Tyler, Lynn - Be With Us (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (2 page)

Chapter 2

Lindsay nearly swallowed her tongue when Mr. Sexy Number Two, otherwise known as Liam, draped himself over the desk and grinned at her. “
Bonjour
, Lindsay.”

Holy Hannah, he had a voice that could melt butter. Deep and just a little rough, he sounded as if could be a male phone sex operator. His English was softly accented. Lindsay had recognized the French accent immediately during their first conversation a few weeks ago. She was always a sucker for men who spoke French. The first man to ever give her an orgasm had murmured French in her ear the whole time, and now the sound of Canada’s other national language never failed to make her wet.

Marla elbowed her in the side, and Lindsay abruptly realized she was staring at him like an idiot. At least she wasn’t slack-jawed and drooling. “Ummm…hi, Liam,” she croaked.

The man’s grin deepened, displaying a fabulous set of dimples. “It’s good to see you again. I wanted to introduce you to Nick,” he said, indicating Mr. Sexy Number One. “Anyway, I’ve been trying to work up the courage for this all this week so I’m just going to say it. We were wondering if we could take you out to dinner.”

Ohgodohgodohgod. Was this really happening? Lindsay cleared her throat. Then she swallowed.
Then
she pried the tongue off the roof of her mouth. “Aren’t you gay?” she blurted then winced. Okay, she was officially an idiot. What woman would ever turn down an invitation to have dinner with two hot men? Apparently, she would.

Liam’s smile faded a little, and Lindsay grieved for the loss of that bright grin. “We’re together, yes, but we’re not strictly gay. And we would really like to take you to dinner.”

Mr. Sexy Number One, Nick, apparently, frowned and started making his way over. Panic threatened to overwhelm her. God, what would everyone think of her if she went on a date with two men? The idea of the gossip alone was enough to terrify her. “Ah, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she muttered, dropping her eyes to the pile of books stacked in front of her.

“You don’t think it’s a good idea because we’re bisexual?” Liam questioned quietly, his accent thickening slightly.

Lindsay flushed but tilted her chin defiantly. She might be an idiot for turning his dinner invitation down. And she may be a coward for not grabbing what she wanted with both hands because she was afraid of the gossip. But she was no bigot, damn it. She looked him dead in the eye. “I don’t care about your sexual orientation,” she whispered fiercely as Nick joined them.

Liam opened his mouth to say something else, stopping only when Nick laid his hand on Liam’s arm. “Sorry, Lindsay,” Nick said apologetically. “Liam sometimes gets overenthusiastic when he sees something he wants. We’ll get out of your way now.”

She blinked up at Nick as he tugged on Liam’s hand. He handed the other man a heavy leather jacket and Liam shrugged it on as the two retreated to the exit. Lindsay watched them leave, sighing with regret.

“Are you crazy, girl?” Marla hissed. “What happened to, ‘can’t I have them both’?”

“Marla, are you serious? I can’t go out with two men. What would people say?” Lindsay replied, with not a little disappointment.

Eyes rolling skyward, Marla shook her finger in Lindsay’s face. “Who cares what everyone else thinks?”

Lindsay blew out a long breath. “I do, Marl. I can’t stand the idea of being a topic of gossip.”

Marla shook her head. “Gossip is just words, Linds. It can’t hurt you unless you let it.”

“That’s not always true,” Lindsay countered. She looked around to make sure there were no patrons needing help before she continued. “When I was a kid, someone started a rumor about my father. It tore my family apart.”

Marla patted her arm, her eyes softening with sympathy. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Wiping her suddenly sweaty palms on her thighs, Lindsay blew out a pent-up breath. The desk was still quiet so it was now or never. “Someone started a rumor that my dad was having an affair with my Aunt Leanne, my mom’s sister.”

“Oh, honey,” Marla crooned sympathetically.

Lindsay shook her head. “If that had been the worst of it, I would have had a great childhood.” She pressed her palm to her racing heart, hoping the pressure would be enough to keep it from pounding right out of her chest. “Small towns can be cruel. My father swore up and down that he hadn’t had an affair. Eventually my mother couldn’t take it anymore and left. My aunt left, too. My dad was so angry and depressed, he basically checked out. I pretty much raised myself.”

Marla enveloped her in a sympathetic hug, and Lindsay soaked up the feeling. No one had ever reacted this way. All her childhood friends had, at best, abandoned her. At worst, they teased her. As she grew older and developed earlier than the other girls, the boys chased her, desperate to get into her pants. The girls had ignored her or even bullied her, sure she was going to steal their boyfriends.

“Oh, sweetie, that must have been so hard on you. Why didn’t you go and live with your mom?” Marla asked.

Pulling away, Lindsay hung her head. “I didn’t hear from my mother until I found her five years after she left. By that time I had already graduated from high school and had been accepted into the University of Waterloo. She didn’t want me, Marl.” It still hurt, even after all these years, and it pissed her off to no end that she still let her past rule her life.

“Well, shame on your mom! You are the most beautiful person I have ever known, inside and out. And I’ll tell you, those two men want you, Linds,” Marla said fiercely.

Lindsay twisted her hands anxiously, suddenly plagued with the worry that she had sent her only chance at happiness out the door. What the hell was she going to do now?

* * * *

Nick was still shaking his head when Liam pulled up to the house. He’d gotten himself all worked up over that librarian, and Liam had only made it worse with all his teasing. Now he was horny as fuck and pissed off because now it would be harder to convince Lindsay to go out with them. “You’re a piece of work, you know that?” he muttered irritably, needing to take his frustration out on someone.

“Yeah, yeah,” Liam replied, slamming his car door harder than he had to and digging into his pocket for his house keys. “I just thought it was better to get the issue out right away.” His accent was so heavy Nick had trouble deciphering his words and he had been with Liam for five years, living with him for four.

Liam’s boots thumped on the floor as he stomped off the snow and toed them off.

“You thought it was best to ‘get the issue out in the open’?” He framed the offending phrase in air quotes. “God, Lee, you acted like a spoilt two-year-old, ready to throw a tantrum because he didn’t get his way.”

“Was I really that bad?” Liam asked, a rather horrified expression crossing his face.

Nick’s own shoes joined Liam’s boots, and he led his partner into the family room. “No. But you have to admit, you do tend to pout when you don’t get what you want,” Nick said, urging Liam to sit on the couch.

Groaning loudly, Liam leaned forward and lowered his head to his hands. “I just wanted her to give us a chance so badly.”

The leather couch rocked against the wall as Nick flopped down next to him. He rubbed Liam’s back tenderly and was overcome with the need to soothe. “I know you did, Lee. Look, we’ll send her flowers at work with an apology, another offer for dinner, and our number. Maybe she was just startled.”

Liam looked up, his hopeful smile lighting up the room. “Do you think we have a chance?” he asked.

Nick grinned as he reached for the phone book. Flipping through the book to the florist section, he located the number to the shop they always used to send flowers to their mothers and sisters. Giving instructions to the florist, he felt his groin tighten.

Oh yes, Nick thought. They had a chance. The flash of shy, curious heat in Lindsay’s eyes had given her away. The pretty little librarian was definitely interested in the two of them. Now they just had to convince her to take their offer and run with it.

* * * *

“I’m looking for a Lindsay,” the delivery woman said breathlessly as she blew a stray lock of hair out of her face.

“That’s me,” Lindsay answered, staring at the large arrangement that had been plunked on the circulation desk. Lord, it was beautiful. Deep red roses, delicate pink orchids, and striking white Calla lilies. Simple, stunning, and sexy as hell. Her kinky imagination perked up immediately, and she pictured strong hands trailing those flowers over her skin. Not just any strong hands. Liam’s and Nick’s hands.

The woman reached around the flowers with a clipboard. “Sign here. You are one lucky woman,” she sighed dreamily. “Liam and Nick send their mothers flowers at least once a month. They’re great guys. Sex on a stick, too.”

Lindsay watched the delivery woman disappear into the snow as her coworkers and several patrons gathered to coo over the flowers. Plucking the card from the middle of the bouquet, Lindsay turned her back on the crowd to give herself some sense of privacy and opened the envelope.

Lindsay,

Please accept our sincerest apologies for our forwardness this afternoon. We did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable or to put you on the spot. We would like to make it up to you by making you dinner.

If you would do us the honor of having dinner with us, please call. If we don’t hear from you, we will assume your answer is no, and we will not bother you again.

Sincerely,

Nick Nakamura and Liam Pelletier

Lindsay held the card close to her chest as she breathed out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t blown her chance at her fantasy after all. It was all she could do to stop herself from picking up the desk phone and calling them right then and there.

“Who would send mousy little Lindsay flowers?” a voice sneered from behind her, inspiring visions of murder and mayhem.

Damn, damn, double damn. Horrible Heather must have come to work to fill in for another employee. Heather delighted in making everyone around her miserable and especially enjoyed picking on Lindsay.

Marla immediately jumped to Lindsay’s defense. “Lots of people would send Lindsay flowers. In fact, two of the yummiest men I have ever seen asked her out just this afternoon.”

“Perhaps they are gay and are looking for a straight friend,” Heather said waspishly.

Heat flooded Lindsay’s face, and she was sure her cheeks were as red as the maple leaf on the flag displayed in the corner. She cursed her fair skin even as she met Heather’s derisive gaze. She had endured far worse than that as a teenager, and she would be damned if she would back down now. “Not that it’s any of your business, but the flowers are from the men who asked me out.”

Heather rolled her eyes and made a show of tossing her long blond hair over her shoulder. “It’s probably just a joke. Even if it’s not, Little Lindsay couldn’t handle even one man, let alone two.” Lindsay’s heart sank just a little. Two men loving her and loving each other might be her fantasy, but did she have it in her to overcome her fear of discovery?

Chapter 3