who would love them both in return.” She chuckled. “They haven’t been celibate, not by a long shot. I have seen them with a lot of women over the years, and I have never seen them look at a woman the way they look at you. Not even their wives. Maybe you’re the one for them and they’re the ones for you, maybe not. But, don’t you think that the three of you owe it to yourselves to find out?”
“In less than two weeks I have to go back home.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“But I can’t just leave Kelly alone.” No matter what, she couldn’t desert Kelly.
“We’ll worry about that later.” Nat regarded her closely. “Now, I’m going to do something that may make you angry, but I’m doing it for your own good.”
Nat reached for her hand, pulled her out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs. Jesse was pulled up the stairs and into the guest bedroom where her sister began repacking her suitcase.
“Are you throwing me out?”
“Not quite.” Nat went into the adjoining bathroom for Jesse’s toiletries. “Where’s my cinnamon stuff? I can’t wait to try it out on Jake.”
Wondering what her sister could possibly be up to, Jesse went to the closet to retrieve the purple bag. Eyeing Nat closely, she handed her the bag, watching her struggle to close the suitcase. Nat had never been able to pack a bag.
When Nat finally got the suitcase closed, she hugged Jesse, whispering in her ear, “I love you, honey, remember that.”
Jesse regarded her sister suspiciously, starting to get really nervous. Following Nat back down the stairs and walking into the kitchen, she stopped short. Clay,
Rio and Jake sat at the table drinking coffee as though they had been there all along. Glancing at the window, she saw that it had been closed. Nat must have closed it when she refilled her water. The men couldn’t have heard their conversation, she thought with relief.
Jesse looked at Nat. “I don’t understand, Nat. What are you up to?” She never trusted her big sister when she got that look on her face.
“Clay,
Rio, I’m giving Jesse to you,” she heard her sister say.
“What!” Jesse gasped, looking at Nat.
Nat ignored her. Looking sternly at the two grinning men, Jesse heard her say, “I’m trusting you with my sister. I trust you not to hurt her. If everything goes well, you have to have her back to me the day before she is supposed to leave to go home. I want some time with her. Since I’m giving you most of it, I expect you to respect my wishes. If things don’t go well, bring her straight back to me.” She looked like a drill sergeant as she paced in front of the men. “Not to the airport, no matter what she says, but straight here to me.”
Jesse stood, shell shocked, as she watched Clay and
Rio take turns hugging Nat. She heard Clay murmur, “I love you, Nat.”
Rio took his turn hugging her sister. “Thank you, honey. You won’t be sorry.”
Jesse took a step back as they approached her, eyeing her intently. She’d never been so scared in her life!
Clay reached for her while
Rio picked up her luggage.
“Wait.” Jake stepped forward.
Thank God. Jake would be the voice of reason and get her out of this. Going away with these two men would be like a fantasy in one of the books she loved to read. She always read about ménages and thought it had to be the greatest fantasy on earth, to have two men completely devoted to a woman’s happiness, but until today, she never realized that people actually lived like that. But, she couldn’t stay and living the fantasy and destroying it would be worse than not living it at all.
Expecting Jake to put an end to all this, she turned toward him and found herself embraced in his strong arms. Then he surprised her. He held her arms, regarding her closely and she wondered briefly what he saw that made him nod.
“I know this isn’t what you want right now,” he told her, dashing her hope of a rescue. “But, I think Nat’s right. You’ll be