Her mother huffed.“Like you would give him one.Baby, wedidn’t know he took over Anna’s job.We would never have allowed you to takethat meeting.Your father is going to have a talk with someone at his company.”
“Don’t.I know it wasn’t Scott.He was talking to me, but hewas surprised when I went from perfectly fine to slurring my words.”Yes, shewas able to remember some of it.
“Why didn’t he get you help?”Her mother’s lips formed astraight line.
“Because he’s Scott and he knew he would be blamed.Why was Rubycalling Garrett?Shouldn’t she have called me?Also, can he come back here andtell me himself?”And hug her and kiss her and surround her with affection andlove.She wanted her men even more than she wanted her parents.
Wow.She wanted them here with her.She’d always looked toher parents for comfort.Even more than Bobby.
But right now the only thing she wanted was to see Keane’sface, to hear him telling her it would be all right.To have Garrett’s hand inhers while Keane took control.
Damn, but she liked having someone to hold her hand whiletheir Master took care of them.
Keane was going to baby her for days.Garrett would be givenstrict instructions on how to care for her when Keane couldn’t do it himself.
And now that her parents were here, she was more thanwilling to let Dad deal with Scott and the insurance and pretty much everythingwhile she rested for a while with her guys.
“I’ll go and get him.”Gigi gave her a wink.“I bet Mirandais dying to get back here, too.Now that your dad is here, I would bet thestaff will relax all the rules.He’s probably scaring the hell out of themright now.”
Gigi left, the door closing behind her, and her mom took herhand.
“You like these men?”
“I think I love them.”She shook her head.“Mom, you wereright.When you know, you know.”
“I’m so happy for you, but you should understand…”
She groaned.“Dad is going to take a while.I know, but Ipromise you Garrett and Keane will win him over.They already do great work forthe company, and they take excellent care of me.It’s honestly the first timeI’m not worried that they have other reasons to date me.They want my hot bod.”
Her mom laughed.“Of course they do.You’re beautiful andsmart.I’m so glad you found them.They’ll have to come to Sunday dinner.If Ihave a kitchen.And a housekeeper.We gave her the month off.Wow.I’ve come along way.I think we should see if I remember how to cook a pot roast.”
“They’ll love it no matter what.Mom, they’re an awful lotlike Dad and Papa.”
“In what way?”her mom asked.
“In all the ways, really.”
Her mom’s brows rose.“In the ‘they play together’ way.”
“I’m working on it, but it’s so there.It’s right betweenthem.I think it’s been there for a long time, but they’re scared.I’m surethey wouldn’t use that word.They grew up in foster care together.”
Her mom chuckled lightly.“Like your dads.You know yourdads didn’t play together until I came around.They needed me.Maybe Keane andGarrett need you.I think sometimes when you bond the way your dads did, it canbe frightening to even consider changing things.For a long time all your dadshad were each other.”
“I think that sums up Garrett and Keane, too.They don’tlike to talk about that time, but it did bond them.”There were other things.Things she’d picked up on.Garrett sometimes mentioned a time when they wereseparated.He worked and went to college.He never mentioned what Keane wasdoing.
“Think about that.About what it would mean to not have yourparents or your brothers,” her mom mused as though she’d done this exact thinga million times.“To be alone as a child and suddenly you did have someone.Someone who proved themselves to you.Someone who becomes the steady ground youbuild your life on.Would you risk that for some physical feelings that don’teven satisfy all your needs?”
“You don’t think Dad and Papa would have been okay on theirown if they’d given in to their feelings?”
“Absolutely not.Baby girl, your parents aren’t togetherbecause we think it’s fun, though so many parts of it are.We’re togetherbecause this is how we were meant to be.We fit in a way no one and nothingelse can.If you take one of us out of the equation in the beginning, it fallsapart.Jack and I fight too much.Sam and I don’t fight at all, and that’s aproblem, too.Jack and Sam don’t ever explore a part of their relationship thatwas so needed.”
She truly was marrying her fathers.
Oh.She just thought the word.Marry.She wanted to marrythem.She wanted to build a real life with them.
“Dad is going to be a pain in the ass, isn’t he?”Oliviasaid with a hint of a smile.
“Only until he realizes you’re truly serious.”Her momsqueezed her hand.“You know your dad loves you and he wants the best for you.I think he learned his lesson from Nicole.He did not handle that well.”
