Sexual Healing for Three (7 page)

“I mean before then. Where were you?”

“I was…busy.” He realized how lame the excuse was before he finished the statement, but couldn’t think of anything else to say. The truth—that he’d stayed away until he felt worthy of Russ’s aspirations for him, until he felt worthy period—wouldn’t do. Russ would say he was being an asshole, that he had nothing to live up to, but Chance knew better.

All his life he had lived in the shadow of an abusive, rolling-stone father. All his life he had come up wanting against the hopes and dreams of an overprotective older brother who wanted more for Chance than Chance had ever wanted for himself. All his life he had been running away from a gift he had never asked for. He hadn’t begun to accept what he could do and actually put it to use until the last couple of years, when he realized there was no more running away from what he was and that Goddess had given him his abilities for a reason.

Chance still wasn’t completely sure what those reasons were, but when he helped someone like Emanuel or one of Donna’s many wounded clients, his way and purpose seemed crystal clear.

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Donna!
He put his arm around her and drew her close. “Russ, I want you to meet—”

Someone opened the front door at that moment, a wide grin lighting her olive-toned features as she took in the three of them standing on the sidewalk.

“Chance, Donna, Russ! You made it!”

“How do you know…?” Donna started and stopped herself, looking and sounding as dazed as Chance felt when the pretty brunette made her way down the few stone steps to saunter over to them. He had never seen the woman before in his life, but no one would ever know this from the familiar, friendly tone of her greeting.

“I thought you might find a way to chicken out.” She leaned in to hug and kiss Donna on the cheek, and Chance realized this must be the infamous Angela.

She didn’t seem too threatening, but Chance, more than anyone, knew that looks could be deceiving, and as soon as Angela laid her perceptive brown gaze on him, he knew he had a formidable ally in his corner.

She reached out her hand for a shake, and Chance immediately felt the warmth of her spirit engulf him when he put his hand in hers.

She was kith, her spirit open and accessible, so totally different from her sister, her energy crackling around him loudly, whereas Donna’s was subtle and understated. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Chance.

I’ve heard so much about you.”

“How could you?” Donna blurted.

“Oh, a little birdie told me.” Angela grinned. “I’m Angela Calminetti, your hostess for the evening and Donna’s oldest sister, by the way.” Angela turned her beatific expression on Russ and took his hand with her free one, effectively sandwiching herself between him and Chance. “So, you didn’t let my description of Donna scare you off. I knew you were made of tough stuff.”

“I’m not so sure,” Russ mumbled. “So, you seem to already know my brother.”

52

Gracie C. McKeever

“Brother?” Donna asked.

Chance heard the surprise in her tone and said, “Technically, Russ is my half brother, but emotionally…” He shrugged and left it at that.

He felt like he’d been explaining his relationship to Russ all his life.

Truth was he had six older brothers and six uncles he had never met, compliments of his father, but Russ was the only brother he knew, the only brother and family that mattered to him. Except for the oft-heard legend about the untold magical powers wielded by the seventh son of a seventh son, Chance rarely acknowledged his father’s side of the family.

“Brothers,” Donna repeated, still sounding doubtful, and Chance understood her confusion. He and Russ looked nothing alike. And since their mother’s death, they hadn’t been on the same coast, much less in the same city, for more than two decades.

They weren’t like Donna and her sister who seemed close despite their differences and whose resemblance was immediately identifiable—from each woman’s coloring to her mannerisms.

Chance stared at the older sister now and, for the first time in his life, felt like someone was looking inside his soul and reading him the way he could read others. Still, he knew he was missing something.

He’d already figured out that Angela and Russ knew each other and she had fixed Donna up with Russ on some sort of blind date. But then why was she acting so thrilled to see
him
?

“Come in, and meet the rest of the family.” Angela tugged Chance and Russ’s hands and led them up to the front door into the house, Donna trailing close behind.

If the rest of the family was anything like Angela, then it promised to be an interesting evening, Chance thought.

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“And are we driving, sister dear?”

“Can it, and fix me a Long Island Iced Tea, brother dear.”

Freddie, playing bartender for the evening, chuckled as Donna took a seat at one of the two leather barstools. “Coming right up!” He got busy mixing her drink.

Donna used the respite to glance around and admire the work that Russ’s company had done to the patio and backyard.

Angela had earlier given Chance a quick grand tour of the downstairs—cozy, earth-toned living room, kitchen, and dining area—before dragging him and Donna out to see the work that had been done to the outside of the house.

Donna was impressed with the elegant sleekness of the design.

She acknowledged that Russ’s company had completely transformed the outside of Angela’s already quaint house. It was hard not to appreciate the obvious quality of the work, not to mention all the personal touches for which she knew her sister was responsible.

She could just see Angela and Freddie sitting out here in the washed-out wicker loveseat among the rock formations, shrubs, and plants. The citronella candles arranged in clusters added a touch of style and whimsy that perfectly reflected Angela’s romantic nature.

Angela had been in her glory, eagerly pointing out highlights—the lighted fountain and Jacuzzi being her obvious favorites—like a model indicating an extravagant Showcase on
The Price is Right
, and explaining how Russ had created an oasis that invited family get-togethers.

54

Gracie C. McKeever

It took everything in Donna to make small talk and
ooh
and
ah
in all the right places before her other siblings and their spouses all swooped in on Chance and Russ like vultures on carrion and dragged the two men off to join the volleyball game that was already in progress on the grass.

When Freddie slid her drink toward her, Donna blinked. “That was fast. I see someone’s been brushing up on his skills.”

“The Internet is a wonderful thing.”

Donna laughed and leaned an elbow on the leather-topped bar.

“So, whose idea was it to hook me up with the landscaper? As if I don’t already know.”

“You’re going to have to speak to the general about that. She does all the strategizing. I’m just a lowly private in this woman’s army.”

“Uh-huh.”

Freddie smiled just as Angela sidled over, as if she knew she was the subject of discussion.

She nudged Donna’s arm with her own and leaned her elbows back against the bar.

“Real proud of yourself, aren’t you?” Donna asked.

“Not yet. But I’m getting there.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s not going to work.”

“Okay, that’s my cue to leave and start flinging this old body around on the volleyball court. See ya!” Freddie saluted before leaving the two of them alone.

Angela turned to face Donna. Her eyes were wide with innocence.

“What’s not going to work?”

“A better question would be, how did you know about Chance?”

“Like I said, a little birdie told me.”

“One of your visions?”

“Something like that.”

Donna fought down the need to shudder. She loved her sister, she really did, but Angela and her gifts gave her the creeps sometimes, especially when they were focused on her. The creeps she got,
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however, were mitigated by the knowledge that her sister’s innate conscience and nature, as well as the Wiccan Rede that guided her every action—
And it harm none, do what you will
—would never allow her to do anything to hurt anyone.

“Don’t be afraid, Don. You know I only want what’s best for you.”

“Stop doing that.” She hated that the woman could read her so easily and often wondered if it was compliments of her abilities or just plain old-fashioned intuition. “I know you do, Angie, but what were you thinking? If you knew about Chance, why would you set me up with this Russ Merrick,
his brother,
the same night, or at all?”

“I have my reasons.”

The cryptic tone didn’t help Donna’s already suspicious nature.

She knew her sister too well, and something besides her regular matchmaking schemes was afoot.

“So, what do you think of our strapping Mr. Merrick?”

Donna’s pussy spasmed at the description, and she crossed her thighs to staunch the instant flow of moisture.

What was happening to her when a simple word could turn her juices on like this? Or maybe it wasn’t just the word but her memory of the tall, broad-shouldered stranger marching up the walkway to fling his arms around Chance in greeting.

She was still recovering from that little scene, she realized, still hadn’t come down from the shock of that embrace and that Angela knew both men.

Donna hadn’t met two brothers, even half brothers who looked more unalike,
felt
more unalike, yet each was gorgeous in his own way, and each turned her on.

It was the last that concerned her the most and now had her fidgeting against the rising need heating her center from the inside out.

56

Gracie C. McKeever

Don’t think about how gorgeous he is. You came here with
Chance. It’s bad enough nursing a love jones for one man you can’t
have. Don’t add another you barely know to the mix!

She glared at her sister and wondered how in the world the woman had set this up. Sure, Donna would allow that Angela had arranged for Russ to be at the party. But Chance? Donna had approached him of her own accord. Angela hadn’t had anything to do with that. But how did her sister know his name before Donna had introduced them?

Oh yeah, how could she forget about the visions?

Damn, she really hated the idea that her life wasn’t her own, or that she had no free will, and no matter what she thought, her life—

and her soul mate—had already been mapped and picked out for her.

“Or should I have asked what you think of
them
?” Angela prompted.

“You’re the psychic. You should know.”

“It doesn’t matter what
I
know, if you don’t admit the truth to yourself.”

“And what truth is that, Angie? That one man isn’t enough for Donna the Man-eater? That your lonely spinster sister needs
two
men to tame her and put her in her place?”

“Donna…” Angela put the palm of one hand over her own chest, looking genuinely distressed. “I never called you a lonely spinster.

And I certainly never thought you needed to be tamed or put in your place by
any
man.”

No, Angela hadn’t said any of those things. Donna’s ex-boyfriend Bo had. And her ex-husband Peter had.

Donna didn’t know which was worse—being told she needed to be tamed or trained like some animal or pet or being told she was going to grow old alone if she didn’t start acting like a proper wife and trusting her husband. What she did know was that she couldn’t trust any man not to hurt her, and the best way to do that was to not need them, or at least not need them too much or too long. She had to
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57

get hers and get out before a man had a chance to hurt her with useless platitudes and empty promises if not more or worse.

She’d be the first to admit she liked sex, often needed and wanted it, but she wasn’t going into any relationship expecting more or forever. She definitely wasn’t expecting honesty, so a man didn’t have to step out of his comfort zone with the idea of placating and satisfying some nonexistent Cinderella fantasies or her ego, just needed to satisfy her in the bedroom and leave.

“Donna, Chance and Russ are not Bo and Peter.”

She had to keep her jaw from dropping when Angela slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

All of her family knew about Peter, how her milquetoast husband had gone back to his pregnant ex just nine months into his and Donna’s marriage. And he had wanted her to
trust
him? Yeah, right.

She turned to face her sister and rasped, “You know about Bo?”

“More than you’d like me to, but not as much as
I’d
like to.”

Donna had been so careful too, keeping her dirty little secret, and with two psychic siblings and a close-knit family, it hadn’t been easy.

Until now she thought she had succeeded. The only reason keeping things under wraps had been doable at all was because she had gone upstate to college, wanting to get as far away from home as possible without leaving the state, to spread her wings. Next to her younger brother Nick, she’d always been the most rebellious non-conformist among her siblings, and it had always served her well.

Rebellious and non-conformist were one thing, but this scenario Angela seemed to be proposing was a little beyond anything Donna had ever considered.

She gazed across the backyard to where her two brothers, sister, and three in-laws were playing volleyball and zeroed in on the two men who had been dragged into their ranks and, for the moment, accepted.

Each man looked as if he belonged, completely comfortable in his surroundings, falling into the good-humored mood of the group and 58

Gracie C. McKeever

pursuing the game with gusto. She wasn’t surprised since both Chance and Russ looked athletic, like they each regularly engaged in sports or other types of physical activity.