Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Five
Bexley

Uncle Teddy’s place was devoid of a woman’s touch, which left me wondering about the whereabouts of Emilio’s mother. I felt it was rude to pry, so I didn’t ask. We ate paella and drank iced tea. I helped Emilio to wash the dinner dishes as Asher and Teddy hid the shot-up taxi and dragged an old propeller plane from the barn.

“I still can’t believe I’m standing here beside Safi Barker’s daughter,” Emilio mentioned as if awed by her memory.

As a child, I always looked up to my parents as if they were my heroes. I knew my father acted heroically in the Navy, but during the last few weeks, I realized just how courageous my mother had been. There was no way I could live up to a woman of her calibre, but it still encouraged me to try.

“Is it weird that I’m only just figuring out who my mother truly was?” I asked, exhaling a wistful sigh. “It seems like everyone knew her better than I did. I miss her so much.”

“I miss mine too,” Emilio confessed, taking the time to dry a cup he was holding. “Mine died when I was ten. My aunt tracked down my father, and he flew out to meet me. He was a total stranger, but he’s been my rock ever since.”

I flashed an empathic smile. “I love Uncle Ted. He’s such a good man.”

“Speaking of men,” he muttered, casting a quizzical eye over me. “How does it work having four of them?”

Any other day, I would have blushed profusely at that comment. But not now. I wasn’t ashamed to be involved with four brothers at once, even if society frowned upon it. Emilio was curious, as many people would be. It won’t be the first time someone inquired, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

“Well, for starters, I’ll never get bored,” I replied, flashing a salacious grin.

Emilio chortled. “Do you all . . . you know? All at once,” he asked, enthralled by our sexual dynamic.

I shrugged, rinsing the dirty dishwater down the sink. “Yes, they take turns fucking me. There’s no jealousy. No favouritism. We spend time alone, or more than one will take part, or I will have them all at once. There’s nothing gross about it. They don’t pay attention to each other, just me.”

Emilio placed the dry cup onto the table and turned to pick up a plate from the rack. He didn't seem shocked, more like relieved.

“What if they were not brothers, but lovers? Would it bother you if they took an interest in each other as well as yourself?” Something in the way he asked made me wonder if there was more to this than plain old curiosity.

“Well, no,” I answered as honestly as I could. “As long as there are rules in place to protect everyone, then no one should get hurt. If my men were lovers, not brothers, and they wanted alone time together, then I would adhere to that, just as they would respect me having alone time with each of them. Relationships are all about give and take.”

I narrowed my eyes, homing in on the rising blush spreading from his neck to his cheeks. “Emilio, are you okay?” I asked.

He swallowed thickly. “Yes, it’s nothing,” he dismissed, even though there was clearly something he wasn’t telling me.

“Whatever it is, maybe I can help?” I offered to lend a sympathetic ear.

His broad shoulders sagged as he sighed.

“There’s a couple I’ve been seeing for almost a year now,” he began, hesitating with the details as if he didn’t quite know how to explain it. “My girlfriend, Tania, and I met at a bar four months before I was introduced to Carlos, her husband. Things were going great, then one day she confessed that she was married. I was mad at first, but then she said they had arranged this, that they chose me to be a part of a threesome. I’ve always been into women, not guys. So, when Tania mentioned her husband wished to meet me, I planned to tell him thanks, but no thanks. We met at the same bar, and to my surprise, we got along well. We met up a few more times, and I couldn’t deny the growing attraction between us. The next thing I know, we were checking into a hotel. Things heated quickly. We kissed, we started touching, then we had sex. It was incredible; I wanted it as much as he did. When we told Tania, it thrilled her. She wanted to watch us. Carlos and I share her, and we enjoy one another as she watches. The point is, I’m in love with them, but I’m afraid of getting hurt. They’re married. I’m just the extra piece on the side.”

“Is that how they make you feel?” I asked, trying my best to help.

Emilio shook his head. “No, they say they love me too. And I want to believe it. It’s just . . .”

“It’s just hard to trust they’ll never abandon you,” I answered, appreciating how that felt. “It’s difficult being the outsider; not knowing whether they’ll wake up one day and decide you’re no longer needed.”

“Yeah, that’s just it,” he replied, his brows furrowing into a pained frown. “We don’t use birth control, so if Tania gets pregnant, I’m scared of being pushed out of my kid’s life. I wouldn't survive that.”

“They came looking for you because something was missing in their relationship,” I counselled. “You’re the glue that holds them together, like a missing piece of a puzzle. They need you just as much as you need them. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. And if you have kids, there will be an abundance of love to go around. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You have the chance to become a part of a stable family, so just embrace it.”

“Thanks, Bexley,” Emilio said, his grin brightening his handsome face. “I needed to hear that.”

“You’re welcome,” I returned a friendly smile.

Asher waved his arms to capture our attention through the warped glass. We glanced through the window as he mouthed, “We’re ready to go!" Then pointed to the plane.

Emilio tossed the dish towel to me, so I could dry my hands. I grabbed my bag from the kitchen table and ambled outside. Emilio locked up behind us, intending to tag along for the ride. Uncle Teddy grinned from the cockpit as the propeller whizzed around, creating ripples through the sun-parched grass. Asher helped me climb inside the four-seater plane, then took a seat beside me. Emilio shuffled in alongside Uncle Ted, assisting him to fly the damn thing.

“Will it get us there in one piece?” I murmured, worried that the nuts and bolts might fall out while we were hundreds of feet up in the air.

Asher’s eyes creased at the corners as he laughed. “Don’t jinx it,” he warned.

We started moving along the dirt track, gathering speed. My stomach lurched as my back pressed against the seat, then the ground drifted further away as we ascended the sky. Emilio began chanting in Spanish, signing the cross against his body.

“What’s he doing?” I muttered, curiously.

“Praying,” Asher replied, chuckling.

For fuck’s sake. How many more near-death experiences am I going to have in one day?

I buried my face into the crook of Asher’s neck, squeezing my eyes closed as the plane juddered and strained. The moment the plane levelled out, I felt my posture relax and I could breathe again. Asher threaded his fingers with mine and kissed the back of my knuckles.

“How are you feeling, love?” he inquired. I could tell he was referring to the aftermath of the car chase. People were dead. The authorities were not just going to allow us to walk away from this. We couldn’t fail the mission. It had to be worth the sacrifice.

“I don’t know,” I replied earnestly. “But I’ll feel better when we’re all back together again.”

He circled the back of my hand with his thumb. “I know a way to take your mind off things,” he hinted. “How about we play a game?”

I scrunched my face in an incredulous grimace. “What? Like eye-spy?”

Was he really trying to distract me with such an infantile tactic? When we were children, he would always cheat. He would choose the most minute, amoebic particle, like a speck of dust or a pollen spore, or a germ that could lurk in the atmosphere. Asher Wolfe disliked losing at anything. He was such a sore loser. I didn’t want to throttle him to death as we headed to Paris.

Asher rolled his eyes with a click of his tongue. “No, not that game. How about we play “What’s Your Favourite?”” he suggested. “I’ll go first. What’s your favourite flower?”

The corners of my eyes twitched as I pondered that for a moment. “Pink roses. But it makes no difference if they're pale or vibrant. They're all pretty.”

Asher pursed his lips as he considered his next question. “What’s your favourite type of gold?”

“Ash, where are you going with this?” I narrowed my eyes with suspicion.

He huffed with impatience. “Bexley, just play along.”

“White gold because yellow looks tacky on me,” I answered, humouring him. “Platinum, if I’m allowed to be greedy.”

A subtle movement drew my eyes to his side, and I noticed he was typing a secret text. He caught me peeking and hid the screen from view.

“What’s your favourite cake flavour?” he questioned, piquing my curiosity further.

“Red Velvet because I'm a saucy minx. Is there anything else?” I countered, arching a brow.

Asher finished typing, then a notification tone signalled that the message had been sent and received.

“Nope,” he replied, sounding satisfied. “I’ve got everything we need.”

He refused to elaborate further, insisting I will love what they have planned. The cogs inside my brain continued to turn, mulling over every plausible scenario. All that thinking wore me out and I dozed off during the flight, only to wake at the bumpy landing. As the sun melted into the horizon, it cast majestic rays across the landscape, its golden fingers stretching through the withered grapevines. We were here. I sat up straight and swiped the drool from the corner of my mouth. The light shone in my line of sight, obscuring my view of the winding pathway ahead of us. Uncle Teddy cut the engine, and the propeller slowed to a stop.

Asher helped me to climb down onto the dusty ground, the gentle breeze lifting my hair from my shoulders, raising the hairs on my skin. Three dark silhouettes approached from the nearby chateau; their determined steps breaking into a run. Uncle Ted and Emilio hung back, not wanting to intrude on our reunion. As they came into view, Dominic, Cruz, and Braxton looked like their old selves again. I hurried to greet them. Their kisses were full of love and devotion as they swaddled me in their arms. Our family unit back together again.