Boston Avant-Garde 5: Bellicoso (33 page)

“I did.” Her mother ushered her toward the kitchen and the mouthwatering aroma of Mrs. Tinsley’s homemade chowder. “I didn’t figure there was any time to waste in getting all these legal issues put to rights. Not just Allie, but your ah…boyfriend’s…immigration issues.”

“Boyfriend?” Selena hid a smile.

“It’s such a tame word for men like those two.” Annaline lowered her voice. “They’re both just so…virile.”

Selena burst out laughing. She howled until tears ran down her cheeks. It felt so good to let it all out, and her mother was absolutely right. How did one classify men like Demon and Malachi? Boyfriends? Not really. Significant others? Too casual.

How about the loves of my life?

“Let’s just call them my men for now,” Selena offered when she could breathe.
If I’m lucky, eventually we’ll be calling them my husbands.

* * * *

Malachi followed the sound of low voices from Selena’s suite of rooms to the kitchen. He had no notion of how long he’d slept, only that he and Demon had been alone in the bed. It didn’t set well.

“Malachi! I hope we didn’t wake you,” Selena said, hopping up from her place at the island and running to greet him.

Any irritation at her disappearing act evaporated when she flashed her bright smile. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to her beauty or those sexy green eyes. He scooped her into his arms and reveled in the feel of her squeezing him back.

“Is Demon still asleep?” she asked, peeking over his shoulder.

Malachi nuzzled her neck. “Shocking, hmm? I give it less than ten minutes. He must be dog tired for his mental radar to shut off for that long.”

“Are you hungry?” She started dragging him toward a bar stool just as soon as he set her back on her feet. “Mrs. Tinsley made chowder.”

“Is that what’s making my stomach growl?” Malachi inhaled deeply of the rich scent of white cream sauce and traditional Boston clam chowder. It was also underscored by a heavenly yeasty scent. His stomach rumbled again. “And bread.”

“Yes, lots of it.”

“I could eat,” he admitted.

Selena snorted. “If your appetite is anything like our daughter’s, there won’t be any left.”

Hearing the words
our daughter
from Selena made his heart swell to mammoth proportions. Allie needed a real mother, and somehow fate had placed the perfect one on a collision course with their lives.

“What?” She gazed up at him with a quizzical expression. “Is it okay that I refer to her that way? I didn’t mean to overstep…”

He silenced her with a kiss. She twined her fingers into his T-shirt as if she were clinging for life. Wrapping his arms around her slender body, Malachi pulled her even closer and deepened the kiss. Her tongue begged entrance to his mouth, flicking across the seam of his lips until he opened. She moved against him, her body in perfect rhythm with their kiss.

A pair of footsteps crossed the marble foyer behind Malachi and Selena. “Well hell, I can safely say I
never
expected to see a display like that from Miss Prim and Proper.”

A second male voice responded to the first. “You can say that again.”

Malachi ended the kiss and turned in one movement, placing his body between Selena and the two unknown men who were openly staring. Good-looking and clean-cut, both were dressed in slacks and button-down shirts. One was slightly taller with dark hair and eyes, the other blond and fair. Both were eyeing Selena with far too much familiarity for Malachi’s taste. “Can I help you gentleman?”

The blond guy had the balls to smirk. “Actually, I have a feeling we’re here to help you.”

Malachi was ready to give the arrogant prick a chance to rethink his statement when Selena laid her hand on his arm and sidled around him. “It’s okay, Malachi. These two a-holes handled my divorce. They’re good lawyers, and they’ve handled a few custody cases. I wanted to get the paperwork started for Allie.”

“A-holes?” The dark-haired man looked miffed. “How’s that for grateful, huh, Josh? We come over here during the evening, on a Saturday no less, and she calls us a-holes.”

Selena scoffed and put one hand on her hip. “The two of you were probably camped out in front of some ball game on the DVR and eating takeout. I’m not stupid. Your wife is staying in New York with my sister-in-law while Erik is in Boston.”

Josh looked affronted. “She thinks we have no life when Leslie’s not in town.”

Malachi realized with no amount of surprise that these two men shared a woman between them. It made him like them even better, though in all seriousness he had a feeling the two arrogant lawyers wouldn’t be bad to hang with even if they were into singular monogamy.

“Malachi Kingston,” Selena said. “This is Seth Overton and Joshua Breckenridge. Their sort-of wife is my brother Erik’s wife’s best friend. Oddly enough, Leslie and Talia met when they were students at Allie’s school.”

School connection aside, Malachi was stuck on something else. “Sort-of wife?”

Josh heaved a sigh. “We’ve already had a commitment ceremony with our friends, but Seth is trying to convince Leslie she needs to legally marry one of us for financial purposes.”

“She’s not happy about it,” Seth admitted.

“The choosing,” Malachi guessed. It was something he’d been thinking about in the last seventy-two hours too.

Seth nodded. “Exactly. So shall we have a chat in the study?” He gazed around the foyer. “I thought Annaline mentioned a um…third party?”

The back of Malachi’s neck tingled. He’d been so focused on the presence of the two lawyers, he had no idea how long Demon had been lurking in the shadows on the far side of the foyer. He only knew that at some point Demon had made a silent descent down the opposite staircase and had been waiting to see whether or not Seth and Josh were friends or foes.

“He’s behind you,” Selena said casually.

Both Seth and Josh looked startled and maybe a bit uncomfortable as Demon crossed the marble floor like a wraith dressed in black with his tangled, dark hair hanging almost to his chin.

“Wow.” Josh’s low exclamation made Malachi smile.

Yes, wow is right.

Demon flanked Selena’s other side and leaned down to brush a light kiss across her cheek.

Seth regained his equilibrium quickly—a fact that made Malachi like him even more. “Let’s head for the study, shall we? Josh and I brought some papers for you to look over.”

Malachi wished those words didn’t make the bottom drop out of his belly as if he’d just taken a nosedive on a roller coaster. He had a crappy history with lawyers and custody arrangements, and he was afraid it wasn’t going to get any better. The best solution would be for him to marry Selena so he could provide what the court would see as a “traditional” family unit for Allie.

But if Selena marries Demon, he’ll get a green card.

Guilt gnawed at another piece of his heart, and he wondered if the red tape and social barriers would ever let up for three people who wanted nothing more than a chance at love.

DEMON LAGGED BEHIND his lovers as they headed out of the foyer and down a spacious hallway. The two lawyers made small talk with Selena, but Demon was more focused on Malachi’s rising tension.

Selena pushed open a doorway and stepped into a well-appointed room with bookcases lining three walls from floor to ceiling and a set of wide French doors that opened onto a patio. Her lawyers seemed comfortable in the space, claiming seats in the matching wingback chairs and spreading the contents of a thick file across the coffee table. Selena perched on the edge of a large leather sofa.

Malachi looked momentarily undecided but took the seat on Selena’s left, leaving space for Demon to sit on her right. Demon didn’t feel like sitting though. Not when his partner was so fidgety for no apparent reason. The muscles in Malachi’s neck and shoulders were rigid, his facial expressions tight and unnatural. Why? Until he found out, Demon intended to remain standing behind his lovers.

“Lars actually called us several days ago and had us look into Allie’s case a little bit, Mr. Kingston,” Seth began.

“What? Why?” Malachi asked.

Josh’s blue gaze narrowed. “I assumed it had to do with the ongoing investigation involving the girl’s mother.”

Demon cleared his throat. “I asked him to make certain Allie’s school was named guardian ad litem until we could make arrangements for Malachi to gain full custody.”

Malachi shoved his hair behind his ears and leaned back against the sofa cushions. He looked pensive. It warmed Demon to see Selena lace her fingers with his. She was comfort in a world that had always been utterly devoid of such things. It was a blessing he’d never expected to discover.

Seth and Josh glanced at each other briefly, obviously having a silent conversation. Then Seth picked up a sheaf of forms. “This is what I propose.”

“Did you check into the idea I ran past you?” Selena asked.

“I did, and you were right.” Seth looked at both Malachi and Demon in turn. “The state of Massachusetts recognizes something called a ‘de facto parent.’” Seth gestured to Demon. “In your case, it recognizes the fact that you have been a steady, constant presence in Allie’s life since she was born. You and her father have been in a relationship for the duration of her life. You’ve made decisions about where she goes to school, kept her enrolled, handled her transfers, her grades, her discipline.” Seth offered Demon a warm smile. “You’re her father just as much as Malachi is.”

Demon appreciated the sentiment, but not the way it drove salt into Malachi’s already wounded soul. “Malachi is her father. I was her bodyguard.”

Josh shrugged. “The state doesn’t view it that way. In previous cases involving immigration issues, de facto parents are granted special immigration status if deporting them would tear up a family unit.”

“Your leaving would destroy Allie,” Selena said firmly. “It would destroy all of us.”

Malachi rocked forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “I figured I’d file for full custody. How are they going to deny me when Seraph is being extradited for murder? Then Selena marries Demon and he gets his green card.”

Was that the source of Malachi’s anxiety? Did his partner honestly believe they were going to argue over who needed marriage to Selena the most? It was on the tip of Demon’s tongue to protest, but Seth got there first.

“No immigration official is going to buy into a relationship between Selena and Demon. They met less than three days ago.” Seth gave Demon and Malachi a long look of consideration. “The two of you, on the other hand, have had almost fifteen years together. Coupled with a statement from Lars regarding Demon’s forced presence here, we can easily spin it in our favor.”

Selena dropped her gaze to Malachi’s hand, which she was clutching tightly between her own palms. “Then they need to get married.”

“Yes,” Seth agreed.

She hazarded a look up at Seth’s face. “And he needs to file papers to adopt Allie formally.”

Seth nodded. “Yes. Now that he has his passport, these things are possible. We can start the paperwork right away.”

Selena sighed. “If this was you and Josh and Leslie… Would you do it this way?”

He exhaled slowly and gazed at Josh. It was obvious they had a history between them that went back as long as Demon and Malachi’s. The binding ties between the lawyers were tangible. “This is why Leslie refuses to make things legal. She doesn’t want to have to choose. But yes, if our situation was anything like yours, this is how I would proceed. This is the course of action that will keep Allie safe, keep Demon from being deported on some ridiculous technicality, and allow the three of you to continue your lives.”

Demon was at a loss. People rarely surprised him, but Selena’s selfless crusade to keep their family together beggared his ability to describe it. She hadn’t uttered a word about herself, about her future. She hadn’t demanded they make a commitment to her beyond the words the three of them had already shared.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Malachi gently squeezed her hand and brought her fingers to his lips. “What about you? Don’t you want to marry?”

“Being married to Jackson taught me that without love and commitment, marriage is just a piece of paper and a social title. I love the two of you and I love Allie, but our being together has nothing to do with legalities. If we want to commit to each other, we will. It’s a state of mind, not a license you pay for down at City Hall.” Her earnest expression made her even more beautiful, if that were possible.

Demon caught her green gaze and held it, willing her to see what he held in his heart. They’d been together such a short time, but they’d already moved mountains to save what they had. It was enough. It always would be.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Four weeks later…

“Do you see them?” Allie tugged on Selena’s sleeve.

The stage was set for the Boston School for the Arts’ holiday performance of
The Nutcracker
. Every department had contributed to the production, dance, music, and drama. The school’s auditorium was packed to the rafters. In the glow of beautifully painted sets and fabulous costumes, the scuffed floors and worn seats resembled the splendor of the Boston Opera House.

Selena leaned a little farther into the thick red curtain. The house lights were just beginning to dim after the set change. “I think I see them. Our family is hogging an entire section.” She suddenly found herself locking gazes with Demon. His sensual mouth curved up at one corner, and her body responded with a thrill she was never going to tire of.

“Everyone?”

“Yes, Allie. They’re all here.” Selena wrapped an arm around Allie’s narrow shoulders and walked her back toward her class. “It’s time for the flowers to get ready. I’d hate for one of my girls to miss her cue.”

Allie’s pale pink costume floated behind her as she dashed back to stage left. Selena couldn’t remember a time she’d been more proud of another person in her life. Allie was a beautiful, talented girl, and every day they spent together reinforced the bond that had sprung up so unexpectedly between them.