Time to Pretend (40 page)

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Daniel planted his hands on either side of her head, and the sounds he made competed with hers. Behind him, Evan cried out. As if he had been waiting for that signal, Daniel roared his climax. Two more thrusts, and Alaina shuddered with her own orgasm.

It wasn’t until her breathing returned to normal and she turned to sweep her gaze over her two lovers that she realized Evan hadn’t used a condom. As she watched, he finished cleaning himself with a washcloth, and then he tossed it into an empty laundry basket.

“You two don’t use condoms?”

Lying across the foot of the bed with one leg raised, Evan shook his head. “Not with each other.”

This shocked Alaina. Both of them had assured her they always used condoms. Always.

Daniel had collapsed on the bed next to her. He closed his hand around her fist. “We were each other’s firsts. We’ve used condoms with everyone else, Lainie. Neither one of us has ever had unprotected sex with a woman.”

“Or another man,” Evan added.

Daniel stared at the ceiling. “I’ve never been with another man.” Evan was quiet, but Alaina knew what he was thinking. Daniel had filled his void with dozens of women. The gender didn’t make a difference. The fact that Daniel hadn’t committed to him did.

“How did you guys figure out you wanted to add me to your little love nest?”

As she predicted, Evan laughed at her phrasing. It eased the tension she knew came from heartache. Things might be better now, but Danny had hurt him in the past.

Daniel was quiet. His gaze hadn’t moved from a fixed point on the ceiling. “Evan said if I didn’t stop screwing around, he would end things with me. I finally realized what Evan meant to me and how bad I was fucking things up by refusing to commit. And I was already half in love with you. I wanted you both. Evan agreed to try it.”
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Alarm bells should have been ringing through Alaina’s head, but they weren’t. Somehow, this was just data. It didn’t matter how it happened, just that it happened. She had no doubt Evan also loved her, and that was enough.

“Lainie, it scares the hell out of me when you’re this quiet. I know there’s something going on in that beautiful little head of yours.” She reached over Daniel and grasped Evan’s wrist. “I was just taking a moment to be thankful for Evan. He’s the reason you started talking to me again, isn’t he?”

Evan’s lips lifted in a slow grin. “Sometimes Daniel needs a swift kick in the balls before he’ll do anything. Even then, he usually reacts by digging his heels in a little harder.” Crawling over Daniel, Alaina settled her body over Evan’s and gave him a quick kiss. “You took a terrible chance giving him an ultimatum like that. Thank you.”

The heat of his body and the fire in his soul warmed her from the inside out. He cupped the back of her head and drew her closer for one of his patented kisses that short-circuited her brain.

“Marry Evan.” Daniel’s softly spoken declaration interrupted the kiss before it could lead to more.

Alaina laughed, and then she realized he wasn’t joking. “Don’t you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, Daniel? That should probably come from Evan, and it should be in the form of a question. And it should be his idea.” Daniel narrowed his eyes a bit. “Lainie, none of us would be here without Evan. Plus, he could use the health insurance.” Before she could protest further, Evan drew his fingers down the side of her face, directing her attention back to him. “Marry me, Alaina. I know a reverend who will perform a ceremony binding the three of us together.”

This wasn’t what she had expected when she woke up this morning. She pushed away from Evan to stand at the foot of the bed.

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Hastily, she snatched up the white cotton tee Evan had been wearing and jerked it over her head.

“Relationships between older women and younger men tend to not last for a lot of reasons, the most common of which is that the woman tends to want kids and the younger men aren’t ready for that kind of responsibility yet.”

They both sat perched on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on knees, watching her wring her hands under their scrutiny.

Daniel spoke first. “Alaina, Zach needs role models in his life.

Good men, like Evan and me, who won’t dump him off with someone else for any reason.”

“I think we’ve proven that we’re father material, and that we’re ready and willing to take on those responsibilities.” Evan stood and took her hands in his. “We were pretty candid when we first started this relationship. We told you then that we wanted to knock you up.” She noted that his nails were clean. Though his hands were rough from heavy work, his nails were always clean. The silly details failed to derail her thoughts. She wanted to say yes. She did not want to associate the image of her mother’s vacant, bloated face with a precious commitment to an event that would resonate for the rest of her life. “I don’t want to answer this today.” Immediately, Evan’s face reddened. “Fuck. I’m sorry.” He ran a hand through his hair, leaving strands sticking straight up. “I forgot.” Daniel pushed to his feet. He slid his arms around her waist.

“We’ll do this the right way at the right time, Lainie.” He kissed her shoulder.

“Yeah.” Evan embraced her from the front. “Maybe we’ll even wear clothes. No guarantees, though.”
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Chapter 20

The overpowering scent of vanilla potpourri assaulted him from every direction, yet it did nothing to hide the stench of death that marked the funeral home. Everywhere Daniel looked, he saw subdued groups of people mingling. Not many of them looked very sad. Most of them accosted Lainie at some point to give their condolences.

It didn’t take long for Daniel to realize that most of the people in the visiting rooms were friends and colleagues of Lainie’s. He had met some of them, but most of them seemed to know who he was without an introduction. He had already been propositioned six times.

Across the room, the bored, hard look in Evan’s eyes declared that he was also fighting off the advances of older women who saw him as fair game.

They had both decided to not mention this to Alaina. Their little firecracker was liable to punch someone. Since he had been working on self-defense techniques with her, Daniel knew she was in a position to take down most of the women in the room.

He hazarded a quick glance at his cell to check the time. Alaina and her father had been called into the director’s office to finish up some paperwork that Alan hadn’t completed in time. Daniel’s parents and Sophia would appear within the next half hour. With a sigh, he shoved the phone back into his jacket pocket and headed over to rescue Evan.

Evan looked up at him, smiling, as he approached.

Daniel clapped Evan on the shoulder. “You’re needed elsewhere.” He flashed an apologetic smile at the woman swathed completely in
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black. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t place her. They had probably been introduced already.

He headed off with Evan close at his side. Both of them had dressed in suits. Daniel’s actually belonged to him, though he’d owned it since high school, and it was a little snug in the shoulders.

Evan’s suit was one he’d inherited from his second-oldest brother, Dean. As a successful lawyer, Dean shed old suits long before they had worn out. Being the same size as his brother had advantages for Evan. He looked spectacular.

When they had dressed that morning, Lainie had stood before them in her staid black dress and shook her head. “I look like your mother,” she had said. “You’re both so damn handsome. It doesn’t seem like you should waste those clothes on a funeral.” He’d wanted to assure her they’d wear tuxedoes to the wedding and look even better, but he had tried for a lighter topic. “My mom is blonde, and I think she’s about twelve dress sizes bigger than you.” Evan had grinned. He had enfolded Lainie in his arms and kissed her temple. “And my mom is a bit taller, darker, and her eyes are blue.”

Daniel had closed in on her other side and kissed her other temple.

“You could wear that dress with all the straps instead of an actual back, but then we’d never make it out of the house.” As he had spoken, he had caressed her breast through the soft silk of her dress, teasing the nipple to a peak.

The funeral home was equipped with several smaller alcoves.

Daniel found one that wasn’t occupied and motioned Evan inside.

There was no door, but the angle of the entranceway gave the room the necessary privacy. He pushed Evan against the wall and trapped him there with his body.

Telling Lainie about them, though the timing had been just plain wrong, had lifted a huge weight from his shoulders. He found he really liked being able to openly display affection for both of the people he loved. So much time had been wasted not revealing this to
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her. Every time she caught them kissing, her eyes would soften, and her gaze would lose focus. She honestly found it erotic and sweet to see them together.

The heady, masculine scent of Evan’s skin chased away the cloying vanilla. Desire rushed straight to his cock. He ground his pelvis against Evan’s. Evan moaned and dug his fingers into Daniel’s hips a second before Daniel claimed the kiss he so desperately needed.

“Oh, hell no.”

That voice jerked Daniel away from all erotic thoughts. The sense of freedom he’d enjoyed for the past four days fled. Daniel hadn’t yet told his parents about Evan. He broke the kiss to face his father.

David DiMarco sported broader shoulders and more meat than Daniel, but that was the only significant difference. Daniel was his father’s son. He worshipped his dad. He’d spent his entire life trying to be just like him. That’s why he’d followed his dream and bought out his grandfather’s share in the studio instead of going to law school like his father wanted. He had done with his life exactly as his father had done.

His dad looked handsome in the black suit that accented his dark hair and skin. Threads of grey popped at the temples, giving him a more distinguished air.

Behind David, Anna DiMarco stared at Daniel and Evan. Her wide eyes held silent recrimination.

Sophia stepped into the room, coming to stand between their father and Daniel. She cast nervous glances at each of them. Drew rested his frame against the wall in a way that blocked entrance to anyone else.

“Dad.”
This isn’t what you think.
How could he say that when it was exactly what it looked like?

His father’s face turned ruddy with fury. He poked a finger in Daniel’s direction. “I always knew there was something between you two, but when you brought Alaina into your life, I thought maybe I
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was wrong. She’s very different from the bimbos you used to run with.”

Evan’s hand tightened on his wrist, lending silent strength.

Daniel opened his mouth to respond, but his father held up a hand.

“She’s a good woman. If you’re going to break her heart, do it honestly.
Don’t
do it at her mother’s funeral. I raised you better than this.”

Realization dawned. Not only had he not fooled Alaina, it appeared he hadn’t fooled anyone but himself. The anger rolling from his parents wasn’t over the fact he had been intimate with another man. It was over the fact they thought this meant an end to his relationship with Alaina.

* * * *

Alaina knew something was amiss when Drew flashed his TV

smile and blocked the entrance to the room she knew held Evan and Daniel.

He took both of her hands in his, caressed the soft skin of her wrists with his thumbs, and kissed her cheek. “I’m so very sorry for your loss, Lainie.”

Drew smelled good. It took Alaina a minute to realize he used the same aftershave as Evan. She smiled her thanks. “Drew, could you move a little to the left so I can get by?” His light blue eyes sparkled like some pale blue gem whose name she couldn’t recall. She preferred Evan’s sapphire eyes, and not only because she could match them to a precious stone.

“I think maybe you want to wait a bit.” He was smooth, but she handled people who wanted their next fix all the time. Some of them could be quite charming when they still hoped to score drugs or alcohol. Alaina met his friendly smile with an authoritative nod. “Now.”

With a loud sigh, he moved to the side.

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She hurried into the room to find Daniel and Evan locked in a standoff with Daniel’s parents. Sophia stood between them, the stern Domme come to keep the peace.

Alaina approached her men. She took Daniel’s hand and squeezed. He squeezed back. “What’s going on?” David stepped forward. He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. “Nothing you need to worry about now, Lainie. Please accept my condolences.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you.” She peered up at Daniel, who watched his father with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Evan was equally flabbergasted. This wasn’t going anywhere. She moved to catch Anna’s eyes. “Anna? What’s wrong?” Anna didn’t answer. Sophia moved to put an arm around her mother’s shoulders.

“She knows,” Daniel said, at long last breaking the tenseness. He squeezed her hand again. “She’s okay with it.” The tension drained from the room. Anna wilted with relief. “Oh, thank God.”

She closed the space between them and swept Alaina into the kind of motherly hug that had been in short supply during her own childhood. Alaina hugged her back.

“If you need anything, Lainie, anything at all, you call me. I may not be your mom, but I can be here for you when you need one.” Anna released her and threaded her arm through her husband’s.

She reached out and tapped her hand against the side of Daniel’s face.

It was an affectionate gesture with an implicit warning. She repeated the gesture on Evan’s cheek.

“I want grandkids,” she said. “You have Zach, so you’re already off to a running start.”