by Demi Alex
“Work,” she blurted. “I’m working on Mykonos for the next week.”
“We’re here for a week.” Justin slid into the booth beside her and draped his arm across the back of the seat. “Sort of for work, too.”
“Sort of?” Bethany asked.
“No. It’s work.” Justin shrugged, and dark waves of hair fell across his forehead.
She had to stop herself from reaching up and sweeping them off his brow. She loved the feel of his hair on her fingers.
“We’d rather it was play, but it doesn’t matter. We have a chance to spend some time with you. A real chance to put the past behind us and move ahead.” He met Paul’s gaze. “And you finally get to meet Bethany and see how amazing she is in person.”
The pit in her stomach swelled, and her insides twisted with dread. Why did fate mess with her in such an evil way and subject her to two handsome men, Justin and his boyfriend, when all it would do is remind her of her current solo status?
Despite her confident and suave reputation, she had limited experience in honest relationships. Sure she’d had her share of lovers, but she wouldn’t classify any of them as relationship material. She’d always managed to leave before the sun came up or they’d wanted to chat. Then their calls would be diverted to voice mail and they’d eventually stop calling. Guess the effort wasn’t worth it.
Maybe she wasn’t worth it? Maybe it was her doing that Justin had gone gay?
Ludicrous. Nobody made anyone any way. They were or they weren’t. And if she was honest, like she had been when they’d been together, Justin never defined love by gender. He loved who he loved.
More likely, her real issue was that she was doomed to be lonely and alone.
“What’s wrong?” Paul sat across from her and placed his arms on the table. For a split second she thought he’d reach for her hands, so she tucked them under her thighs. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head, hiding her emotions. “It’s a work thing. Conference call.” She inched across the seat and out of the booth. “I need to go.”
“Where are you staying?” Justin asked.
Straightening, she shrugged, collected her files into a neat pile, and placed the computer in its case. “Not sure. The info is in my cabin,” she lied.
“A phone number?” Justin persisted, but she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t give him her new number, and definitely couldn’t place her heart and soul on the line to have them blown to smithereens again. But his gaze wouldn’t waver. “Want my number?”
“I remember it.” Another shrug.
“That’s great,” Paul said, standing beside her and giving her a reassuring smile. He pulled a card from his back pocket and handed it to her. “Plus, you now have my info, too. Local and US cell numbers. Both phones are on. Call either, any time.”
He closed his hand over hers and squeezed as if he understood her predicament, and her traitorous hand didn’t pull back. She liked it. She actually wanted to step into his arms, knowing darn well he’d welcome and comfort her.
Mind: Walk away now.
Body: Just let the man do what he can do.
Mind: I said now!
“Let’s shoot for meeting up before we disembark,” Paul said, the glint in his amber-colored eyes holding her as much as his touch. “But if the signal is bad onboard, or we don’t meet up before we dock, we’ll wait for you on the pier by the Sunset Café.”
“Okay.” She turned and walked away, waving over her shoulder because she didn’t dare meet Justin’s gaze again. If she did, her resolve to stay away would crumble.
Chapter Two
Justin had heard her, but didn’t believe her. Bethany had smiled. The smile hadn’t reached her eyes. She’d intentionally avoided sharing her number, so once again, he feared she’d disappear.
“I’m sure we’ll see her again,” Paul whispered, as if reading his mind. “We’re on a ferry. In the middle of the Aegean Sea.”
But once upon a time, he’d also thought he’d had logic on his side. He hadn’t. She hadn’t returned any of his messages. No matter how he’d tried to reach her, she’d never responded. He finally had the opportunity to make her respond and tell him why he’d fallen short.
He wasn’t going to fail.
Paul draped his arm over Justin’s shoulder and whistled beneath his breath.
“She’s gorgeous.”
Justin nodded, still watching her weave her way through the passengers. “Even more today than in the past.”
“Seriously,” Paul said, squeezing his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Even if we don’t see her on the ferry, Mykonos is an island. It’s my island. We’ll find her. Give her a chance to get over the shock of seeing you where she least expected it.”
“I thought she was good with it.” He rubbed the heel of his hand in the center of his chest. “Then she bolted. Like I did her wrong.”
“You didn’t,” Paul insisted. “But are you sure you can handle it this time around? They shredded you.”
Justin had to believe she had no say in what had happened. He had to. Otherwise everything else was a lie. And nobody could lie for years. “She’s not a liar. And no matter how she ran in the end, she was happy to see me. Did you see her eyes?”
“I did.”
Bethy’s eyes spoke volumes. She couldn’t lie because her eyes always gave her away. And when she’d recognized him, it was like coming home.
“Yup. You can’t erase years of love. It may change, but it doesn’t go away.” Justin knew it was the romantic in him speaking, but he didn’t care. “She also liked you. She was comfortable with you.”
“I felt that, too.” Paul shuffled and stared at his feet. “There’s still a lot of chemistry between you.”
“Yup.” Damn, he needed to use more words to express himself, but he didn’t think them necessary.
“You sure you’re okay with it? What if she’s married?”
“She wasn’t wearing a ring,” Justin noted.
“You checked. So you’re still interested,” Paul said.
“I’m not dead,” he said. “You just said how gorgeous she is.” Snaking his hands around Paul’s waist, he pressed his interest against his thigh. “Interest enough?”
Nodding, Paul grinned. “More than enough.”
It may have been a while, but they’d played with others in the past. Not often. Never for long. And never with anyone who’d been married. So checking for a ring was reasonable.
“It’s a natural response,” Justin said. “And as for checking for a ring, anyone would check if she was taken. Clearly, she’s not. And she may need friends around to look after her while on the island. The place can get wild.”
“It can,” Paul agreed. “If she is with someone, he’d be a huge asshole to let her come here on her own. She’ll be propositioned at every turn.”
“Yup.”
“Yup,” Paul mimicked. He shook his head and laughed. “Okay, the chemistry is still there. And since you’re good on being with her, what do you think of asking Bethany to get to know us—well me, she already knows you—better? She can join us at the resort while she’s here and you never know where it may lead.”
“No,” Justin objected, panic tightening his chest.
“What is it with the two of you and all these no answers?” Paul sounded almost amused, but his confident nature faded. “Something wrong with me? You don’t want to share her with me? Do you want to be alone with her? Without me?”
“No,” Justin said in a low voice, remembering how he’d shared Bethany’s ménage fantasy they’d never gotten around to making a reality with Paul. Taking his lover’s hand, he returned to the table. “No matter what you may think, I always want you. Always.”
They sat and Justin released Paul’s hand as he rested his leg against Paul’s. They were good with additional lovers, but they’d never needed or developed an emotional connection with anyo
ne else. Nobody had mattered like she mattered.
“Sharing Bethany would be pure ecstasy. But, Bethy is different. It’s not about me. It’s about her. We cannot do that. A sexual relationship would not work with us.”
“Justin, are you blind? Or have you forgotten all you’ve told me about the two of you?” Paul pointed to his own groin. “When I first saw her, I could have pounded nails into a concrete wall.”
“No argument here.” Justin raised his palms forward to stop Paul from elaborating. He was in full agreement when it came to chemistry. They had an abundance of it and there was no way to deny it. However, they could ignore it. “But then she spoke. I saw your reaction. Felt what moved between the two of you. You looked into those hypnotic dark eyes, and she suddenly became more than a sex partner.”
“She’s beautiful, sweet, a little skittish because you interrogated her, but perfect for us.” Paul raised his broad shoulders. “She was coming around to the idea of me…of us. So why not pursue something more?”
“Because Bethany is not a temporary kind of woman.” And that was their deal.
Temporary. No strings attached.
From the very beginning, they’d agreed to keep their real life uncomplicated. No responsibility of pleasing a third person.
“Not temporary?” Paul’s features turned stoic and hard. He sat back on the seat and rubbed his chin. “We don’t do long-term with others.”
“I know.” The other sex partners they’d invited into their bed knew from the get-go that it was only physical. No emotional attachments.
“It’s not who we are,” Paul said, folding his arms across his chest.
“I know.”
“And you’re saying she could get hurt,” Paul added.
“She could,” Justin agreed. “Either one of us could get hurt, too. Both of us could get hurt. We can’t invite her into our bed, so get those thoughts out of your head. Think of how you had to change your physical relationship with Kathryn when we got involved.”
“Kat and I have been friends forever, convenient lovers when it suited us, but when you came into the picture, the latter had to change,” Paul said. “Even if you’d agreed, which I honestly didn’t think to discuss, Kat and I weren’t going anywhere. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“Exactly,” Justin said. “That’s how it is with Bethany. We may be fantastic together, may not be able to get out of that bed, but I’m not letting her off the hook by handing her ammunition to tell us it’s too much for her to handle. I’m not letting her out of our life. She will be in our lives forever, so she can only be a friend.”
“That’s if she agrees,” Paul said.
“Why wouldn’t she?”
“Seriously, Justin, think about it. That’s a lot to ask when there is so much sexual tension between us. Then, when it comes to the emotional part, she was taken aback with our meeting and she didn’t look too happy about it.” Always practical and efficient, Paul had regained his composure and was too pragmatic.
“She’ll agree.” Justin fisted his hand at the thought of her denying him again. No fucking way. He had to make it right with her. Wipe that hurt from her sweet face, and see her smile in earnest. Without a doubt she was the most loving and generous girl he’d ever met. “She’s not a girl any longer. She’s a grown woman.”
“I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but whatever it is, it’s leaving an unsettled feeling in my gut,” Paul said. “She’s adorable. Gorgeous. Sweet. I’ve already said that. But you can’t think she’s still the girl you knew in high school. She’s not. Do you really believe she can handle rekindling an explosive past with a simple friendship?”
“She really took to you,” Justin said. “And that’s huge because Bethany rarely reaches out to people. She reached out to you.”
“Careful,” Paul warned, toggling a finger in the air. “You threw a bucket of ice water on the physical. Her reaching out was a physical connection. Don’t misinterpret the facts and set yourself up.”
Whatever.
She’d be back and a definite part of his and Paul’s life.
The three of them were meant to be in each other’s lives. And because she’d insisted on pushing him away in the past, this time he’d bring her in on his terms.
Selfish?
Maybe.
But it would work.
“You can’t bulldoze her,” Paul said, once again reading his mind.
“You like her,” he said, looking into his lover’s eyes and searching for more than hope. He found it.
“I said as much, so you know I do. What’s not to like?” Paul said, reaching for him and trailing a finger over Justin’s forearm in a cautious, but caring manner. “She’s fucking breathtaking. But, Justin, you just told me that Bethy isn’t a temporary option. That means we’d need to commit to her, and we can’t.”
“You still on the sex stuff?”
“No,” Paul insisted. “I’m on commitment. We can’t change our whole life. We won’t. And you can’t just show up and demand she let you close on a totally different level than she knows. The woman isn’t happy with the past.”
“It’s not about the past. And I didn’t show up. She did.” Justin leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest. “Seriously, Paul. Let’s not overanalyze. I’m not in the mood to dissect this right now. Seeing her after all these years of a Bethany-blackout is totally messing with me. I’m not delusional about picking up where we left off, nor am I unhappy with my life. Actually, I’m very happy with my life. Our life.”
“Good to hear.”
“Never doubt that, love. Never.”
He’d never lied to Paul. He trusted him, more than trusted him, and couldn’t imagine a life without him. So no lies. Ever.
“I don’t know how, and I need some time to figure where she’ll factor into all of this, but I want her back in my life,” Justin said. “Since she’s very important to me, I need to know you’re okay with that because it means she’s going to be in your life.”
Paul nodded, but didn’t speak.
“Even more than time,” Justin continued, “I need you to stand with me.”
“I do. Always.” Paul didn’t hesitate. “I’m open to your Bethy in our lives. The connection between the two of you is obvious and solid, and I know the more I get to know her, the more special she’ll be to me. Just be careful, babe. Don’t reopen wounds that won’t heal.”
Chapter Three
“Mykonos is the perfect place to find love,” Paul said, attempting to distract Justin as the iconic Kato Milli marked the ferry’s way into the harbor. But not even the view of the windmills caught his attention. There was no reply from Justin. The man didn’t even bother to glance over his shoulder. He stared at his phone, supposedly checking emails, only looking up to scan the deck.
Paul wanted to wrap him in his arms and tell him everything was going to be okay, but they didn’t lie to each other and that wasn’t something he knew for sure. The truth was that within the span of a few hours, Paul’s own problems had multiplied. Not only was he concerned about his uncle throwing away his life’s legacy, but he was seriously worried about Justin being able to deal with seeing Bethany again, and possibly being rejected, again.
No matter how much Justin insisted he was good with seeing Bethany, tension rolled off the typically calm and collected man.
Paul inhaled the fresh sea air, then wrapped his arm around the pensive man at his side, hoping some of his strength and optimism would transfer to Justin.
“Babe, stop checking email. Take a freaking break. You can’t miss this view. It’s like the windmills are welcoming us home.” And even though Paul was sure Justin was still preoccupied with Bethany, he gave him major credit for pretending, almost convincingly, to shift his focus back to City Wings work issues and their original reason for visiting the island.
“Agreed,” Justin finally said, looking over his shoulder. “We should’ve sent someone t
o Mykonos for City Wings. We could have made the Valentine’s Best Place to Find Love competition a three-way. Kat, Charlie, and…”
“Our ladies did good. The articles were perfect. And all our goals were met.”
At last, Paul struck a chord and brought Justin out of his funk. They both adored their girls. And they were happy Kat and Charlie had accomplished individual professional goals. And if he were honest, totally honest, his objective had been more than gaining great features.
“Kat had to have her chance with Marko, and Charlie needed to break out of her rut,” Paul said, outlining the true objectives of the Valentine’s contest.
“And your ludicrous, manipulative, and totally unprofessional ploy worked,” Justin said. “Kat and Marko are together and married.” Justin looked at the shore as he spoke and pointed out some of their favorite spots. “Charlie is free of all bullshit and really happy with that hunky barista fiancé of hers.”
“Ford isn’t exactly a barista, but he is crazy for Charlie,” Paul said, happy that Justin was smiling again. “It’s all good.”
“I agree. You and Marko were over the top devious with the way you set it up. And I don’t think you could have gotten away with such a scam if Kat and Charlie weren’t friends and more than professional acquaintances. But it worked.”
“Sometimes you need to get creative to help your friends,” Paul said. “They both got their bylines and more.”
“They’re great journalists, so they would have gotten their bylines anyway,” Justin said. “It’s the more that matters. Kat was always in love with the Frenchman, but the force of that love terrified her. But Marko had balls of steel to last so long without her. I’m so glad, for both of them, that he went all He-Man, stopped pussyfooting around, and made her see the truth. Those two belong together.”
“True. Very true. And how weird is it that Charlie found her perfect match on that cruise?” Paul asked, laughing at how the singles cruise had unraveled the pretty little bundle of nerves. “Straight-laced girl finds love on kink cruise. You know, I would have hand-picked Ford for her if I had known him.”