by Demi Alex
“Like that’s going to get us out of here any quicker,” Justin said, offering Bethany a hand, and hauling her against his side.
“No sexy time,” Paul said. “Wash. Rinse. Get out. Get dressed.”
Bethany stepped away, wove her fingers together, and stretched her arms ahead of her. Shrugging, she looked around the room. “Doesn’t take me long to get ready. I’ll be back in less than fifteen minutes.”
Justin caught her wrist as she started for the door. “Where are you going?”
“Next door to shower and dress,” she replied.
“Not if you want to dress in your own clothes,” Paul said.
“We moved your stuff in here last night. No need for two rooms, sweetheart.”
Her hand fluttered to her neck in a nervous gesture, but she nodded, turned for the bathroom, and strutted that heart-shaped ass for their pleasure. “Thanks.”
“I’m shocked you’re not arguing, but I like it.” Justin motioned for Paul to stay behind. “Give her a minute.”
She glanced over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out like a typical brat. She wiggled her fingers over her head.
Justin laughed and waited for her to enter the bathroom. He wanted her to discover her toiletries, and honestly, he wanted her to feel at home. Once the shower water sounded, he moved to the table. Paul joined him.
“She’s come into our room, meaning originally our space, but now she needs to know it’s also her space. She has to realize she’s not a visitor or a novelty in this room. She belongs here.”
“That’s good thinking,” Paul said. “When I tried to speak with her about the resort sale, she said not here. Like she didn’t want it brought into this area.”
“Her whole life she’s compartmentalized places and people. I don’t want to be limited to one of her compartments any more. She’ll need to accept us. Period.”
A distressed look crossed Paul’s face. “I only sort of told her how I feel about Luxury Homes. Not sure how it’ll play out in the end.”
“Period means period,” Justin said. “Period,” he repeated more for himself than anything else. “It’ll work out.”
“Is that what had crawled up your ass earlier?” Paul reached for a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap, studying him over the rim as he drank. “Had your own worries about those compartments?”
He shrugged.
“Bethany says you throw yourself into work because of how things were after your dad’s heart attack. You know I’ll always take care of Leslie, regardless of the circumstances. You’ll never find yourself in the same situation again. Your mom will never need you like that again. You have me. I have you, Justin. We don’t ever hide our worries from each other.”
“Bethany knows me too well, but I love you both anyway.” Justin heard the water stop running and decided to change the subject. “Your turn. I’ll go last.”
Bethany dressed while Paul showered. She followed Justin into the bathroom while he showered, did her hair, and spoke to him about how Sheridan had been hounding her for more pictures. They moved around each other in a comfortable pattern, and when all three were ready they headed for lunch.
“What’s on the menu?” Justin asked.
“Our girl here says she has a grave need for souvenir shopping, and I’m thinking about a catamaran sail for the sunset. We got a late start. And we need to fit it all into today because she has things to do with Christo tomorrow, so what about—”
“Gyros,” Bethany interjected. “Please.”
“Pork?” Justin asked, hiding a smirk while feigning offense.
“Please,” she repeated, clasping her hands together and shaking them in the air. “They’re super delish and like Greek fast food.”
“The lady has spoken. You can have the vegetarian pita,” Paul said to Justin, shifting into third gear and turning for town.
Muttering about being outnumbered, he leaned back in his seat. He grinned as he looked out the window. Eventually, he told them he was in for dinner, but not the cruise. The conference call had been rescheduled for nine o’clock, local time.
“At least you’ll be done by the time we get back,” Bethany said.
“Or maybe, since you’re the fucking boss, you can reschedule it again?” Paul asked. “Come on, Justin. How often do we get to experience Bethany’s first Mykonos sunset on the water?”
“I’ll see. But you can definitely count on another late night swim,” he said, reaching through the headrest and tickling her neck, knowing full well this arrangement was turning into more than a bedroom threesome.
Now to wait for the two of them to admit it.
* * *
“Table for three,” Paul said to the hostess. With his hand in the small of her back, he guided Bethany ahead of him, bent his arm behind his back, and reached for Justin’s hand.
Thinking they looked like they were on a field trip, Justin chuckled, and the morning’s apprehension vanished. This is how it’s meant to be.
They walked through the canopied area and sat at a table with an unobstructed view of the port.
“This place has been here since I could remember,” Paul said, as they sat. “And Mr. No Meat can attest to having the best zucchini fritters of his life at this very table.”
“He’s right,” Justin agreed. “The fritters look like meatballs, but they’re so much better. You’ll love them, Bethy.”
Paul ordered and the table was soon covered with a variety of mezedakia and two pork gyro wraps. Like he had the first night, Paul described each dish as he offered Bethany a taste.
Justin dragged a French fry through the yogurt dip and brought it to her lips. “This one happens to be light on the garlic, but some places make tzatziki strong enough to keep away the vampires for days. So tread carefully, sweetheart.”
“As long as we all eat tzatziki, we’ll be fine,” she said, licking the sauce off his finger with a sexy sigh. She shook her head and threw up her hands. “Okay. I confess. I had gyros and tzatziki in Athens. I fell in love with them at first whiff.”
Justin glanced at Paul, who was watching her with a grin on his face.
“So you fell in love in Athens?” Paul tapped her nose and laughed.
She nodded and winked.
Hopefully, she’d be falling in love in Mykonos, too.
“To us,” Justin said, raising his glass and looking between them. “Thanks for being you. I love you both.”
* * *
“I’m going to gain twenty pounds if you keep feeding me like this,” Bethany said, wiping the drop of honey at the side of her lips.
Truth was, the cheese pie was delicious and she couldn’t stop eating it. If Justin took it away as he teased, she’d let him have it. She leaned her chin on his shoulder for a second bite. He didn’t disappoint. He lifted the pastry, wrapped in paper, to her lips, then turned his face for a quick kiss.
“Told you. Honey and cheese keep this woman happy,” he said to Paul, grinning as she grabbed his hand and took a third bite.
“Nineteen of the twenty pounds are well worth it,” she said, chewing slowly and savoring the sweet and salty mix.
“What’s the one pound that’s not?” Paul asked.
“The protein bars I brought with me from the States.” She guided Paul’s hand up, and sipped on the frappé. “They’re not worth the calories.”
The men’s laughter was pure joy to her ears. She’d never felt as happy as she did roaming the twisting, little paths the locals called streets. Lined with endless souvenir shops, the whitewashed streets, which looked like the locals had hand painted the white around each gray slab, were only for pedestrian use. However, scooters, and even the occasional motorcycle, seemed to be included in the traffic.
Done with the cheese pie, she linked her fingers with Paul’s, and was following him up some stairs when she was literally goosed.
“Hey!”
She turned to find Justin chortling, his hands
up beside his head. “Wasn’t me.”
Paul chuckled and pointed to the left. “Meet Petros, koukla.”
There he stood. The mascot of the island, a grand pelican, stared at them, waiting for her acknowledgment. Bending her knees, she held out her hand.
“Hi, baby,” she cooed. “You’re a handsome fellow.”
“He’s not looking for sweet talk.” Justin placed the meager remains of the pastry in her palm, and Petros inhaled the crumbs with a grateful nod. He nudged her thigh, waited for her to finish petting him between his wings, then strode off to greet the tourists.
“He’s adorable,” she said, watching him go.
“He’s a legend,” Paul added. “I think it was in the fifties when a fisherman found an injured pelican and nursed him back to health. When he tried releasing him, the pelican wouldn’t leave. So the islanders adopted him and named him Petros. But in the late eighties, he passed away and the whole island mourned his loss.”
“Oh,” she said, holding her hand to her chest. “That must have been tough.”
“My family says it was really sad,” Paul said, taking her hand and continuing up the stairs. “Jackie O. delivered another pelican to the island. She was named Irene. And I think a German zoo also donated a pelican and there was a third one that also required nursing back to health. So there was Irene, Nikolas, and the honorary Petros. I’m not sure, but I heard that one of them passed away recently.”
“They just wander the streets?” Worried about the beautiful bird, she glanced over her shoulder, and saw a young boy playing with the pelican. “How do they survive?”
“As you can see, the tourists love them. The islanders take care of them,” Paul explained. “Other than all of them being called Petros, and possibly offending them with gender confusion, because Petros is a male name, there’s no issue.” He flashed a big grin and pulled her into one of the shops. “Go on, koukla, pick out those T-shirts you wanted for Sheridan.”
Paul and Justin didn’t forget a single thing of what she’d asked for, and she was grateful they paid her such close attention. She went up on her toes and placed a kiss on Paul’s cheek. Then she ducked into the air-conditioned store and shopped.
* * *
They were in store number bazillion, or so it seemed, and Paul wouldn’t choose to be anywhere but with them. He actually didn’t mind the shopping…when it put such a smile on her face.
She scooted close to the display and leaned her head to the right as she examined yet another option for Justin’s little house collection.
“This one?” Bethany asked, pointing to a ceramic church.
“Have that one,” Justin said, balancing the bags full of souvenirs in his arms, and moving down the aisle to a display on the backside of the wall.
“Which one doesn’t he have?” She leaned her body on Paul’s arm, fit her hand in his, and laughed. “I’ve shown him the most adorable little plaques, and so far, he has them all.”
With his biceps snug against her warmth, Paul could stay and consider all the little ceramic homes, one at a time, inspecting each piece for the smallest detail in order to keep her pressed against him. Inhaling the floral scent of her shampoo, he brushed his lips over her hair. “Get comfortable. We’ll be here for a good half an hour before he settles on one.”
She twirled into his chest and smiled up at him, making his whole body hum with delight. He grinned at the memory of advising Kat and Charlie to find men who made their bodies hum. Damn, but he had that two times over in his man and woman.
Unconventional? Yes. But better than anything else he’d ever known.
“I’m a lucky man,” he said, lowering his face and sealing her lips with his, stroking through her mouth, and enjoying the hum in every damn cell of his body.
“Not that I mind,” she said, nipping on his lower lip, “but why do you think that?”
Pressing the proof of how lucky he felt against her belly, he traced her lips with wet butterfly kisses, touched his forehead to hers, and stayed there. “Like I said earlier, I never expected this.”
She looked at him with questions in her eyes, but didn’t persist in making him fess up. She accepted and didn’t place conditions on it. No wonder Justin wanted her forever.
Bethany, on any level, made things better.
Considering how best to express what he felt without appearing like a total sap, he smoothed her silky waves over her shoulder, and trailed a hand down her back.
“I dreaded this trip,” he started, opting for honesty. “You already know I never wanted Kosta to sell Vaso’s Dream. I’ve always pictured myself here for long summers with Justin and our children. It just about killed me to board the plane in New York knowing it could be the last time I’d be coming to what I always knew to be my Greek home. I love this place.”
“As long as I’m here, you can always come home,” she said sincerely. “Consider it a fringe benefit of the resort being sold to me.”
Coming home to her suddenly sounded plausible, good even, but with Edward Michaels in the picture, it wouldn’t be possible.
“It wouldn’t be yours. It’s Luxury Homes, an international corporation owned by your father.”
The dark pupils of her eyes widened and her nostrils flared, as her teeth scraped over her lower lip, and recognition dawned in her beautiful eyes. She knew that anything having to do with Michaels wasn’t going to be like coming home for him or Justin. She understood. And like him, she was torn.
She turned around, and silently shook her head. There was nothing to say. They both knew it. Her gaze scanned the display of little island homes, but she kept her back pressed against his chest. Thankfully, she didn’t walk away.
“You’re going to tell Kosta not to go through with the deal,” she said.
“I already have.” He hesitated, sliding his palms down her arms and soothing the bumps on her skin. “I said as much before I even knew you had any connection to Luxury Homes. But, now that I know, and now that there’s more important things to consider than what I want with the resort, I’m stepping away from the details of a potential sale.”
“We all want different things,” she said in a low whisper, curving her shoulders forward and crossing her arms.
Alarmed she’d come to her senses and would leave him, he held her in his embrace, felt her tremble, and wanted to kick his own ass for upsetting her. When she exhaled and her shoulders relaxed, he rested his chin on her head.
They did want different things.
“That may be true, baby. But we also have something inexplicable here…”
“Something special. Something unique,” Justin said, rounding the corner and coming to stand before them.
Clearly he’d been listening. He cupped her chin and swept his thumb across her cheeks, probably wiping at tears she’d chosen to hide from Paul.
He had managed to spoil their afternoon with damn business.
“We’re not having this discussion in a souvenir shop,” Justin said.
Recognizing the protection in Justin’s gaze, Paul nodded in agreement.
They couldn’t define their personal relationship, couldn’t discuss the intricacies of the resort sale, nor could they find a solution to the unexpected situation they were in amongst a crowd of tourists.
The three of them were more than good together. And Paul knew he was in, all in, and he wasn’t willing to get out. The no long-term physical agreement had to go. He wanted more than temporary. He wanted a real chance at a true relationship with Bethany and Justin. He wanted everything.
“Justin is right. This conversation is important and deserves to be had in private,” Paul said, reaching up and covering Justin’s hand. “Can we table it until we get back to the room?”
A line of pretty white teeth scraped over her lower lip, a sign he’d come to recognize as her being nervous, so he bent and swept his tongue over her lips. “Even if I don’t agree, I can’t sabotage you. I
’ve arranged for Christo to work with you from this point on, and I’m going to look for an alternative to this sale. Something that will work for all of us. Promise.”
She sighed and nodded, turning her face up to Justin’s.
Justin bent his head and brushed a kiss on her mouth.
She smiled. Then Justin squeezed Paul’s shoulder in unspoken understanding and motioned for them to head outside.
In what Paul considered an incredible act of trust, Justin left her tucked against Paul as he led the way. Paul held her close, vowing not to disappoint either one of them.
“What about your little houses?” Bethany asked Justin’s back, obviously still thinking of his wants rather than her own comfort.
“I’m good, love. I have all I need.”
She glanced up at the display, and Paul didn’t miss the irony of her gaze fixing on a white, circular stefanothiki, crafted in the image of an island church. She probably didn’t know what it symbolized, but he did.
As the beautiful woman in his arms stared at the unique wedding crown case, he ached for one to house three crowns. Their crowns.
It was an arrangement the church would never honor.
“I’ll find a way,” he whispered against the side of her temple and touched his lips to her hair, wondering how he’d come to see them as a forever thing in such a short time. Honestly, he didn’t know. He just knew the bond was undeniable and it had to be. “Together, we’ll find a way.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bethany rested her head against Paul’s shoulder as they walked back to where they’d parked the car. “You’re not going to let him drive home because you think you hurt my feelings?”
“No, koukla mou. I’m not looking for such a danger-infused adrenaline rush to soothe my conscience. I’d rather get us back in one piece.”
“Good,” she said, tugging on his arm and stopping at a storefront. “Look.” She pointed at the window display. “It’s a painting of the resort from Christo’s view point. Like the artist was drawing from his terrace.”