A Little Harmless Fantasy (25 page)

And we could, love
. His brain stopped functioning for a second
as he let the thought seep into his consciousness. He waited for the
panic to come but it didn’t. Instead, the incredible rightness
of the statement settled in his gut. The three of them. Together.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He looked at her and swallowed the lump in his throat. Zee had been
right. There was so much more to Maura than she showed the world. And
there was something about her that completed both Zee and him. They
belonged together.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

“Okay.” Apparently not wanting to push it any further she
looked down at the batter. “I love French toast.”

“Any special reason?” he asked as he retrieved the loaf
of bread.

She nodded. “My mom made the best French toast. It was just
amazing.”

“Ah.”

She took the bread from him and pulled out the slices. “It was
the last thing she made for me before the accident.”

He felt the stab to the heart right there and then. Seeing her
position the bread on the counter carefully, he could easily see the
teenaged Maura suffering through losing her parents, watching them
die. She showed so little of that part of her that he held it close
to his chest. He blinked.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. We had done brinner that night and had gone to see a
movie.”

“Brinner?”

She grinned at him. “Yeah, that’s what we called it when
Mom made it, then on the way back...” she shrugged.

He set his hand on top of hers and she looked up at him, surprise
lighting her features. Her eyes widened behind her lenses. He
couldn’t tell her he knew the feelings, or even express how it
made him feel that she had shared it with him. Instead, he leaned in
and brushed his mouth over hers. She closed her eyes and leaned into
the kiss. It wasn’t carnal but it affected him just the same.
No, this was more intense. It hit him on so many levels, but the
worst part of it was what it did to his heart. It turned over as she
pulled away and then trailed her fingers down his cheek.

He’d been fighting it for days now, but he had to admit he was
ass deep in love with a woman for the first time in his life.

“Hey, do I smell French toast?” Zee said.

Rory couldn’t speak, not yet. He was pretty sure his voice
would crack.

Maura grinned at him. If he hadn’t known before that, he would
definitely know now that he was in love with her.

She turned around. “Yep. He claims it is fantastic.”

Rory tried to get his head in order as he went back to preparing the
toast. Zee stopped in front of Maura and gave her a kiss, then leaned
over to kiss his cheek. “Smells good.”

The Georgia fight song went off on Maura’s phone. “Hey,
Jillian. Having some French toast. No, Rory cooks.” She laughed
and his heart danced a little.

Damn
.

“No, I don’t think Conner would let him live with you
just for cooking. Sure.” She jumped off the counter. “I’m
going to check something out on the computer, be right back.”

She started up the steps and he couldn’t help but watch her as
she went. He didn’t pay attention to her words, but the tone of
her voice, the way she laughed entranced him. The swing of her hips
didn’t hurt either.

“Earth to Rory.”

He shook his head and looked at Zee who was smiling at him.

“What?” he asked. His head was still spinning and his
body was still humming.

“Nothing. You just seemed to be lost there.”

He shrugged with one shoulder. “We were talking about her
family.”

“Conner?” Zee asked as he poured himself some coffee.

“No, her folks.”

He sensed Zee’s stillness. He looked back over his shoulder.

“She did.”

“What?”

“She rarely talks about them. I don’t know much about
them.”

He sensed a thread of hurt in Zee’s voice. Setting down the
whisk, he walked over to him and kissed him. “It wasn’t
that much. She mentioned she liked French toast, that it was her
favorite thing to eat for breakfast.”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“It was the last thing her mom made her before the accident.
That’s all she said.”

Zee sighed and put his head on Rory’s shoulder and for the
second time that day he felt that slow roll through his heart,
through his soul.

“I didn’t mean to act like an ass.”

He chuckled. “Really, Zee your definition of acting like an ass
is weird.”

He pulled back and looked at him. “It’s hard at times,
this relationship. Most of the time I am okay with it, all the time
really. Just hearing she had talked to you about her folks,
that’s…well, she avoids it.”

“And you’ve known her longer and you love her.”

“Just me?” Rory made a face. “Okay, I won’t
push you but at some point you’re going to have to deal with
it. Both of you.” He gave him a kiss.

“Now, get some breakfast for me, or I might just kick you to
the curb.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

When Rory turned he noticed that Maura was walking down the stairs
and she was watching them.

“No, don’t stop on my account. I find it very sexy,”
she said, her voice happy—truly happy. He realized that for all
the months he had known her, he had never seen her this happy.

“What did Jillian want?” Zee asked and pulled her into
his arms as Rory went back to work on breakfast.

“She’s stuck and needs to get out of the house for a bit.
She wanted to know if I could run into Kailua Old Town and do some
shopping this afternoon. I hope that’s okay.”

No, it wasn’t bleeding okay. He wanted her to stay there with
them, not out traipsing around. But he didn’t say anything.

“Yes, we need to talk to Conner about a couple things. Did you
want to go out tonight?” Zee asked.

She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “Can we stay in
tonight? I can pick up whatever Rory wants to make us for dinner. We
have a great place to dine on the lanai and I would rather enjoy the
sunset from there and just relax with you two.”

He shared a glance with Zee. “Sure. That sounds like a great
plan.”

She looked at the bread he had in the pan. “That breakfast
isn’t going to cook itself.”

She gave him a kiss and wandered over to get more coffee. He forced
himself to focus on cooking. He would have time enough later to worry
about the woman who was worming her way into his heart.

Jillian smiled at Zeke when she stepped in the door. She was dressed
like she normally did. Do rag on her head, cut off shorts, and an old
T-shirt. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I promise not to keep her long. We need some girl time.”

“No problem, Jillian.”

“Yay, girl stuff,” Maura said. She gathered up her purse
and glasses. Then, she stopped and grabbed her hat. As if it was the
most natural thing in the world, she gave Rory a kiss then him.
“Should be home soon. Text me what you want me to pick up for
dinner.”

They watched as the women climbed into the Jeep and then headed off
for their day of fun.

“So, what do you want to do?” Zeke asked. He was antsy,
ready to do something—anything. He wasn’t accustomed to
long days of leisure.

Rory frowned. “I’m planning on relaxing out back. I think
you have a few dishes to clean up.”

He glanced over at the kitchen. “Dammit, she left me with the
plates to clean up.”

Rory laughed. “Our Maura isn’t stupid, that’s for
sure.”

For a second he said nothing as he let the words sink in. He had seen
the way Rory had reacted earlier. Rory had never had a real
relationship with a woman. One night stands or fuck buddies for
vacations, but no real relationship. In truth, Zeke was pretty sure
he was the only relationship he had ever had that was, well, a
relationship.

“Our?”

Rory looked up at him. “What?”

“You used the word ‘our’ for Maura.”

He frowned. “Well she is.”

“Come on, admit it. You want to make this permanent.”

He said nothing but turned around to find something on the TV.

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

His heart sank. The only hope he had at the start of this was that
somehow they might all make it through the week and maybe they could
keep it going. He thought it was a long shot until he saw the way
Rory and Maura had interacted. Every time the three of them made love
that connection seemed to grow stronger. He had been hoping against
hope that they would end up together in the end. The interaction he’d
seen this morning at the breakfast table had reinforced the idea that
Rory was falling for her. There was only one thing that could be
keeping Rory from committing.

“You’re afraid.”

“No.” He stood up and threw the remote control down on
the couch. “That’s not it.”

Zeke watched the man he’d loved more than ten years struggle.
He hurt for him, but Zeke was also glad for it.

“Do you want to elaborate?”

Rory’s frown turned darker and the look he shot Zeke told him
he was trying to think of ways of killing him. It made Zeke want to
dance.

“I don’t know how I’m going to give her up,”
he said, the words seeming to explode from somewhere deep inside him.
Rory was good at hiding his feelings but he held onto them so tightly
that there was always an explosion of some sort.

Zeke’s heart stood up and cheered.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Zeke put the last of the plates into the dishwasher. Then started in
on the skillet. “What was supposed to happen? Just a few fucks
and then walk away. I told you it wouldn’t be easy with her. It
never is.”

Rory let out a frustrated growl. “I can’t deal with this
right now.”

Zeke said nothing although he wanted to. He wanted to push Rory, make
him understand that this was supposed to happen. The three of them
were supposed to be together, but he didn’t. He knew the worst
thing he could do was push Rory. So, instead he nodded. With a curse,
Rory turned and headed out to the lanai.

Zeke thought it was another important step. They were slow and he was
frustrated but to think there might be a chance that the three of
them could come to some kind of agreement...he didn’t know if
it could happen, but just thinking about it made him happier than
anything in his life had before.

* * * *

“I think I bought too much,” Maura said when she walked
out the door of Lanakai. It was one of her favorite finds in the
Kailua area. The Hawaiian made soaps and lotions were some of her
favorite things. “But I really don’t care.”

“That’s the spirit,” Jillian said with a laugh.
“You worry too much as it is.”

She sighed. “I feel a lecture coming on.”

“Naw, not from me. In fact, there is no way I am going to say
that you haven’t learned to stop worrying about things. You’re
in a hot relationship with two men.”

An older woman gave them a look and Maura could feel her face heat
up. She wasn’t ashamed, but she wasn’t going to go
shouting it out on the street. “You are so bad.”

Jillian looked behind them as the older woman muttered to herself and
walked down the street. “Hey, these things go on. She’s
probably jealous that she hasn’t had as much fun as you. If I
didn’t have your brother cleaning my clock every night, I would
be too.”

Maura closed her eyes for a second. Jillian had always been willing
to share. It had just taken a weird turn when she became involved
with Conner. “Jillian, I told you that while I am beyond happy
that the two of you are married, please quit sharing things like
that.”

“You’re like one of my few girlfriends. That’s what
we’re supposed to do, right?” She pointed to a little
coffee shop. “Why don’t we grab a drink and gossip?”

“Sounds good.”

They were served pretty quickly, and soon they found themselves
sitting at the table on the street. The trades were soft, with just
enough to keep her cool.

“God, I love it here.”

Jillian smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “You live in
Miami.”

“Yes, and you know it’s different. There is a vibe…a
feeling when I am here. Something that just grabs hold of me. I can’t
live here, but every time I come, I feel centered.”

“And that’s why I live here. Plus, an ocean between me
and the rest of the crazies in my family is good.” She set her
coffee down and settled a stern look on Maura. “Okay, so tell
me, is everything going okay?”

“Yeah.”

“No problems?”

“Lord, no. They...well, lord, it’s hard to explain but
there is something about the two of them that is so sweet.”

“Sweet?”

“Yeah. They are sort of yin and yang.”

Jillian chuckled. “Sweet. Special Forces dudes are sweet.”

“Well, not entirely sweet or they would be boring. Rory is an
amazing Dom. Some of the stuff...” She stopped and cleared her
throat. “Let’s just say that the man is close to being a
god.”

“Have y’all talked about what will happen when you get
home?”

She shook her head. “No, not sure exactly what is going to
happen. And for once I am going to ignore my inner voice. I am going
to live in the moment. I would like it to go on, but...for right now
this is what I am going to do.” She took a sip of her raspberry
tea and knew the best way to divert Jillian’s attention. “So,
how’s the book going?”

Jillian huffed. “Okay, I guess. I wish this one was as easy as
the last one, but, well, every book is different.”

As Jillian went into depth about her problems with the book, Maura
felt something stir on the back of her neck. The fine hairs sizzled
and she got the feeling someone was watching her again. It wasn’t
odd being with Jillian and being seen. She was a striking woman and
with her tattoos she did gain a lot of attention. But for some
reason...this felt different. It was wrong.

She casually looked around to see if someone was watching them. She
saw no one.