26
E rin was nervous, which was a new feeling for her, but she’d never been an hour away from opening her own business, and she wanted everything to go well. She hoped she’d get a good turnout for her opening; there was no guarantee, even with all the advertising she’d done. Her nerves may also have to do with the fact that she’d introduce her father to her boyfriends in a few minutes.
Yes, she’d told them she wouldn’t hide either of them and meant it, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous about it. It would be the first time she introduced someone to him in a while.
She’d picked her dad up from the airport, and they’d gone straight to her shop. His original flight was delayed, so she didn’t have time to take him to get settled first, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Her men were coming early to help her set up, though Erin didn’t have much to do. The rest of their friends would be there fifteen minutes before the event started. She wanted to introduce the three without having an audience.
“This place is great, Bug!” her dad stated from the back. He’d been looking around while she ensured Dahlia, one of the artists she’d hired, had her portfolio set.
She was finishing the last few days of her notice at her current shop and couldn’t make it, but Erin still wanted her work seen. She’d asked Dahlia to give her timeslots for appointments for the week she’d be starting so she wouldn’t miss out on clients.
“Thanks, Dad. I can’t take too much of the credit. It’s thanks t—”
The door opening cut off Erin’s words. She turned her attention as Cruz and Paetyn walked in.
“It’s thanks to them,” she finished, and her dad turned to them. “Paetyn, Cruz.” She gestured to them. “This is my dad, Morris. Dad, these are my boyfriends, Cruz and Paetyn.”
Her father turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “With an s?”
“With an s,” Erin confirmed.
Her dad held his hand out and shook her boyfriends’. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“You as well,” Cruz responded.
“I know we’re all here to celebrate Erin’s new venture, and there’s likely some setting up that needs to happen, so I’ll wait for the stereotypical getting-to-know-you questions.”
“If the two of you are free tomorrow, we can have dinner,” Paetyn suggested.
All three men looked at Erin. Tonight was her opening event; tomorrow, she would be open during the regular hours she’d set. So, she understood they were letting her decide since it would be her first official day open, and while she hoped all went well, there was no telling.
“Tomorrow works. We can meet at eight.”
With the plans set, they began to set up for the opening. Her father hadn’t asked any questions, but Erin knew that he would, and she knew him well enough to know that he would wait until dinner to question all three of them.
T he turnout was better than Erin had expected. Dozens of people were in attendance; others had come and gone earlier in the evening. She was booked for consultations and tattoos over the next few weeks, having done some consults there. Erin had even booked some appointments for Dahlia. Torei, her other hire and fresh out of school, also secured a few. So far, it’d been a good evening.
She tried to get around to speaking to everyone in attendance. There were a few she hadn’t been able to get to, one that seemed to move around whenever she got close. At first, she found it odd, but then she realized they were looking at different portfolios or taking a look at her live models. They were gone when the crowd began to thin.
A few men attempted to flirt with her while asking her about her work, and she could feel her men’s eyes on them when it happened. Erin wasn’t even sure how they knew she was being flirted with when they were on the other side of the room most of the time when it happened.
She also hadn’t missed several women flirting with them, hands attempting to linger on the tattoos she’d given them longer than necessary. It was amusing to watch, even more so when they were turned down as quickly as they showed interest. She was going to check on her dad, who was talking to Nik and Kieran when she passed another woman flirting with Paetyn.
“No, I’m in a relationship.”
“That’s the first time I’ve been turned down without the usual Sorry that proceeds it from most men.”
“I’m not most men, and an apology would mean I didn’t want to be tied down by the person I’m with,” Paetyn glanced at Erin as she passed. “And I do,” Erin smirked as she continued.
“Hey,” she greeted the three men. “You good over here?”
“We are,” her dad responded. “Nik was just telling me about his lounge. We should go while I’m in town.”
“Sure. I’ll put on my best wing-woman hat,” Erin teased.
Her dad rolled his eyes. “I don’t need you trying to hook me up with someone every time we go somewhere together.”
“If I don’t do it, who will?” she asked, poking his cheek with her index finger, and her dad thumped her chin, causing the other two men to chuckle.
She stayed with them for a few minutes before checking in with Chayse and Alijah and mingling for the last half hour of the opening. All-in-all, she would call it a success.
P aetyn sat beside Cruz in one of the smaller Aefinity rooms. He’d planned on them going to a restaurant that wasn’t his, but Erin asked them to go there. He assumed it was because they could talk in private, or maybe she wanted them to be able to take their time with the discussion without feeling like they were hindering other patrons. Either way, he hadn’t had an issue with it.
They’d shown up early, which for Paetyn was typical, but this time, it was to ensure everything was set up. He knew it would be and had never had an issue with his staff, but this was different. While he and Cruz had met Erin’s father the night before, they hadn’t officially met him. They didn’t do much conversing then, and Paetyn knew it was purposeful on her father’s part.
He could understand that. They were there to celebrate Erin’s accomplishment. It wasn’t the right time for the three to have the conversation and questions to be asked, but Paetyn knew they were coming.
It was eight on the dot when Erin and her father were shown into the room. He and Cruz stood as Morris held his hand out for both of them to shake.
“Nice to see you both again.”
“Likewise,” Cruz responded.
Before Paetyn could do the same, Erin pulled his attention, rose slightly on her toes, and pressed her lips softly to his. She then stepped over to Cruz, doing the same. Cruz pulled out the chair at the head of the table for her, and the four sat. He and Cruz on either side of the table, and Morris at the other end.
June, one of the servers, entered a moment later, wheeling a cart with a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red.
“Hello,” she greeted. “I’ll leave this here for you and return in a few minutes once you’ve reviewed the menu.”
“Thank you, June,” Paetyn stated, and the young lady smiled at them before leaving, closing the door behind her.
While the other three looked over their menus, Paetyn opened both bottles of wine. He poured white wine for Erin and red for himself and Cruz.
“Do you have a preference, Mr. Daniels?”
“Morris, please. Unlike my daughter, I enjoy a dry red.”
Erin made a faux gagging noise, and the three men chuckled as Paetyn filled Morris’ glass. She was not a fan of red wine unless it was sweet. They’d gotten her to try a semi-sweet, and she’d been able to tolerate it but stated she wouldn’t order it for herself.
“The three of you have bad taste.”
“I disagree,” Cruz responded.
Erin looked up from her menu to look at him, and Paetyn shook his head at the smirk on the other man’s face.
“I meant in wine. I’m the best decision you both have ever made.”
“My humble little girl,” Morris stated sarcastically, and the three chuckled again while Erin shrugged.
After a brief silence of the two deciding what to order, Morris placed his menu down, and his eyes volleyed between Paetyn and Cruz.
“How did the three of you meet?”
“Through Kieran and Alijah,” Paetyn supplied.
“That explains it. I knew I’d seen you somewhere but couldn’t place it until now. It was at the wedding.” He took a drink of his wine. “Go on.”
“The three were doing a photo shoot for a magazine cover and used Nik’s club as a backdrop. We happened to be there helping him with a few things,” Cruz supplied.
“I asked them to celebrate Alijah’s birthday with us.”
Morris blinked, looking between the three. “This has been going on for over two years?”
Erin shook her head. “No. That’s when we met. We’ve only been dating a few months.”
Her father hummed, and Paetyn was sure he would say something, but June returned to take their orders. Once they were placed and left alone again, the conversation picked up where it left off.
“How did this…dynamic come about?”
“We sat down with Erin and were honest with her about what we wanted and our intentions,” Paetyn started. “We’d both been attracted to her for some time, but we were waiting on the right moment, which was presented to us when we found out she was moving here.”
“We’d decided that we were going to ask her out regardless. Traveling back and forth wouldn’t be an issue, but then she was here, and we decided not to wait any longer,” Cruz added.
Morris nodded. “So, you decided to share.”
“We did,” Paetyn responded, not seeing a reason to give Morris the entire story on how relationships like this one worked best for them.
“What about you, Bug? Are you happy?” Morris asked, and three sets of eyes turned to Erin.
“Yes,” Erin responded, not missing a beat. “I can’t say I knew what to expect going into this, and I still don’t. Every day is different, and I’m sure we get on each other’s nerves some days, but I am happy. They do a good job keeping me that way, even if they’re overbearing sometimes.”
Cruz snorted, and Paetyn lifted a brow at her but said nothing. She was referring to them buying her things. He would let it slide for the night. He and Cruz knew her comments about it were to poke at them.
“Okay, then.” Morris took another drink of his wine.
“Not that we aren’t glad, but you’re taking this well,” Cruz said, and Paetyn had been thinking the same.
Morris chuckled. “I long ago stopped being surprised by anything Erin does. Honestly, I thought you would tell me she cornered you and said, ‘I’ve decided I want to be with both of you, so you need to get on board.’ It would be on trend.”
“Dad!” Erin exclaimed. “Don’t…put me out there like that.”
“I’m just being honest, but as long as she’s happy and safe, I have no issue with what she does with her life. She’s an adult who can make her own decisions.”
Paetyn and Cruz both nodded. This was by far the easiest parent meeting they’d had, but it explained why Erin had been so open to being with them and why things with her felt easier. Her laid-back demeanor came from her father, and it brought out the best parts of their relationship.
C ruz drank his wine as he let Morris’ words sink in. Honestly, he could see Erin approaching the two of them and telling them she’d made a decision they needed to get on board with. He was also sure they would have, even if it weren’t the type of relationship they usually had. It was a pull she had about her.
He was glad the conversation had gone so smoothly. That was never usually the case. It normally would take hours to answer why and what-if questions, and even then, parents were still skeptical. Cruz couldn’t say that he blamed them, but it was as if right before their eyes, their child had reverted to being in grade school, and they couldn’t fathom what they were hearing. It was nice to be on the opposite end of the spectrum.
“Erin told me after the opening event last night that her shop was a birthday present from the two of you,” Morris stated, drawing Cruz from his thoughts.
“It was,” Paetyn responded.
“We wanted to give her something meaningful, and she’s talented. Why let it be used for someone else,” Cruz added.
Morris nodded. “Tell me about yourselves. What do the two of you do for a living?”
Cruz took another drink of his wine as Paetyn spoke.
“I’m a restaurateur. I own several in town and different states.”
“I take it this is one of them,” Morris stated.
“It is,” Paetyn responded.
“And you, Cruz?”
“I’m the owner of C.A. Advanced Technologies. It’s—”
“A security company,” Morris cut in. “You signed a contract with the military at the beginning of the year.”
“You did?” Erin questioned. “Doing what?”
“I can’t say,” Cruz responded, while Morris stated, “He can’t tell you that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Erin replied before drinking her wine.
Cruz couldn’t say because he wasn’t allowed to, but he also wasn’t one hundred percent sure. They’d asked him to tweak one of his software programs to specific specifications. That had been last year, and he assumed they’d wanted to see if he could before they asked him for what they wanted. It’d been simple enough, but it could be used for anything. He’d done it, and they’d signed a hefty contract in January.
“Erin told us you’re in the military,” Cruz stated, turning his attention to Morris.
“I’m a Colonel in the army.”
“How long have you been serving?” Paetyn asked.
“Almost forty years.”
“If he were able, I’m sure he’d serve another forty,” Erin threw in. “I think he should find a nice woman or two and settle down,” she teased. Morris raised a brow at her, and Cruz shook his head.
“You needed more spankings as a child to help you form a filter,” her father responded.
“We’ll make up for that,” Cruz stated under his breath; he knew Erin heard him as she turned to glare at him.
As they waited for their food to arrive, the conversation was filled with the three getting to know one another and Erin throwing out teasing remarks to her dad. They had a good relationship, one that was based on communication and openness since she liked to tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he needed to get laid.
When their food arrived, the conversation tapered off into more general topics. They got on the subject of basketball, and Erin didn’t miss the chance to tell Morris that she’d beaten Cruz the one time they played, which prompted him to tell her they could have a rematch at any time. Morris laughed and commented that he was glad Erin found someone as competitive as she was.
“I’ve decided to pick up a new hobby, Dad,” Erin stated when there was a lull in conversation halfway through dinner.
“What would that be?”
“Learning Polish. Cruz is going to teach me.”
“Another language to your arsenal. Nice,” Morris responded.
“I’m hoping I pick it up easily since I know the foundation, but we’ll see.”
“You normally pick up things you enjoy quickly,” Morris stated. He looked between Cruz and Paetyn. “Do you both speak Polish?”
“I learned it as a child and speak it occasionally; Cruz is a native speaker, so he’s far better than me,” Paetyn responded.
Cruz refrained from rolling his eyes. Paetyn could speak Polish just as well as he could. For some reason, he didn’t realize it. Maybe it was because if it wasn’t conversational topics, or he needed a word that hadn’t come up in his learning or hadn’t been used in years, it took him a minute to recall.
“They both speak Spanish, too,” Erin supplied. “But Paetyn is the native speaker.”
“You’re of Latinx heritage. Which one?” Morris questioned in Spanish.
“Yes, I’m Venezuelan,” Paetyn responded.
They continued conversing into dessert, shifting the conversation to Erin’s first official day. By the time they were ready to leave, they’d made plans for Morris to play ball with them on Saturday while Erin was at work.
Once Erin and Morris pulled out of the parking lot, he and Paetyn slid into his car.
“That went well.”
“It did. It almost caught me off guard by how easily it had,” Paetyn responded.
“You weren’t the only one,” Cruz replied as they pulled out of the parking lot.
“We should schedule dinner with Lena and Dad before you leave.”
Cruz nodded. “We can do it the Friday before if it works for Erin.”
“We also have to tell her about the auction it’s also that weekend.”
Cruz had honestly forgotten about that while getting ready to leave. He’d agreed to give away a home system and a year of free security service to be bid on, and Paetyn was giving away a dinner experience for two made by him personally. The proceeds would go to a charity for domestic violence prevention.
“We’ll call her tomorrow, and if we need to do lunch with Lena and Dad that afternoon before the auction, we can,” Paetyn stated.
With that, the conversation ended, and the remainder of the drive was spent with the soft sounds of music filtering through the car.