Ordinary Annuity
Sara
After a while, a nurse stopped by to tell us visiting hours were over. She also mentioned visitors were meant to be limited to four per patient. She didn’t seem too happy about all of us piled into the room.
Wyatt gave Roger the address for our house when they decided to take the offer to stay with us.
I’d hoped Roger would insist on the hotel, but no such luck.
Drew ordered a late dinner from his friend’s restaurant to be ready when we got home.
Picking at my skirt, I ride in the back of the car with Dante and Finn, dreading my mom’s upcoming interrogation.
Natasha is staying with Tom at the hospital for a while longer. Drew offered to go back later to relieve her, so she could sleep in her bed.
“Glad last night was my night.” Finn grins and puts his hand on my knee. “My guess is Sara will be sleeping in the big room all by herself.”
I bite my lip. I should. It would make sense with my parents being on the same floor. Maybe Caitlyn can sleep with me. The sheets have all been changed and no one has slept in the bed since.
“I’m sure Sara will be fine sleeping in my bed.” Dante glances toward me. “We don’t have anything to hide, pip.”
I twist my fingers in my lap. “I know.”
Yes, in my mind, I know we don’t have to hide from my parents, but this isn’t something I do. I don’t have boyfriends. I don’t have sex. Living with four guys? That’s not me.
It’s going to be obvious to Mom that we’re all sleeping together when she sees that bed. Maybe we can say it’s the right size of bed for that room. At least the guys all have their own rooms upstairs. We could pretend we’re all sleeping separately.
“Your mother loves you. She just wants what’s best for you.” Dante tips my chin his way and searches my eyes. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Easy for him to say. Until we come out in public, I’m the only one who has to be upfront with my parents about our relationship. The others can tell their parents they’re with me. They don’t even have to mention I’m dating three other guys too.
This would be easier if I could read my mother better.
But she knows how to put on a mask that no one can penetrate.
I wish I had that ability. For all I know, she’s ready to have me committed to rehab for sexual deviants.
Maybe she’s even researching it on the way to the house. I wouldn’t put it past her.
“You’re a grown woman, flower.” Finn threads his fingers with mine. “You can make your own decisions. If society doesn’t want to accept this relationship, then we won’t be part of society. Your mother is important to you. She’s processing a lot, but I’m sure she’ll understand.”
I tighten my grip on his hand. Fuck, I hope so. My family means everything to me.
We pull up to the house and the guys usher me inside. Roger stands to the side talking to one of the men Finn’s dad provided us with. Drew walks in behind us and pulls me into his arms.
“How are you, princess?” He tilts my head up to search my eyes.
The concern in his makes me blow out a breath. Today has been a lot. “I’m ready for this to be over.” My eyes widen. “Not us, but the Alexander thing.”
Drew smiles softly and runs his thumb over my jawline. “I knew what you meant. Dante got more information, so hopefully we have what we need.”
Finn nods. “And my father has two men on the hospital to watch over Natasha and Tom.”
I bite my lip because I keep wondering if Finn’s dad could solve this for us. He’s the biggest fish in this town. He could maybe bring Alexander to heel. But Finn doesn’t trust his dad. Who knows what his father would want in exchange?
It’s not fair for me to even bring it up.
Drew leads me into the dining room where dinner is ready. Mom and Caitlyn walk in from the stairs.
“This house is amazing!” Caitlyn grins. Her eyes are wide and shining. “I want to live here when I grow up.”
“You can visit anytime.” I smile at her but glance at Mom. Will she let Caitlyn visit? Or will she cut me off completely? Right now, she’s processing, but what will happen when she’s finished?
“It’s nice to have all those bedrooms.” Mom takes a seat at the table and we all sit down to eat. Roger walks in to join us, taking a seat on Caitlyn’s other side. “Good space for company.”
“Thank you,” Drew says as he sits next to me. “My parents lived here the past twenty years but wanted to downsize after I moved out. Seemed like an easy move for us to have somewhere we could all be together and have space for Tom and Natasha until this is resolved.”
Mom narrows her eyes on Drew. I swallow, because this is what she does. Yes, she sets me up on dates, but she’s also very particular about who I actually end up with.
“How are your parents?” Mom asks. “Mark and Alice Young.”
“Good. They’re still in New York, just closer to the park in a condo instead of a house with four levels.” Drew smiles. “We run our textiles company together.”
She sits back and looks at him. Knowing my mom, she already has all the information on him, plus any gossip she could uncover. She doesn’t leave anything to chance.
“You’re known to get around.” Mom glances toward Caitlyn before settling in. “You take a lot of women to a lot of dances.”
“I can’t wait to go dancing,” Caitlyn says. “Sara gets the prettiest dresses. You should have seen the pretty dress we found in Paris. You would have loved it.”
“I’m sure I would have.” I smile at my sister.
“I took a picture.” She frowns at her plate before looking at her dad. “We need my tablet so we can look at my pictures together. Can I go home and get my tablet?”
Roger shakes his head. “I’m sure someone has one available here.”
“You can use mine, squirt.” Finn winks at Caitlyn.
She grins. “After dinner—”
“Sorry. I have to work after dinner, but we can do it this weekend. Promise.” I give her a smile to ease the rejection.
“Everyone always has to work.” Caitlyn picks at her dinner.
Mom glances at her before returning her attention to Drew. “Seems like you aren’t the type to settle down.”
I don’t stop eating because this isn’t a worry I have with Drew.
Maybe at the beginning I was hoping for a weekend fling, but turns out he really likes me and from the start of us, he was all in.
But Mom’s probably heard all the stories from the other mothers.
She probably doesn’t know I was there when it was revealed he was sleeping with two different women.
She might not even know about him having relationships with two women concurrently.
I doubt either woman was really forthcoming with that gossip and the dinner was very exclusive.
Drew’s smile is easy. “Some women are worth settling down for. Others not so much. Sara is everything I ever wanted in a partner. She’s smart, beautiful, and driven. What more could I want?”
I meet his dark eyes and the smile he gives me makes my heart grow.
“I’d be careful, Drew. Mama Morris is fierce.” Finn chuckles and leans back in his chair. His green eyes sparkle. “She knows just where to strike to hurt you the most.”
Mom turns to Finn. “What do you think of Drew?”
Finn straightens and smirks. “Well, if you must know...”
Dante rolls his eyes. Wyatt shakes his head. My cheeks heat like I’m burning from the inside out. I’m worried Finn will mention something about sex.
Finn glances at Drew. “He’s actually a good guy. Sure, he owns a strip club, but who doesn’t want to own a strip club?”
The others groan and my face burns. I want to excuse myself, but can’t.
Finn laughs. “It’s not like Roger isn’t already aware of it. He probably did a full background check.”
Finn’s right. If there’s a secret to be found, Roger will find it. Has he found out about Drew’s half-brother or is that secret well-guarded?
“It’s a gentleman’s club and it’s a very nice establishment.” Drew takes a sip of his wine. “It’s a business like any other. I saw a vacancy in the market and provide an comfortable environment for businesspeople to meet.”
“What’s a strip club?” Caitlyn asks as she looks around at the adults.
“It’s a place where men go to see pretty women,” I say, not sure how much I want my younger sister to know about strip clubs.
“Oh, that’s nice.” Caitlyn focuses on her food again.
Mom arches an eyebrow at Finn, who does look a little chagrined. They haven’t been around Caitlyn a lot since Tom moved out when she was still a toddler.
“Apologies, Mama Morris.” Finn gives her a wide smile.
Mom rolls her eyes at the name, but her lips crack into a small smile. How is she really taking this? Yes, Drew is new, but Finn, Wyatt, and Dante have been running around her house since they were little.
“This wasn’t planned.” Wyatt’s voice is solemn as he captures my mom’s attention. “Drew and Sara started dating when Tom disappeared and you were away on vacation. She seemed serious about him and he seemed serious about her. For the first time, it hit us we could lose Sara.”
I fold my napkin in my lap to busy my hands and to look anywhere but at my mother.
“We didn’t realize the depths of our feelings.” Dante releases a breath. “We also knew none of us could make a move without hurting the others. At some point, we all had given up on ever being more than surrogate brothers to Sara.”
Finn cuts in. “But what we feel for Sara is more than brotherly. And Sara loves all of us. How could we not give her all of us?”
My cheeks are red, but they’re talking about love and that’s what we have. Caitlyn giggles.
“Honestly, I’ve known your feelings for Sara for a while now. And hers for you.” Mom straightens. “I don’t understand how Drew Young fits into this. Sorry, Drew. But I always figured she’d end up with Wyatt, Dante, or Finn. Not all of you.”
“It would have ruined our friendship if she’d chosen one of us.” Wyatt reaches for my hand on the table. “She’s it for all of us. I know it will be difficult to have this relationship out in society. But it’s always been Sara.”
“Marriage?” Mom arches an eyebrow. “It’s not like she can marry all of you.”
“It’s still early in our relationship, but we’ll figure something out.” Dante clears his throat. “We know that’s important to Sara, and when we get to that milestone, we’ll figure out a way to commit to her together. Even if she can only legally marry one of us.”
“This isn’t conventional.” Drew leans forward with his elbows on the table.
“But what we feel for Sara isn’t conventional.
We all love her and she loves us. If the only problem you have is which one of us she should marry, I don’t think any of us would have an issue with her marrying any of the others.
We’re like brothers now. Bound by our devotion to your daughter. ”
Mom sighs and puts her napkin down beside her mostly empty plate. “I appreciate all of you being honest with me, but the only person’s opinion I need to hear is Sara’s.”
My hands tremble as I put my napkin on the table. I knew it was coming, but I hoped to put off the talk for as long as possible.
“We need to look at the files I retrieved.” Dante touches my arm. “Join us when you’re through, pip.”
I give him a slight nod and rise from the chair. Mom stands and leads the way upstairs.
“Let me find you that tablet,” Finn says to Caitlyn.
“Fill me in on the finer details, boys.” Roger isn’t moving from the table. That leaves just me and Mom to talk about how I want to be with four guys, not just one.
I want to drag Dante with me as my own personal security blanket, but that won’t fly with my mom. She wants to talk alone. I just have to figure out how to plead my case without talking about my newly discovered sex life.