Chapter Four
Aiden stood near the window watching the cows in the pasture. There was a peacefulness to the view, almost relaxing in a way. They weren’t their cows, but belonged to the farmer who lived on the adjacent property. It was a deal they had worked out when they purchased the property. He could lease the land, giving his cows more room to roam, in exchange for fresh meat when he butchered an animal or during hunting season. It worked out in their benefit since none of them hunted and the land would have been unused anyway.
“Are you listening to me?” Cody sat perched on the edge of Aiden’s desk.
“Yes, I’m listening. What do you want me to say?” He still didn’t turn to look at the others, instead he kept his gaze out the window.
“Tell us you feel it too,” Cody pushed.
“Cody, you’re being too hasty about this. Step back and relax for a minute. She’s here on business. Rushing in head-first and screaming she’s the one isn’t going to make her receptive to the idea.” Kain leaned against the wall, watching them.
“What do you expect us to do then? She’s leaving in a few hours.”
“We need a game plan.” Aiden turned from the window to look back at the two men he was closest to, the ones he would spend the rest of his life with. They had become like brothers over the years, knocking sense into his thick head when he was sinking into a deep depression. If it hadn’t been for the two of them when his career ended, he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done. Football had been his life, the only real thing he focused on since he was a child, and to have it taken away from him in an instant was devastating.
At least I went out at the end of one of the best games of my life.
He shook his head, chasing away the thoughts of his past and focusing on more important things. It was time to begin building their future with the one woman who would cement them together permanently, and if they had their way, it would be Paris.
“So what’s the plan?” Cody slapped his hand down on his leg.
“We’re going to meet with her individually like she wants. Answer her questions, but also ask some of our own. We need to know more about her before we can begin convincing her. If we start now she’ll think we’re nuts, and if she leaves here with that in her mind there’s not a chance we’ll get her back here. When she leaves, I’ll take her back to the plane.”
“Aiden, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Kain pushed off the wall to turn toward him.
“I figured you wouldn’t, but you had your time with her and I think I can connect with her on the drive. If anyone has to convince her this is what we want, it’s going to be me. She’s already mentioned the media coverage.”
“They made you look like a player.” Cody shook his head. “I told you that you should have come out against that years ago.”
“They’d have focused on us.” He shrugged his shoulders, as if to convey it was a lose-lose situation. “It wasn’t easy, but neither were good options. Being a playboy in the eyes of the media seemed liked a better option at the time than having them hound us day and night trying to catch us in awkward situations.”
“It would have been bad either way, but now we’re going to have our work cut out for us.” Kain took off his cowboy hat and ran this hand through his hair before putting it back on. “I didn’t make a very good impression on her when we first met either. I was expecting Mr. Nelson, and when he didn’t show I couldn’t help but question our decision to work with the company.”
“Guess I’m the only one who doesn’t have to convince her I’m different than what she thinks.” Cody smirked.
Kain shook his head. “You’re the youngest and your boyish good looks mean you have to convince her you know what you’re doing, including tying yourself to us and a woman.”
“Why does everyone treat me like I’m a boy?” Cody stretched out his legs.
“Don’t knock it, Cody. You have the good looks that will win our woman over. Haven’t you noticed how her gaze travels back to you whenever she thinks no one is looking?”
“He’s right,” Aiden said. “Which is why you’re going to talk to her first. Diane will serve the two of you lunch while you’re answering whatever questions she has for you. We’ll eat in here and whenever you’re done Kain will be next. I’m sure she’s going to have the most questions for me, therefore it will take more time and maybe she’ll be able to eliminate some of the questions after talking to the two of you. I’ll meet with her last.”
“I’d say you just want to spend all your time with her.” Cody stood. “While I’m gone I don’t want either of you to worry, I’ll smooth the way for you. When I’m done she’ll want us as much as we want her.”
“Don’t lay it on too heavy,” Aiden warned while he watched him stroll from the room. Then he turned to Kain. “You know he’s going to be overzealous.”
“He always is, which is why he works well with us.” Kain took a seat in one of the leather chairs across from Aiden’s desk. “You know, Paris being the one for us is only going to bring more attention to the situation. Her family is in the center of this new trend, and Beyond Monogamy is getting a lot of attention—both good and bad. It’s going to give us twice the media attention.”
“I had thought about that, but if she’s the one it will be worth it.” Aiden sat down behind his desk. “Before my mother died she told me that when the right woman came into my life I’d know it.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I’m not sure I ever believed her, but when I saw Paris walk into my office I knew she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I just hoped you and Cody would feel the same way. Everything else will fall into place, it has to.”
His words made him sound so sure, but everything inside of him was turning. He hadn’t been this nervous or anxious when he began playing pro-football. Now he sat before one of his best friends wondering how they were going to make this work, because he knew the woman in the other room wasn’t going to make things easy for them. There was something about her that screamed she wasn’t looking for anything serious, and even if she was it wouldn’t be them.
Don’t worry, darling, I’m going to convince you otherwise.
Paris stared down at the notebook on the table and wondered why she’d even pulled it out again. It wasn’t like she had written anything in it yet. Even when she talked to them as a group, she hadn’t added anything to the notebook, but she had no doubt she’d remember it. These guys were going to stick with her long after she found them a wife. The bond was stronger between them than anyone else she’d worked for in the past.
A bond like that is what I want when I marry. She leaned back in her chair and let her thoughts roam. Marriage, commitment, and love were things she wanted, but she had always put finding partners for others above her own needs. There was always a concern she wouldn’t find what she was looking for, someone who would understand the family’s company meant everything to her. She wouldn’t just step away from it, or limit the clients she took on. It wasn’t about the fame or the money, what kept her going was the joy she experienced when she saw her matches work out.
That’s why she continued her work, even when the publicity was at its worse. The things the media had said about her and the rest of the family stung even if she knew it wasn’t true. The people closest to them knew the truth and had ignored the media’s comments. She shook her head, not wanting to travel down the road to those memories. She had learned long ago that it wasn’t worth getting upset over what they printed about her and the rest of the family.
“Are you ready for me?” Cody stood in the doorway.
“Yes.” She nodded to the chair across the table from her. “Please sit.”
“Diane will be serving lunch while we talk, if that’s okay with you. She’s an amazing cook.” He took the seat across from her, watching her closely.
“That will be nice, thank you.” She sat up straighter in her chair, unsure if she was uneasy because of
his penetrating gaze or because of where her thoughts had been before he came into the dining room. “I’ll cut straight to it. How old are you, Cody?”
“Your research didn’t tell you that?” He raised an eyebrow. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe you didn’t do the background checks on all of us just as Kain did when you arrived.”
“I know what the file says but I want to hear it from you.”
“Thirty-two.” He paused as Diane placed lunch on the table.
“Burgundy wine chicken breast marinated and served over fresh vegetables,” she said, her voice soft and melodic. “I hope you enjoy.”
“It looks delicious. Thank you.” Paris smiled at Diane before the older woman scurried back to the kitchen.
“Can we get back to my age since you seem to have an issue with it?”
“I asked your age because I wasn’t sure I could believe the number in my file. You look younger and I wanted to make sure.”
“So, because I look young you think I don’t know what I’m getting myself into?” He took a bite of the chicken, his gaze fixed on her.
“Aiden is thirty-five and Kain thirty-six, I just want to make sure you’re ready for what you’re getting yourself into. A relationship like this can be harder at times, more problems when starting out. You’re not just working with one person and dealing with their needs or wants. Instead there’s going to be four of you working together, and that will cause more problems until each of you learn to handle it.”
“Aiden, Kain, and I already know that. We’ve lived together long enough to have worked out some of these issues. I understand that by adding another person into the mix, especially a woman, a whole new set of problems could develop. Haven’t you ever wanted something you just knew was right? That’s how all of us feel about this.” He sat his fork aside and leaned forward. “We’re not doing this because it’s the popular thing. We are doing this because it’s what we believe in, what we want.”
“You said why the three of you are doing it but why are you personally interested in this? You could have any woman you wanted, why would you want to share one with two others that you have no sexual relations with?”
“That’s a good question.” He took another bite of his lunch before answering. “My father died when I was young, leaving my mother and me alone. I had just turned sixteen and suddenly I was the man of the house. I gave up sports and everything else to take over the ranch. I was up before the sun, did the chores before school, then after school I rushed home to finish what I didn’t get done that morning. There was no time for anything else. I barely graduated because I was too exhausted to deal with school after working on the ranch all evening. I’d fall into bed and sleep like the dead until my alarm went off.”
When he paused, she stopped mid-bite and looked at him. “I’m not sure that answers my question.”
“If it hadn’t been for my mother’s health and then Aiden’s job offer, I’d have kept the ranch. Now I have a little piece of it here with me. The horses, the riding school, and the work I do with the underprivileged children in the area.” He paused and took a drink of the iced tea Diane had brought out earlier. “If something happened to me, I don’t want to leave my children and wife alone. I want them to have people like Aiden and Kain. They might not have the interest in the horses, and that’s fine, they could close up shop or hire a ranch hand. What is important is that there’s someone there for my wife and children. Unlike when it was Mom and me, we were alone. I don’t want that so that’s one of the reasons I chose this.”
“One of the reasons?”
“I knew you’d ask about that the moment I said it.” He smirked. “I’ve seen Kain’s family. The love he has for both of his fathers and his mother. There’s also a strong connection between each of the parents that I want to have. Aiden’s mother died before I came into the picture but I’ve heard of the joys he had growing up with his two mothers and father. That’s the family I want my children raised in.”
“Family seems important to you.”
“It is. I want a few children. At least one of each but I’ll take what my wife will give me and what we’re blessed with.”
“Have the three of you discussed children? Do the others feel the same way about having them?” She cut more of the chicken into bite size pieces while she watched the joy of the idea of children spread across his face.
“That was covered and we all want kids. Each of us have our own strengths, so we want to teach our children what we know and believe in. I think that will give them a stronger upbringing than I ever had.”
She took another bite of chicken before setting her fork aside. “I’d say there was nothing better than growing up with three parents. I spent most of my time with Mom in the kitchen, but London was always out with one of our dads throwing the ball around. I got plenty of attention from my dads. I just never had much interest in sports. Instead, they taught me self-defense, gun safety, and martial arts. Things I could use to protect myself and in the end that was more valuable than learning to throw a baseball.”
“Oh, a girl who can take care of herself, I like that.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Is that why you’re without guards?”
“Why would you think I travel with guards?” She tried to brush it off without going into details, but the smirk on his face told her it wouldn’t be that easy.
“We’ve all done our research and I know your family has received death threats. Last week there was an attack at Mathew’s law office. Are you really going to try to tell me you don’t have a group of your own guards?”
“You’re right, I do, but they didn’t come on this journey. Only Jake—our pilot who’s waiting for me at the jet—and I made this trip due to the delicate nature of this situation. As I told Kain on our way here, I’m not some helpless woman. I can take care of myself if it comes to it.” She took a drink of her tea and tried to regain her control of the situation. She was supposed to be questioning him, not the other way around. “Since one of you were supposed to pick me up at the landing strip, and when I return home my guards will be waiting there to make sure I make it safely home, there was nothing to worry about.”
“If you say so.” He shrugged and popped a piece of broccoli into his mouth.
“How did you know about the attack at the law office? We kept that very quiet and it never made the news.”
“Aiden has his ways, but you’d have to ask him about them. I just heard about the attack when we were discussing the company and your father. Were they able to determine if it was based on the case he’s working on, or because of his stance on this lifestyle?”
She pushed her plate aside. No matter how delicious the food was, she’d suddenly lost her appetite. The attack on her father’s law office had shaken the family to the core. They had known it was dangerous for them before, but this had brought it home because one of their close friends suffered burns on his arms and chest from being in the way when the Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think before—”
She held up a hand to stop him. “There’s nothing to apologize for. If you’re concerned that having Beyond Monogamy find you a match will bring danger to yourself and the others, I can’t put your mind at ease. The laws are still new and people are still fighting or protesting them. Some of them might take more physical actions to anyone known to be committed to more than one person. That is something all three of you need to consider.”
“That’s not why I asked.” He leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. “I asked because I care if people are putting you and your loved ones in harm’s way. No one deserves to live in fear, no matter how they choose to live their life.”
“It’s been a part of my life for so long I don’t know if I remember how to live without being on constant guard. The only time I feel completely safe is when I’m home because it’s like a fortress and there’s little chance anyone could penetrate it without inside hel
p. The guards we’ve hired add an additional layer of security.”
“Aiden has had his share of irate fans but our home has never been a prison. We’ve never had to live with the constant fear your family does, and we’ve never had to have bodyguards follow us when we go out. Due to some issues, we prefer that Aiden doesn’t leave our home alone often, but that’s for his safety. Once this comes out it could be more dangerous for him but we’ll take our chances.”
“Irate fans? What kind of danger is Aiden in? Has he received threats from people?”
“There have been threats, minor to extreme, but no attempts on our home or his life if that’s what you’re concerned about.” He paused as Diane cleaned up their plates before continuing. “There are fans who haven’t been too happy that he’s retired, others who disagree with his business decisions. In life, you can’t please everyone so it’s best to do what’s right for you. He’s done just that.”
She nodded and decided it was time to steer the conversation back on track so she could get to the other two and back to the plane before nightfall. “That’s good advice, and something you should remember once I find you a spouse. The four of you are going to have to work together and be damned if you let the world stop you.”
Coming into this meeting with Cody, he had been the one she was the most unsure about. His appearance made him seem younger than the others, and she had worries that they might be leading him into something they wanted without considering his feelings. For a relationship like this to work, it had to be something they all wanted and it appeared she had him all wrong.
She’d thought he was the one who would want it the least, but his reasons for wanting this relationship to work were the strongest. First impressions weren’t always right and he had proven that. Actually, they were all proving it.
Chapter Five
Aiden had tried to busy himself with the work that needed his attention, investment decisions Kain was waiting for and other busy work, but his thoughts were on Paris. He hadn’t expected the woman they’d been waiting for to walk through his front door, but there was an instant connection between them he wouldn’t have believed possible if he hadn’t felt it within every cell of his body.
Theirs to Treasure (Beyond Monogamy Book 1) Page 4
