“I didn’t say anything. She just got a little emotional about a decision she has to make.”
“What decision?” Damon demanded.
“I’ll let her explain.” She moved to pat Mari on the back, but Damon stepped in her line, and her friend chuckled. “Call if you need anything.”
* * * *
She left them alone. Mari could hear the voices of the others attending the Christmas Eve celebration and the music from the stereo. But neither man said a word.
She pulled herself out of Alex’s arms, immediately regretting the loss of heat. Not to mention she didn’t want to face the guys after being so weepy. Men did not like weepy women.
“What’s she talking about, Mari?” Alex asked.
She looked from one to the other, but it was hard to tell what they were thinking.
“They asked me to come here and handle the food and beverage of the new business they want to build.”
The beat of silence was very telling. Neither of them looked very happy about it.
“When were you going to tell us?” Damon asked, his tone angry.
“I hadn’t decided just yet. I was trying to call my mother, but she isn’t answering. I told her a couple days ago, but now I can’t get a hold of her.”
“You called your mother and you didn’t tell us?” Alex asked, and he sounded more hurt than mad.
“I wanted to give her a heads-up. You know my mother. She can’t handle changing her hair color, let alone her baby girl moving to Hawaii.”
“And you were just going to do it, not tell us?” Alex asked.
“No, I was going to talk to you, but I hadn’t decided.”
“Of course you have. You were just along for fun, huh? Nothing but two willing guys to fuck,” Damon ground out. She couldn’t seem to grasp what was happening. Why the hell was he so angry? Why did they just assume that she was leaving without them?
“I am not going to take that kind of tone from you, Damon. You always assume the worst.”
There was a loud noise, people talking, shouting, and then the door burst open. A very harried Sophia almost stumbled into the room.
“You are going to die when you see who just showed up.”
She frowned but allowed her friend to tug her by the hand out of the room. Anything was better than having the two men she loved mad at her. When she stepped into the living room, though, she wanted to go hide. Her parents stood surrounded by the guests for the night.
“Maribelle, I have come for answers,” her mother said.
Stunned, she could barely take in the scene. Her brain wasn’t working, so she asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”
She thought she heard someone laugh, pretty sure it was one of Eddie’s husbands, but she ignored them.
“Alex? Damon? Are you going to talk some sense into her? My baby is trying to leave DC.”
“She just told us about it,” Damon said. “I think it is a horrible idea.”
Her mother smiled. “See, your best friend says to stay in DC.”
She tossed Damon a look, and he gave her an equally nasty one. When she turned around she looked at her father first, who was eying the two men behind her. She realized then they had moved in behind her, as if to back her up. Anyone with any sense would see it as more territorial than just being a friend.
And now she knew what she had to do. She had to tell her parents, and all the people in the world who were important to her, just what these men were to her. She also had to ask them the thing she had been afraid to do. It was now or never, and Maribelle was sick of living in purgatory. She wanted a taste of freedom and heaven.
“Damon isn’t just my friend, Mom.”
Her mother looked past Maribelle’s shoulder at Damon, then back at Maribelle. “I don’t understand.”
“Damon came here with Alex, and well, I was going to ask them to move here with me.”
“What? You want to live with two gay men?”
She sighed. “They aren’t gay. I want them to live with me. As my husbands.”
She glanced at her father, who gave her a nod. Well, that was beyond odd. She didn’t think a man would be happy to know his daughter had become a sex toy for two men.
The scary part came next. She turned to face her lovers and saw them looking at her. Their faces had no expressions.
“Okay, so apparently I’m into big scenes at family functions, but I was planning on asking you this. I know it might not be what you want, and it might have just been a fling for you two. But my plan was to see if you wanted to live here with me. They always need willing workers in your fields here, and you could get a job fast. I want to be with you, but I can’t do it in DC. I want to stay here, in Hawaii. With you.”
Alex swallowed. “You’re serious?”
She nodded, and he gave her a smile as he leaned forward to brush his mouth over her cheek. “I love you, Mari.”
When he stepped back, Damon was still staring at her. “What the hell, Mari?”
She settled her hands on her hips. “Do not take that tone with me. Since Alex is coming, then you have to come. You have no choice.”
“You ruined our surprise.” He glanced at his friend. “I told you we should have said something earlier, but no, we had to wait. Then, look what she does. If I didn’t love you so much, I think I might just beat you.”
Before she could comprehend what he had said, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a loud, smacking kiss. “Say it,” he ordered.
She looked at him then looked at Alex. “I love you both.”
Damon bent his head to kiss her again, but her father cleared his throat. She turned around as Alex stepped up on the other side of her. He slid his hand around her waist as Damon took her hand.
Her father had always been the calm in the Sawyer storm of her house. If she disappointed him, it would hurt her more than she could probably stand. But she couldn’t live without Alex and Damon.
“What?” she asked.
His lips twitched. “Do they make you happy, Maribelle?”
Tears clouded her vision, and she tried to blink them away. “More than I can say.”
He gave both her lovers a look, and they did step back. He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. “That’s all I ever wanted for you, honey.”
Relief swept through her as she stepped back and looked at her mother.
“We’ll work on your mother.”
Then he looked at the two men behind her. “Make her cry, and I can bury your body where it will never be found.”
She laughed as the Akaka family took over, pulling her parents into the kitchen for the Christmas Eve celebration. She moved to follow, but Damon grabbed a hold of her hand. She looked at his solemn expression. “I’m sorry for what I said in there.”
“Oh, you didn’t mean it. Damon, the one thing I know about you is when you mean something. It hurts to hear, but I know now you were hurt, too.”
He nodded.
“Just don’t let him get away with that shit,” Alex said.
She laughed as she slipped her arms around each of their waists. “Well, there is one thing I do have over him.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life, so I have a lot of time to make you pay.”
Both men sobered. First Damon turned her toward him and kissed her, then Alex. “We love you, Mari.”
“Thank you for spending the rest of your life with us,” Alex added.
Again, the tears came, but she ignored them. “So, why don’t we get that life started?” she asked.
“Anything you say, Mari,” Damon said as the three of them walked toward the laughter and into the rest of their lives together.
THE END
MELISSASCHROEDER.NET
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born to an Air Force family at an Army hospital, Melissa has always been a little bit screwy. She was further warped by her years of watching Monty Python and her strange f
amily. Her love of romance novels developed after accidentally picking up a Linda Howard book. After becoming hooked, she read close to 300 novels in one year, deciding that romance was her true calling instead of the literary short stories and suspenses she had been writing. After many attempts, she realized that romantic comedy, or at least romance with a comedic edge, was where she was destined to be. Since her first release in 2004, Melissa has had close to 30 short stories, novellas, and novels released with seven different publishers in a variety of genres and time periods.
Since she was a military brat, she vowed never to marry military. Alas, Fate always has her way with mortals. Her husband is an Air Force major, and together they have their own military brats, two girls, and they live wherever the military sticks them. Which, she is sure, will always involve heat and bugs only seen on the Animal Discovery Channel. In her spare time, she reads, complains about bugs, travels, cooks, reads some more, watches her DVD collections of Arrested Development and Seinfeld, and tries to convince her family that she truly is a delicate genius. She has yet to achieve her last goal.
She has always believed that romance and humor go hand in hand. Love can conquer all, and as Mark Twain said, “Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” Combining the two, she hopes she gives her readers a thrilling love story, filled with chuckles along the way, and a happily-ever-after finish.
Also by Melissa Schroeder
Ménage Amour: Texas Temptations 1: Conquering India
Ménage Amour: Texas Temptations 2: Delilah’s Downfall
Ménage Amour: Hawaiian Holidays 1: Mele Kalikimaka, Baby
Ménage Amour: Hawaiian Holidays 2: Sex on the Beach
Siren LoveXtreme Forever: Great Wolves of Passion, Alaska 1:
Seducing Their Mate
Siren LoveXtreme Forever: Great Wolves of Passion, Alaska 2:
The Alpha’s Fall
Siren LoveXtreme Forever: Great Wolves of Passion, Alaska 3:
Convincing Ethan
Siren LoveXtreme Forever: Great Wolves of Passion, Alaska 4:
Shane’s Need
Siren LoveXtreme Forever: Great Wolves of Passion, Alaska 5:
Rand’s Craving
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Schroeder, Melissa - Getting Lei'd [Hawaiian Holidays 3] (Siren Publishing PolyAmour) Page 7
