An Indecent Proposition (41 page)

A pause. “Has she said anything to you about going to culinary school?”

“Yeah, she has. In fucking New York.” Erik shoved a hand through his hair, wishing his damn headache would give up the ghost. “I don’t want her to go.”

“Neither do I.” Keegan’s voice became more somber. “But…there’s no way I want to stop her from doing what she wants.”

“If she leaves, we lose her.”

“We may have lost her already.”

They fell silent for several seconds until Keegan took a deep breath. “Have you decided what you’re going to do with the information?”

Erik snorted. “Honestly, right now, I could give a flying fuck about it.”

“Whatever you want to do with it, I’ll back you. I should’ve said that from the moment Katrina handed it over.”

Erik felt a little bit of that cold ball in his gut dissipate. “Then come over and let’s talk through it.”

“I can do that.”

“Of course you can. It’s not like your calendar’s overflowing.”

“Speak for yourself, asshole.”

Now grinning, his hangover in retreat mode, Erik decided maybe things were going to be okay. “Just get your ass over here. We need to make some plans.”

* * *

Jules stared at the online application for the Culinary Institute of America.

She’d started filling it out three times already Monday morning before closing the screen and getting up to do something else.

Anything else.

Except the one thing she wanted to do, which was call Erik and Keegan and tell them she wanted to see them.

And what if they’re still not talking to each other?

She knew some of that was her fault. She’d come between them.

What if she’d driven that wedge between them even deeper by insisting on seeing them separately?

Damn it. They’d told her they’d never had a three-way relationship. Their three-ways were confined to the bedroom.

Maybe that’s how they want to keep it.

She should break it off now. Chalk it up to a learning experience and take the money and run.

And since she’d already taken the money, maybe now was the time to cut and run.

Just the thought brought tears to her eyes.

The past two nights had proved, at least to her, that these two men were worth every bit of trouble they gave her. Worth every headache she’d have to endure. Every dirty look she’d ever get, every whisper behind her back and every thinly veiled innuendo any catty bitch might ever make.

But if I go away to school, if I try to reach that dream, the relationship’s over.

It felt like every which way she turned, she hit another roadblock.

Her phone bleated out a convincing moo and an instant smile lit her face.

“Hey, Jon. What’s up?”

Jon Petrius’s laugh was enough to make her smile widen.

“Hey, pretty girl. Whatcha doin’ tonight?”

“Not one blasted thing. What did you have in mind?”

“Gary and I are having friends over to watch hockey. You know you wanna come. Just say yes.”

A party. A little liquor. A few friends. “Sounds like that’s exactly what I need.”

“Good. You haven’t seemed like yourself lately so tonight I’m going to get you liquored up then I’m going to pump you for information. And don’t even think about holding back.”

“I wouldn’t dare. What time tonight?”

“You know you’re welcome whenever. Everyone else I told to come around six. Flyers and Caps tonight. Puck drops at 7:35. And you know…if you want to bring a friend, you’re more than welcome.”

She wondered what Jon would say if she told him she wanted to bring two.

“Actually…I may take you up on that. But it would be two friends. Is that okay?”

“Of course, babe. But now I’m curious. Who are you bringing?”

“If they come, I’ll introduce you and you can quiz them to your heart’s content. If not, I’ll tell you the whole story over a bottle of wine. Good wine. You know the cheap stuff gives me a headache.”

“Oh please.” She could almost see Jon rolling his eyes. “When have you ever known Gary to drink anything cheap?”

Silently, she conceded. Jon’s partner had champagne tastes and could afford it as a partner in one of the largest law firms in Reading.

“I’ll give them a call, see if they’re free tonight.”

“Well, even if they’re not, I still want to see you here. Talk to you later, babe.”

Ending the call, she stared at her phone for several seconds before punching the button that would connect her to Keegan.

Who answered by the third ring.

“Jules.”

Keegan didn’t say anything else. He didn’t really have to. Just him saying her name with that faint accent made her shiver.

“Hi, Keegan. How are you?”

“Fine. I’m…good. How are you?”

“I’m fine.” She took a deep breath. “I was calling to see if you would be interested in coming to a party with me tonight.”

He paused. “Just the two of us?”

“No. I’m going to ask Erik to join us. Will that be a problem?”

“Why don’t you ask him? He’s standing next to me.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “You’re talking again?”

“We’re working on our difference of opinion.”

“Is that a fancy way of saying you’re beating the crap out of each other?”

Keegan laughed. “No. But I’m not promising it won’t come to that before we’re finished. Here.”

“Keegan—”

“Jules? Hey, are you okay?”

Erik.
“Yes. I’m fine. Are you?”

“Better now that I’m talking to you.”

Her lips curved in a grin. The man knew how to make her smile.

“Are you doing anything tonight? I wanted to know if you and Keegan would like to go to a friend’s house tonight for drinks and a hockey game.”

He paused.

Please say yes. Please say yes…

“If you want us to, of course.”

Her heart started to beat again. “Great! That’s great. It’s probably easier if we meet at my house and go over together.”

“That’s fine. We’ll be there by quarter of five. Does that give us enough time?”

“Absolutely. I’ll see you both later.”

She ended the call before either of them could back out.

It was only ten in the morning. Seven hours until she saw them again.

They couldn’t get here soon enough.

* * *

Keegan stood next to Erik in the elevator, biting his tongue.

He wanted to ask Keegan if this was really what he wanted to do. But he knew if he did, Erik would likely bite his head off. So he kept quiet.

He’d already asked at least five times before they’d left on their field trip this morning. Right after they’d talked to Jules. She’d caught them on their way out the door.

Good timing. It’d taken a little bit of the edge off Erik’s nerves. But not for long.

Keegan glanced at the file in Erik’s hands, the one Katrina had given him. Erik had almost wrinkled the thing beyond recognition.

Keegan had his hands stuck in the pockets of his dress slacks so he’d stop cracking his knuckles.

They’d barely said a word in the car on the drive to the Philadelphia headquarters of Eggert Labs.

Old man Eggert knew they were coming. They’d had their soon-to-be-ex-lawyer call and request a meeting. They might have let their soon-to-be-ex-lawyer lead Eggert to believe they might want to talk about a possible sale.

They hadn’t told him exactly what they were going to do because he probably would’ve advised against it.

Keegan didn’t give a shit what their lawyer thought.

This was what Erik wanted, so this was what they were doing.

Still…

He drew in a breath—

“Don’t even open your mouth.” Erik sliced him a look. “It’s my decision. You agreed. Case closed.”

Their lawyer—fiftyish, gray hair, expensive suit—gave them a curious look but didn’t speak. He’d met them at the door to the building after they’d parked, they’d exchanged a few cursory words, then they’d proceeded to ignore him. He’d have no bearing on the meeting. He’d added legitimacy to the lie they’d told Eggert to get him to agree to see them.

“I know,” Keegan said for what had to be the fiftieth time. “And I’m backing you one hundred percent.”

“Then stand beside me and let me handle this.”

Keegan caught and held Erik’s gaze. “You know I’ll be right here.”

“Which is why I can do this.”

A muted ding announced their arrival on the fifth floor. The doors slid open.

Keegan held Erik’s gaze for a second longer then nodded.

They walked out together.

Chapter Four

Erik’s palms were sweaty.

Fucking ridiculous.

It was just a party.

Yeah. With Jules’s friends.

Which was why his palms were sweaty.

Meeting new people had never been a problem for him. Until he’d lost half his face in the explosion.

Fucking hell. This shouldn’t be so damn difficult.

He’d gone to the restaurant, after all, and no one had run screaming.

And after his meeting with Eggert… Well, he should feel like he could handle anything.

But these were Jules’s friends. And not only were they going as a threesome, but her friends would see him for the first time. People occasionally said stupid things to him when they first met him. Then he’d get pissed off and respond with something equally idiotic.

He’d learned early on it was better to just not go anywhere.

“Erik. Come out of it. We’re here.”

His gaze snapped to Keegan’s, who was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

“Sorry. Thinking.”

He looked out the side window of the now-parked car. Hell, he hadn’t even noticed they’d come to a stop. He’d really been zoned out.

“Yeah, well, knock it off,” Keegan punctuated his words with a friendly shove, “because if you fuck this up, I’m going to make damn sure you pay for it.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Erik pushed out of the car then stopped to look at Keegan over the roof of his Beemer. “Don’t you get tired of being my designated prodder?”

Keegan’s face pulled into a frown. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that you have never given up on me.”

“Are you serious?” Keegan’s brows rose as he shoved his hands in his pants, probably because of the below-freezing temperature. “You seriously want to have this conversation now?”

Erik rounded the front of the car and stopped a few feet away from Keegan. He looked at his best friend, thinking how much stronger Keegan actually was than him.

“No, you’re right. I don’t want to have this conversation now. Let’s get Jules and do this.”

Erik rolled his eyes. “God damn it. Erik. Just once—”

He never finished because Jules had opened the door and was smiling at them. Backlit, she looked like an angel. But he didn’t mean the ones that had wings. He meant the ones that wore skimpy lingerie and strutted down catwalks.

Jesus, she was absolutely fucking beautiful, even bundled up in a navy pea coat. His heart beat like a bass drum, he wanted her so damn much.

And if she went away to culinary school…

Fuck.
He didn’t know if he could cope.

And wasn’t that a kick in the ass.

“I’m so glad to see you both.”

A deaf man would’ve been able to hear the relief in her voice as she stepped onto the porch, shutting the door behind her.

Keegan reached her first, bending to kiss her. And not a sweet peck on the cheek either. He put an arm around her shoulders and brought her flush against his body while he slipped his tongue between her lips and made her moan into his mouth.

And Erik’s cock responded as if he hadn’t just had her two nights ago.

Of course, Keegan had had her last night and he still seemed starved for her.

Erik totally related.

When Keegan finally left her up for air, Erik practically elbowed him out of the way to have his turn.

He kissed the trace of a smile off her lips, hands settling on her hips to pull her forward. She came with no hesitation, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she arched into him.

Fuck the party. He wanted to go straight back to his place and get her naked and between them.

But he knew this party was a test he had to pass. If he wanted to keep Jules in their lives, well… He had to suck up his fear and step out.

But first, he wanted to enjoy having her back in his arms. She tasted warm, welcoming. Like home.

He let her up for air and so he could look into her eyes and see what she was thinking. Her smile reached her eyes and told him all he needed to know.

Now, he needed to take a deep breath and plow ahead.

Keegan watched Erik kiss Jules, all the while trying to get his unruly cock to stand down. He wanted to suggest they all return to Erik’s and continue like nothing had come between them.

Which wasn’t what Jules wanted.

He knew she wanted to see if they could make this relationship work in the real world.

And as much as he wanted it to, he knew she had legitimate concerns. There’d always be people who’d say stupid shit and look down on them. It’d never be easy, but he’d make damn sure that, when it was just the three of them together, nothing would get in their way.

Now, they just had to make her believe they could.

So… “Are we ready?”

Jules gave them each a bright smile then looped her arm though Erik’s. “I am. My friend’s house is only a few minutes away. We work together. For Carol. He’s a great guy. You’ll love him.”

Erik exchanged a look with Keegan over Jules’s head. Yeah, he wanted to know who this person was that Jules thought they’d “love.”

But neither of them was stupid enough to ask her if she’d ever been involved with this “great guy.”

She wasn’t kidding about the drive. It literally only took minutes to get where they were going. Not even long enough to start a conversation because she was giving directions.

The closer they got, the more tension he felt from the backseat, where Erik sat staring steadily out the front window.

He was hiding it well but Keegan knew Erik was seriously stressing this. Their previous date at the restaurant had been easier for him because those people were anonymous faces in a crowd.

These were Jules’s friends. People she worked with. People she liked to spend time with.

And Erik knew his personality lacked tact these days.

Hell, Keegan should be worrying about his own reclusive personality. He tended to want to sit in a corner and watch everyone else. But, he realized, after these past few years when he’d been forced to be the face of the company, he’d become a little more comfortable in social settings.

Maybe he’d finally learned enough to make small talk with strangers. He’d never been good at it, but knowing Jules, he figured her friends would be just as open and easy to talk to as she was.

Christ, I hope so.

When he parked where Jules told him to, he was pretty sure he knew which house they wanted. The one that still had the Christmas lights blazing and the open curtains. Inside, he saw a crowd of people, most of them laughing or smiling.

You can do this.

Since Erik had helped Jules out of the car and was holding her hand, Keegan motioned for them to head across the street as he followed close behind.

Jules didn’t bother knocking on the door. She just turned the knob and walked into the mass of people and sound.

Erik had slipped behind her as they entered so Keegan saw his back go rigid.

He wanted to put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, let him know he was there, but Erik knew Keegan had his back. Would always have his back.

“Hey, Jules! You made it.”

A tall man with dark hair and a face that must have women flocking gave Jules a bear hug.

“Thanks for having us. Jon.” She turned to smile at Erik. “This is Erik and Keegan.”

The man’s attention turned to Erik and his gaze narrowed in shock before quickly dissolving into matter-of-fact sympathy. “Jon Petrius.” He stuck out his hand. “Erik Riley, right?”

It was Erik’s turn to be surprised and he took Jon’s hand by habit. “That’s right. Have we met?”

“No, but I’ve worked for Carol for a lot of years. I’ve worked your Christmas party several times. I recognized your face. Nice to meet you.”

The shock made Erik go slack-jawed. Keegan could almost hear his gears grinding in confusion. No one had ever taken a picture of Erik’s face after the explosion. So that could only mean that Erik was still recognizable, even with the scars. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Jon turned to Keegan and he realized he remembered this man’s face, probably from their parties.

“Keegan Malone.” He stuck out his hand and Jon took it with a firm grip. “Nice to meet you.”

“Glad you could come.” Jon smiled. “And if you don’t mind, I’m going to introduce you to my partner, Gary, before we start with all these other miscreants. I warn you now, though, he loves to talk shop. He’s an engineer, too. Mechanical. Once you get him going, he doesn’t tend to stop. Follow me. We’ll get you set up with drinks then I’ll let Gary loose on you. Trust me, you’ll need the drink first.”

As they moved through the small house, Jules stopped to talk to a few people. Not all of them hid their shock and Keegan heard a few whispered conversations behind them, but Erik seemed to be handling himself better than Keegan had ever expected. Or dared to hope for.

Keegan released the breath he was holding and made a conscious effort to relax his shoulders.

But he couldn’t stop watching Erik.

Jules must have known every person in the house because she greeted everyone she passed with a stunning smile or a few words.

They all smiled back and gave hugs. And she never failed to introduce Erik and Keegan. A few of them did double takes at Erik, but none of them turned away in disgust or froze up and stared at him like he was a circus freak.

When they finally made it to the kitchen, Erik was visibly more relaxed than he had been when they walked in.

Jon walked into the kitchen first, wrapping his arm around another man who turned slowly to face them.

Gary was at least ten years older than Jon, so he was probably thirty-five, maybe forty.

And obviously ill. So thin, he looked like a prison camp survivor.

Jules threw her arms around the man’s shoulders for a big hug. “Hey, Gary. You’re looking so much better than last time. Did you like the soup I sent home with Jon?”

“The soup was wonderful, sweetheart.”

“Good, then I’ll make sure to send more next time.”

“And if you sneak in a loaf of white bread, I will love you for all eternity.”

Jules laughed and the sound made Keegan’s heart skip a beat. Damn, he just wanted to wrap his arms around her, grab Erik, and go the hell home.

Instead, he put on a smile and shook the guy’s hand when Jules introduced him. Gary’s hand felt so frail, he was afraid he’d squeeze too hard and crush his bones.

Gary raised an eyebrow at him, as if he knew what he was thinking, then he turned to Erik, looked him straight in the eyes, and said, “Afghanistan?”