Reese carefully helped him off Mati’s cock and laid him down on the bed with gentle kisses to his cheeks, eyelids, and mouth. He told David he was beautiful and told him what an amazing job he’d done.
David barely registered the frantic tearing of Velcro straps a moment before Reese was tackled onto his back beside David and Mati was straddling him. David stared, the fog of arousal still thick in his head, as Reese grabbed her hips and she sat on his cock. Mati threw her head back, their cries and gasps frantic as they moved against each other, with each other.
“Fuck, I love you so much,” Mati groaned.
Reese’s eyes widened, his hand slipping between their bodies, making Mati moan louder. She went first, her orgasm a series of whimpers as Reese’s hips snapped up, his fingers denting her hip until her skin turned white. Reese threw his head back and roared.
David watched them, his heart full. His body sated. He drifted, brushing his hands over them, feeling theirs on him. They crawled to him, around him, cleaning him up and tucking him in between them.
They each kissed him goodnight. Wished him sweet dreams.
David smiled, knowing they might not be, but certain that would be okay, too.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mati waved to Reese and David sitting in the car at the curb, stepped through the front door of her parents’ house, and locked it behind her. It had taken fifteen minutes of arguing to get David and Reese to agree this was a conversation she could have by herself. The last thing she needed was to introduce both men to her mother and have her wondering the whole time if Mati was dating one of them.
Or worse, figuring out that she was in a relationship with them both.
They hadn’t yet had to hide the intimacy growing between them, and Mati hated that eventually they’d have to. Probably soon.
She kept her cell phone in hand, ready for a call or text if there was an issue, including if David or Reese saw even one hair on Frankie’s head from a quarter mile off.
“Mom?” she called as she went toward the back of the house.
“In here,” her mom replied, and Mati knew she was sitting at the table in the sunny back corner of the kitchen.
What Mati wasn’t expecting was for there to be coffee and fresh cinnamon rolls, still steaming on the plate between her mother and the empty chair across from her.
Mati loved her mother’s cinnamon rolls. And her mother knew it.
Something was definitely wrong.
Mati slid into her seat and poured herself some coffee, savoring the rich flavor from the percolating carafe her mother had brought from her grandmother’s kitchen in the Azores. Cinnamon and butter teased her over the dark roast. She lasted all of ten seconds before she was reaching for a roll.
She studied her mom while she peeled open the hot pastry and let butter melt along the dark cinnamon streaks. Her mom looked unhappy and pale, her eyes puffy like she’d been crying. She kept glancing around the house, as if checking to make sure everything was where it should be.
“Okay, Mom, what’s wrong?” Mati said, trying to keep her tone soft but starting to freak out. Her mom was old fashioned and didn’t understand Mati, but she was tough as nails. Mati had never seen her like this.
“I’m not supposed to tell you,” she replied, suddenly intently focused on her coffee.
“But you’re going to. And I’m going to help, anyway I can.”
“There isn’t anything you can do.” She sighed. “Your father says we have to sell the house.”
The words were like a kick in the chest. “You what?” Mati couldn’t imagine her mother leaving this house, this kitchen. It was wrong.
Her mother looked away, her jaw working.
“I thought the plan was for you and Dad to stay here, in the house, so the boys and I can take care of you.”
Her mother nodded stiffly. “That was the plan. Now we’re moving in with Michael,” she said, her voice wavering.
“Michael?” Mati blinked at her mother. “My brother? Or your brother?”
“Your brother, of course. I’m hardly going to move to Ottawa at this age,” her mother sniffed, as if the very suggestion were more ridiculous than the idea of selling the house she loved. Not two years ago they’d renovated the master bathroom so there would be a chair and handrails in the shower when the time came that they were needed. Now she was going to move into a three bedroom with Michael, his wife, and their two kids?
Mati narrowed her eyes and bit into her cinnamon roll, welcoming the sugar rushing into her system. She’d take any fortification she could get.
She took her time chewing and swallowing. “It’s the business, isn’t it?”
Her mother sighed. “I’m not supposed to tell you.”
“Like you weren’t going to tell me you’re selling the house? It’s not like I wouldn’t have noticed, for god’s sake.”
“Language, Tilly,” her mother said with a repressive look.
Mati bit back her retort, reminding herself that her mother wanted to tell her what was going on, and Mati needed to know. She wasn’t going to let her idiot brothers take this house from their mom.
“What did they do?”
“Now, Tilly, it’s not for us—”
“Mom.”
Her mother sighed. “I don’t know who did what. Your father is working full time again, so maybe it’s on him, too.”
Mati sent her mother a dubious look.
Her mother frowned. “All I know is they’ve hired new, cheaper drivers and let the men who have been with us for decades go, after all they’ve done for this family and that company.” Her mother’s eyes filled with tears.
That explained how Frankie had been hired—though it didn’t excuse it one iota—and why her brothers were driving routes for the first time in years.
Mati shook her head in dismay. “It sounds bad, that’s for sure. But why do you have to sell the house?”
Her mother looked down at her hands, and Mati was one hundred percent certain whatever her mother was about to say was going to piss her off.
“Your father gave your brothers our retirement savings and took out a second mortgage. It was supposed to help them turn it around.”
Mati stood so fast her chair screeched across the floor. “He did what?”
“You heard me,” her mother said quietly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mati’s hands were shaking, she was so angry.
“Your father doesn’t have to run his decisions past you,” her mother said sharply.
Right. She only got to hear about it when they came back to bite them all in the ass.
She racked her brain, trying to figure out when all of this could have happened. Mikey had only started trying to talk to her a week ago. “When was that?”
“Almost two years ago,” her mother admitted, sadness clouding her eyes.
When Mati had been doing the books five years ago, they’d been doing fine. Great, even. Plenty of money in the bank, a huge line of credit. Her father had been able to retire at sixty that year.
It must have started tanking the minute he walked out the door.
“Those idiots,” she snapped.
“Tilly!”
They’d squandered the business. And their parents’ house? Their savings?
Oh god, and Mikey had asked her about her savings when he’d called. The goddamn nerve.
“Those fucking assholes,” Mati growled.
Her mother shot from her chair, remarkably spry when she wanted to be. “Matilda Viveiros! Don’t you use that language in my house!”
Mati choked back the desire to ask her mom if she meant the bank’s house.
Motherfucker, her brothers were the worst.
“Sorry, Mom,” she said, trying and failing to put a lid on her rage.
She grabbed her phone off the table and fired off a text to Reese.
Set your guys loose on Viveiros and Sons AND my parents. Need to know who holds the mortgages and all debts ASAP.<
br />
Reese wrote back immediately. On it.
“I’m going to fix this.”
Her mom looked so hopeful it made Mati’s heart ache—then her face fell and she gave Mati a stern look. “I’m sure you want to help, but you shouldn’t give them your savings, too—”
Mati hugged her mom, cutting off the lecture and squeezing her tight. Her mom hugged her back, just as strong as Mati remembered. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the last time they’d done more than a perfunctory kiss on the cheek.
“I’ve got this, Mom,” she said.
“Don’t you dare do anything to put your future in jeopardy,” her mother scolded, still holding her tight. “You’ve built a good life for yourself. Don’t let this ruin it.”
Mati didn’t know what to say. She’d never in a million years would’ve thought her mother would see her life that way. “I won’t,” she promised, her voice thick.
And she wouldn’t, but that didn’t mean she would let her parents fall.
Reese sat in the car with David, his leg bouncing, and stared at the front door to Mati’s parents’ house.
David’s hand slid over his knee, stilling it. “She’s fine.”
“She is. She will be. I know that, but it’s killing me not be in there with her.”
“Me, too,” David said, capturing Reese’s hand and threading their fingers together.
Reese finally tore his eyes away from the house. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here with us. For coming all the way up here. For keeping me sane for the past fifteen minutes.”
David smiled, scanned the street, and leaned in to kiss Reese. “You’re welcome. Thank you for inviting me.”
“We’ll always want you here,” Reese said, maybe too honestly, given how David’s eyes widened. Reese scrambled to decide if he should backpedal or dive in, finally landing on fuck it. “You don’t need an invitation. Ever. You’ll always be welcome here. With us.”
It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to say, but it was close.
David looked around again and then kissed Reese more thoroughly.
Reese licked his lips when David leaned back into his own seat. “Let’s hope Mati’s mother wasn’t watching that.”
“Or anyone else,” David added.
“I don’t give a flying fuck about anyone else, for what it’s worth.”
David cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t care if they see us kissing. Or holding hands. Or doing whatever else we might like to do in public.”
“You don’t?” David asked.
“No, I don’t.”
David smiled and kissed Reese again—this time without checking.
Reese was wondering how much making out in the car would compromise security when David’s eyes darted over his shoulder.
Mati was marching down the front walk, her expression grim. She practically tore the car door from its hinges and flung herself in the back seat.
“Those stupid motherfucking idiots, I’m going to kill them, slowly and painfully, until they’re writhing on the floor, begging me to forgive them for every stupid, misogynistic, stubborn, ignorant, and arrogant mistake they’ve ever made in the name of that stupid motherfucking father-and-son bullshit company.”
She slammed the door so hard Reese’s teeth hurt.
The three of them sat and digested that.
“It didn’t go well, I take it?” Reese said at last.
Mati plunked her head onto her knees and started laughing. “Holy Christ, no,” she said in a muffled voice. “Check your phone. I’m sure you’ll see for yourself.”
Reese shared a quick, worried look with David, then checked his emails. His heart fell. “Oh, dear.”
“What is it?” David asked.
Mati’s head came up. “Tell me.”
The house was mortgaged to the full value and possibly beyond, given the shifts in the market over the past year. Reese had no idea how they’d managed payments this large. Perhaps via a significant retirement savings. He scrolled further.
Or not.
Reese turned to Mati, putting his hand on David’s thigh and squeezing tight, hoping he’d understand. “Let’s go back to the house. It’s going to take a while to sort through all the data coming in, and they’re sending details I’d rather let you read first.”
Mati wilted, from pissed off to heartbroken in the blink of an eye. “It’s that bad?”
Reese remained silent, which meant the answer was yes.
David’s hand curled around his. “Okay,” he said, giving them both a stern look, “I don’t completely understand what you two do for a living, but I’ve been listening to you work together, and I do know you’re wicked smart and more than resourceful enough to figure this out, good or bad. Now, you have to tell me what I can do to help.”
Mati smiled gratefully, but it was still sad.
Reese’s mind was made up. He’d buy the fucking bank that held those mortgages if he had to, do whatever it took to help Mati and her parents—but he didn’t say any of that. First, because he didn’t want Mati to kill him. And second, because it was entirely possible she wouldn’t need his help anyway.
They needed to assess, plan, and then execute on whatever she decided. They needed to get to work.
“There is something you can help with,” Reese said, letting go of David’s hand. “You get in the back and cheer Mati up. I’ll drive us home.”
David grinned. “That I can do.”
Mati’s eyes widened with alarm when David crawled right over the seats and practically into her lap.
Reese drove the roads home with familiar ease while Mati and David snuggled in the back seat. Reese was sorry he couldn’t join them, but he was pleased with how much calmer Mati seemed. It wasn’t until they were parking in front of the house that it occurred to Reese that he probably should have updated Hodges about a few of the more personal changes that had taken place in Reese’s life since his departure for Boston.
As it was, Hodges happened to be out front shoveling when Reese pulled up. He did a double take when he saw Reese behind the wheel, the beginnings of a broad smile covering his face. Then he caught sight of Mati curled up in David’s arms in the back seat and looked horrified.
Reese jumped from the car. “Hello, Hodges!”
“Reese,” he said, tearing his eyes away from Mati and David and managing a smile. “It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to be seen,” Reese quipped, feeling oddly like he ought to hug Hodges. That wasn’t how things usually worked between them, but since Reese hadn’t spent any significant time away from the man in years, it seemed…right.
Before he could act on that impulse, Mati sprang from the car and flew across the driveway. “Hodges!”
Hodges’ eyes practically bugged out of his head, he looked so shocked, but he had the wherewithal to drop his shovel and catch Mati in a hug.
“Matilda,” he said with affection, clearly confused but also delighted.
Hugging really wasn’t their thing around here. At least, it hadn’t been.
Hodges would have to adjust.
Mati stepped back, holding Hodges at arm’s length to smile up at him. “I missed you.”
Hodges turned a marvelous shade of pink.
“I missed you, too,” he managed, awkward as hell, but sincere.
Reese figured it couldn’t get any worse, so as soon as Mati stepped back, he hugged Hodges, too.
Hodges hugged him back and whispered, “Is someone dying?”
Reese cracked up and let go. “No, you old man. We’re just happy to see you. And happy to be home.”
“Hey! Who are you calling old man?” Hodges cried indignantly.
Reese rolled his eyes and turned to David, who still hovered by the car, giving them space for their reunion. Reese held out his hand, and David stepped forward and took it.
Reese had said he hadn’t any intent
ion of hiding this, and he didn’t, but in hindsight, he really should have told Hodges what was going on.
Though, how that phone call would have gone, Reese could not imagine.
Shaking off the horrifying thought, Reese gestured between the two men.
“Hodges, this is David Zapetti. David, this is Hodges.”
David shook Hodges’ hand. “It’s nice to meet you in person. It’s good to put a face with the name and the voice.”
“Same.”
When their handshake ended, Mati threaded her fingers through David’s now-free hand, linking the three of them together and smiling up at Hodges.
Reese knew the moment Hodges figured it out—not because he appeared shocked or appalled or amused, but because his face went completely blank.
“Have a nice time in Boston, did you?”
“We did,” Reese agreed cheerfully.
“See the sights?”
“Did we ever.”
Mati failed to muffle her snort.
“And the drive?” Hodges asked, soldiering on.
Reese grinned. “Great. Turns out I enjoy going both ways.”
David flinched.
Hodges arched an eyebrow. “Fascinating,” he said, dry as dust. “So, it was an educational trip.”
Reese pictured himself giving David a blowjob. “I mastered many new skills,” he agreed, his cheeks getting hot.
Hodges glared at him. “Wonderful. With that in mind, I shall now go to the kitchen and gouge out my eyeballs with a spoon.”
“Oh, great. You can show me where the kitchen is,” David said, ignoring Hodges’ dramatics. “I’ll help unload and then get lunch started.”
“Lunch?” Hodges asked.
“David loves to cook,” Mati said with a knowing smirk.
“Real food?”
Reese didn’t think Hodges needed to sound that hopeful.
David paused as he lifted bags from the car. “As opposed to what?”
“Microwave burritos?” Hodges asked.
David appeared bewildered.
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