.

  Zeke ignored the byplay. He crossed his arms and looked down at her. “Did he hear something about the Alvarez family?” he asked. Of course, Zeke would think of the case first.

  “No. But he just thinks it would be best if we were gone. And you know Conner. If he has decided we need to be gone, that’s the end of the discussion. He rented that house he had for the wedding.”

  “That sounds like a brilliant plan,” Rory said. “Are we taking the jet?”

  “Yes.”

  Zeke opened his mouth to ask another question but she had too much to worry about. And she needed them out of her office right now. The combination of sexy men was starting to give her the vapors.

  “Call Conner and ask him anything. I am assuming we are leaving tomorrow morning. Can you boys be ready by then?”

  “I’ve been ready for months, love,” Rory said with one of those cute lopsided smiles that made her insides quiver. But she ignored it. Or pretended to. He had been saying things like that the last few weeks and completely confusing her. It was as if he was flirting with her and she didn’t get it. She didn’t have the time to even think about it.

  Zeke did not like it from the look on his face. He gave Rory a warning glance, and said, “What else do you have on your agenda today? It’s almost five.”

  “I’m going to meet with Jennifer. She needs to take over my meetings if I am going to be gone next week.”

  Rory nodded. “Right-o. I have a few calls to make too. Your brother doesn’t like to plan ahead.”

  She laughed. “If you knew Conner before Jillian, you would never say that. But this was planned. He checked out the house, probably offered an obscene amount for it, and then worked it out with Margerie. He plans, but he likes to pretend he doesn’t.”

  “And you let him do this?” Rory asked.

  “I don’t let Conner do anything. But, when all you have is each other, you learn to allow for your eccentricities.”

  She started to pull up some files on her computer. After a few moments, they were still there, both staring at her. She sighed.

  “Go away.”

  Zeke opened his mouth but Rory chuckled. “Let’s go, Zee. The lady has work to do. Let us know if you need anything.”

  Rory stood and headed to the door. With a worried glance in her direction, Zeke followed Rory out the door. When it clicked shut, she leaned back in her seat and growled. She couldn’t stop herself. It was impossible. Every single day she had to deal with them and every single day she felt as itchy from the inside out. Worse, she had an idea that neither of them had any idea what they did to her. Zeke knew she loved him. They were going to drive her crazy. She needed to find herself a man in Hawaii and ignore the two men who had been driving her crazy.

  She closed her eyes. If only she could listen to her common sense, she would be able to do it. Unfortunately, her common sense seemed to be on a holiday. The only thing that she could think was how much fun it would be to play with both Rory and Zeke.

  She was doomed.

  “You want to tell me what that was about in there, Rory?” Zeke asked as they walked down the hall to where their offices were located.

  “What do you mean?” Rory asked. His attempt to sound innocent failed, at least with Zeke. Most people would never guess just how devious the man truly was.

  “You questioning Maura about her brother like that.” He didn’t like it. He knew that Rory was planning something and it wasn’t going to be good. Whenever Rory got crazy plans in his head, Zeke was always left cleaning up the mess and dealing with heartache.

  “Nothing. Just wondered why she would do it for him. She’s a workaholic.”

  That much was true, but it didn’t sound like a reason Rory would be curious about something like that. He hated to admit it but Rory could be superficial with people in his life. Not the ones that mattered, but when it came to acquaintances, he kept everything on the surface. “But she loves Hawaii and a chance to see him, she will do anything.”

  They reached Zeke’s office first and he stepped in his mind on the plans for the flight. He would have to make sure to get ahold of Michaels and tell him of the switch of staff on the job, although Conner probably already did, cheeky bastard.

  “I get that. It’s unnatural.”

  Zeke shook his head. Of course Rory would think that. With his fucked up family, Zeke understood why he never wanted to see them…or talk to them.

  “To you and me, maybe. To them, no. They have always had each other’s back. It’s kind of heartwarming to see the way they look out for each other.”

  Rory said nothing as he leaned against the doorjamb.

  “What?” Zeke asked.

  “You have that tone in your voice when you talk about her. It’s the same one I heard last year when you were involved with her.”

  Zeke bit back a sigh. He settled in the chair and looked at his oldest friend and lover. They had known each other for so long, it was hard to remember a time when they hadn’t been together...or on each other’s mind. Zeke had known that Rory hadn’t been really happy about his relationship with Maura. It was hard to make someone understand his position.

  “She wanted things I couldn’t give her.”

  He hated to admit it, but that was the truth of the matter. He had never felt like such a loser as when he realized that he could not be the man she wanted in the bedroom. They might not be together anymore, but just being near her made him feel better. It was pathetic to even admit that to himself, but it was the truth. He might have allowed her freedom from their relationship, but he couldn’t get her out of his head…or his heart.

  Zeke could tell his honesty did not sit well with Rory. But t
hey had promised each other that this time they would be honest. He loved Maura, maybe as much as he loved Rory. And, his heart still hurt when he thought about the night Maura and he realized it would never work.

  “What kind of things?”

  Zeke glanced over Rory’s shoulder and saw Denise the office manager standing there. Six feet tall and plastic surgery perfect, she smiled at Rory. He smiled back, but Zeke felt no jealousy. She wasn’t his type.

  Maura was.

  “Hey, Denise, did you need something?”

  “No, I just wanted to leave these with you. They need to be signed by the end of the month.” She slinked in and handed him the forms. She gave him a smile that he knew was an invitation. It was no secret he and Rory were involved. Worse, people had heard the rumors that they sometimes brought a woman into their bed. When that had made its way around the office, he had to deal with women who wanted to experiment.

  One hard and fast rule that he and Conner both believed in was not fucking the help.

  “Thanks. I have to make a few calls before six tonight.”

  “Oh,” She said. “Have fun in Hawaii.”

  With that she left them alone. Rory stepped into the room and closed the door.

  “What was it Maura wanted?”

  He should have known Rory wouldn’t let it go. “She’s a sub. You know I don’t do that.”

  He was busy looking over the papers Denise just gave to him, but when the silence extended, he looked up. The interest on Rory’s face was enough to make him want to curse. Dammit.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you don’t like her. Admit it, you never spend time with her alone.”

  He shrugged. “I got the vibe that she didn’t want to have much to do with me once I moved here. I figured she was jealous of me.”

  He had known she was hurt when Rory had come back into his life, but it had been almost a year that they had called off their relationship. Still every now and then he would catch her looking at him with something akin to longing in her gaze. It made working with her very hard because he couldn’t help wanting her.

  Zeke walked to his desk. Rory hadn’t liked her because Zeke had told him about their relationship. But, now, he might be changing his mind.