CHAPTER 21 #2
Trent refilled the glasses and passed mine back to me, and I lifted it when he held his up.
“To a new normal,” he said with a glitter in his eyes.
Yeah. I could toast to that.
Jamie
“Why am I so nervous?” I rambled as Edge pulled the car into his sister’s driveway.
“No reason to be, cupcake.” Cav peered back at me from the front seat. “She doesn’t bite.”
Edge laughed. “You’ve already met her, Jamie.”
“Yeah. At the bar. This is vastly different.”
Edge slipped out of the car, opened my door. He took my hand and helped me out.
Before he turned toward the house, he pulled me in close, bent his head, and kissed me. “She’s going to love you, Jamie. Almost as much as I do.”
My entire body warmed, my smile not as nervous as it had been.
When he released me, I smoothed my shirt and my skirt, took a deep breath, and nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
By the time we made it to the front porch, I was trying to figure out the fastest escape route. If I scaled the bushes, perhaps I could be down the street before she opened the—
“There you are,” a familiar voice sounded from just inside the house. “I thought for a minute you were going to stand me up.”
“Gretchen, you remember Cav.”
“Hey,” she said sweetly, hugging him when he stepped inside.
Still time to scale the bushes, I thought as I shot my eyes to the street. Then run like hell.
“And this is our girlfriend, Jamie Lautner.” He urged me through the door.
Nope. Time just ran out.
“I’m going to greet you first. It’s very nice to meet you,” Gretchen said with a wide smile as she pulled me in for a hug. “Then I’m going to ask my brother to clarify that statement.” Her bright blue eyes returned to his face, curiosity reflected there.
“Later, Gretch.” He chuckled. “Where’re the rug rats?”
“Uncle Greg!”
“There she is,” Edge said cheerfully.
The next thing I knew, Edge was swinging a little girl up into his arms, blowing a raspberry against her neck. She looked a lot like her mother, long dark hair, same kind smile, her blue eyes darker.
“Jamie, meet Julianna. Say hi to Jamie.”
“Hi, Jamie.” Julianna squirmed out of his arms. “I’m six. How old are you?”
I peered up at Edge and smiled. “Twenty-four.”
I didn’t imagine the look that Gretchen passed her brother.
A man appeared, his eyes bouncing between us. He held out his hand to Cav. “Good to see you again, man.”
“Same, Rick. How’s work?”
Rick sighed. “Busy. But the holidays are coming up, so that’s to be expected.”
“Rick manages a chain of department stores,” Edge explained. “I’d like you to meet Jamie Lautner. Jamie, this is my brother-in-law, Rick Reilley.”
I shook his hand when it was offered. “Nice to meet you.”
“No need to stand in the doorway,” he said, motioning us farther into the house. “Dinner’ll be ready in five. Hey, Gretch, will you get Matt and Heidi? I texted them, but they’re ignoring me.”
Gretchen grinned. “Not the first time. Come on. Let’s sit in the dining room. I’ll grab the wine.”
Edge took the lead, and I followed with Cav on one side, Julianna on the other. The little girl tugged on my hand.
“Jamie, will you sit by me at dinner?”
“Of course I will,” I told her. “Which seat is mine?”
“This one,” she said, pointing. “You’re pretty.”
“Thank you.”
The next hour passed by in a blur of conversation.
I was introduced to nine-year-old Matthew and twelve-year-old Heidi.
Both had joined us at the table, not bothering to hide the fact that they’d rather be anywhere else.
Through the conversation, I learned that Gretchen and Rick had been married for fifteen years.
Both worked full-time. Gretchen was into hot yoga, and Rick had a weekly poker game with the guys on Friday nights.
They each had their own routines, their own hobbies, but they were happy.
Edge had shared with Gretchen my love for her bookstore/bar, which resulted in a long conversation about how it came about. Although I’d walked into the house a nervous wreck, somewhere along the way, I settled in, feeling more at home than I expected.
Right up until Gretchen moved us into the den. She excused herself to get Julianna in bed while Rick poured coffee.
“She’s gonna grill you on the relationship,” Rick noted, speaking to Edge as he placed the mugs on the coffee table.
“Probably.”
I had seen the look on her face when Edge had introduced me as their girlfriend.
I wondered if the reaction would always be that way.
I knew it wasn’t a conventional relationship, and back in the beginning, I’d been a little concerned about what others would think, namely, my best friends.
But once I’d shared the news and got their acceptance, I found I didn’t care what anyone else thought about it.
“She’s just curious,” Cav said. “It’s not every day her brother tells her he’s in a relationship.”
“Try never,” Gretchen said when she returned. “Not once in his thirty-six years has my little brother introduced me to a girlfriend. Much less…” She waved her hand between the three of us, sighed. “All right, brother of mine, you’ve got some explaining to do.”
She took a seat in the chair opposite Edge.
“About?”
She waved her hand to me and Cav. “You’re a we, huh? The three of you?”
“We are,” he said, not a hint of insecurity in the words.
“As in you love the two of them, they love each other and you?”
“Exactly.” It was obvious he didn’t want to delve into the details.
“How does something like this come about?” Rick asked, his genuine curiosity evident.
“It just does,” Edge stated.
Gretchen looked at me. “Are you a submissive?”
“Not really, no.”
“Did you meet at that club?”
I nodded. “Technically, yes.” I smiled. “But he was just giving me an introduction to the place.” I went on to explain my reasons, my doctorate, and my dissertation.
“Hmm.” Gretchen glanced from Edge to me to Cav, then back to Edge.
“Say what’s on your mind, Gretch,” Edge said with exasperation.
He’d already relaxed on the sofa, his arm around my shoulders, so I could feel his tension.
Gretchen finally grinned. “You do make a very cute throuple.”
“Thruple?” Cav laughed. “That’s a new one.”
“You like it?” She waved a hand toward us. “It’s fitting.” Gretchen peered over at her husband. “Don’t you think?”
“I try not to get involved,” he said, looking directly at me. “My wife’s got no filter. She calls it as she sees it.”
“I don’t mind,” I assured him, snuggling closer to Edge and squeezing Cav’s hand, which mine was safely tucked into. “It is what it is.”
“I like her,” Gretchen said, meeting Edge’s eyes. “She can handle you.” She looked at Cav. “And you.”
“She can.” Edge grinned before pressing his lips to my forehead.
I didn’t know about all that, but I knew I was head over heels, and this was right where I wanted to be. Gretchen and Rick weren’t the last people who would look at the three of us and wonder how it all worked. As long as it did, that was the only thing I was worried about.
“Dad would’ve liked her,” Gretchen stated.
There was no mistaking the way Edge’s entire body went still. “Gretch. Don’t.”
“What? You haven’t told her?”
I glanced sideways at Edge, noticing the strain on his face.
“Don’t you think—?”
“Please,” I interrupted, lowering my voice. “When he’s ready to tell me, he will.”
Gretchen held my stare, and something in her blue eyes softened. “You’re good for him, you know that?” She smiled, but not before I noticed there were tears in her eyes. “Really good for him.” She shot to her feet, made a beeline for the kitchen.
Edge stared after her, and I pulled out of his hold. “Let me go talk to her.”
He looked at me, and I could see the worry on his face. He didn’t want me to know the story. I cupped his face. “It’s fine. I’m just checking on her.”
When I got up, Cav moved closer to Edge. Before I was out of the room, Cav had changed the subject, engaging Rick in a conversation about sports.
I stepped into the kitchen to find Gretchen staring out the small window over the sink.
“Gretchen?”
She turned around. “I’m sorry about that.”
“No,” I said softly, stepping closer. “Don’t be. There’s obviously a story there, but it’s his story to tell.”
She kept her eyes on my face, nodded. “I meant what I said. You’re good for him.”
I smiled.
“Cav, too,” she added. “They’ve been friends for so long.” She waved her hand toward the den. “I should’ve known something like this would happen with them.”
I remained silent.
Her voice was soft when she continued. “I honestly can’t tell you the last time I saw my brother smile. And I have never seen him look at a woman the way he does you.” Her eyes cleared, her smile brightened. “He’s happy. Really happy.”
She laughed, and it sounded slightly hysterical.
“Is there going to be a wedding soon?”
It was my turn to let out a hysterical laugh. “Not soon,” I assured her. “But maybe one day.”
Gretchen’s dark eyebrows dipped low. “How does that work? Three people? You can’t all get married to each other. Isn’t that illegal?”
I grinned, relaxing. “When it comes to love, it just works itself out.”
CAV
“Well, that was interesting, I said in an effort to break the silence as we drove back to Edge’s apartment.
“I like her,” Jamie noted from the backseat. “The whole family, actually.”
“Julianna took a likin’ to you, that’s for sure,” I told her.
Edge didn’t chime in during the entire drive. When we stepped into his apartment, I considered offering to take Jamie home, not sure where his mind was at. Ever since Gretchen had brought up their parents, he’d been unsettled.
Jamie appeared concerned as she stood near the door, dividing her attention between the two of us. Edge went straight for the refrigerator, pulled out a beer.
“My mom was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia right after I was born,” Edge said, his face blank as he stared off into space.
I reached for Jamie’s hand, led her over to the sofa.