Chapter Fifteen
The last two weeks were the longest in Dean’s life. While he was thrilled to meet his son and have Brendon get to know Jack and him, they both missed Paige. It had gotten so ridiculous they would make up excuses to check on the inn just so they could catch a glimpse of her. Jack even suggested sneaking in and clogging up the toilets.
If they had any question on whether Stephanie could replace Paige, there was no longer any doubt. Stephanie was glad to get free babysitters and some extra cash. When they made it obvious that sex was completely off the table with her, she wasn’t devastated. She might have even been a little relieved.
Dean couldn’t stop thinking about Paige and how she had become as important to him as Jack. Jack loved her, too.
When he’d spied on her, his heart warmed at the sight of her. Paige looked beautiful and completely in her element as she made her guests comfortable. She hadn’t called them once, and he wondered if she missed their weekly board games as much as they did.
“Where have you been?” Jack asked him when he walked into their house on the mainland.
“I took the ferry over to the inn. I put Boardwalk and Park Place on her pillow.”
“Subtle,” Jack said. “I spoke to the bank today. They approved the mortgage.”
Dean grinned. “I knew they would.”
He pulled out his phone and texted Paige. His fingers were trembling.
Call me when you find it.
She texted back:
Find what?
He didn’t answer her.
They were back on the island spending time with Brendon when Paige texted back.
Why are there Monopoly properties on my bed?
Dean grinned and showed Jack. He texted back:
We landed on your property. We wanted to pay up. So we mortgaged some assets. I’ve got $60,000 for you.
His phone rang. Jack fought him for it, but Jack got distracted when Brendon joined in trying to grab the phone, and Dean took the call outside.
“Paige?” he breathed, needing to hear her voice.
“You didn’t have to do that. I can’t accept your money.”
“Paige, we’re dying here without you. Fuck the island. Fuck the townspeople and fuck your parents. Pay them back and let’s get back to normal. I miss you. We miss you so fucking much.”
She gave a hiccupping cough. “What about Brendon?”
“Everything’s fine. We’re not going through the courts. We need to see you.”
Paige was quiet a long time, and he started to panic.
“I’ll come over tonight,” she said. “Dune Street, right?”
“Right.” He let out a huge sigh of relief.
“I missed you guys, too,” she said.
…
Paige was jittering with excitement when she drove up to the address Jack and Dean had given her two weeks ago. After parking in the driveway, she went up to the door and knocked. But there wasn’t an answer.
“Are you looking for the handymen?” One of their neighbors poked her head out of her window.
“Yes,” Paige said.
“They’re over at the Sabatino house.” She pointed to a big Colonial at the end of the cul-de-sac.
“Thanks.” That had to be Stephanie’s house.
She got back in and took the short drive over. It was just after ten and she wasn’t sure if she should knock or what—Paige didn’t want to wake Stephanie’s son. She put her hand on the door knob and it swung open.
What if she walked in and they were having sex? That they wanted to be a foursome, after all.
Paige had a flashback of seeing Barbie and Fred in that swanky hotel room. When Fred had told her his conference was in Manhattan, she had taken the train in to surprise him.
She had dressed up in a French maid costume and ordered champagne and chocolate to be brought up to her husband’s room, bribing room service with a hundred-dollar bill to allow her to take the tray to the room. Once she had been alone in the hall, she pulled off the trench coat she had buttoned up to hide her skimpy outfit and stuffed it under the trolley. The lace itched her crotch and the fabric of the costume wasn’t forgiving on her belly, but Paige hadn’t cared because her breasts looked fantastic. She had been as excited as a teenager and eager to give her husband the ride of his life.
“Room Service. Complimentary champagne,” she’d said, barely able to contain the giggles.
The door opened and a gorgeous woman in a robe, wearing a towel on her head, gestured her in. The woman barely looked up from texting on her phone. Her skin was still glistening from the shower. She was a perfect size eight, with huge knockers peeking out of the robe. The belt cinched a tiny waist and was short enough to show off her long, shapely legs.
Paige froze. Shit. Wrong room. Should she leave the champagne and get out before the woman figured out she didn’t work here?
Wearing just a towel around his waist, Fred came out of the bathroom. “Who was at the door, darling?”
Paige rammed the cart full speed into his knees.
The woman screamed.
“You cheating bastard!” Paige yelled at him.
Fred staggered over to the bed, howling at the pain in his shins.
Sex toys got knocked onto the floor, some that she had no idea what they were.
For years, sex with Fred had gone like a well-choreographed dance. It was efficient and pleasant, but not earthshaking by any stretch of the imagination. She’d wanted to spice things up, surprise him. She could have saved herself the humiliation and just bought a vibrator.
“I want a divorce,” Fred had said.
They had to call the ambulance.
For her.
Paige had gone into a full-blown anxiety attack and had forgotten how to breathe. She passed out in their hotel room next to a pink dildo and woke up in the emergency room, still in the naughty maid’s outfit. At least someone had been nice enough to put a sheet over her.
What if she walked into a similar scene tonight?
Paige’s breathing became too fast, and for a moment she thought she was going to pass out. Bracing herself on the door frame, she forced herself to walk in the house. She was going to be brave, even if it broke her heart. She wasn’t that person anymore. Dean and Jack were expecting her. They would never treat her the way Fred had.
Even if they wanted a foursome.
Dean wouldn’t have set her up like that. She was looking forward to seeing them again. Even though she had been busy, she missed them, too.
Following the sound of voices, she passed by a kitchen made for a gourmet chef and walked down the hall. Stephanie, fully clothed, stood up from the chair she had been slouched on in front of the television set.
Jack was fast asleep with a two-year-old boy on his chest.
Dean stretched as he got up from the couch, careful not to wake up either Jack or the baby.
“Hey, sorry we weren’t home.” He kissed her on the mouth and then hugged her for a good five minutes.
There wasn’t any awkwardness. It was like that awful scene in the pavilion had never happened.
Paige pulled away before she started bawling again and looked over at Stephanie. “I’m sorry for barging in. The door was unlocked and I didn’t want to ring the bell.”
“That’s all right. I should have locked it. It’s just habit not to around here.”
“We should get going.” Dean slung his arm around Paige. “If you grab Brendon,” he said to Stephanie, “I’ll wake Sleeping Beauty.”
“Sure,” Stephanie smiled and gently extracted her son. “Good night.” She left the room, carrying Brendon in her arms.
“Night,” Paige said. This was all very surreal.
Dean nudged Jack with his foot. “Get up or spend all night on the floor while I’m making love with my wife.”
“Wife?” Paige said. Her heart stopped and then started beating loud enough it drowned out everything else.
“Yeah,” Dean said. “Will you marry me?”
“Will you marry us?” Jack said sleepily from the floor.
“I thought we were taking a break,” Paige said.
I thought it was over and we were just friends.
“The break was only supposed to be just until your parents left,” Dean said.
“And only in public, until you got your feet on the ground and everything settled down.” Jack groaned as he got up on his feet. Wincing, he put his hand on the small of my back. “If I ask nicely, would you rub some massage oil on my back?”
“I don’t know if I have any.” Paige was shaking. She had convinced herself it was over. It was very hard to believe that she hadn’t dreamed being with them.
“That’s okay,” Dean said. “We stocked up.”
They walked back to her car and drove the three houses back to their house.
“Missed you, gorgeous,” Jack said, swinging her around and kissing her senseless once they got out of the car. It didn’t take much after the big shock she just had. “And by the way, we were serious about the marriage thing. We’ll go ring shopping after your parents leave.”
“They left.” Paige told them about paying them back the sixty thousand and then Barbie booking the room. “Of course, before she gave me the check for thirty grand, I told Fred we wouldn’t be attending the wedding. Apparently, my ex-husband will be honeymooning in my inn.” She shook her head. “That’s so weird.”
“That’s fantastic news. Honey, we’re so proud of you,” Dean said as they walked into the house.
“That took some serious balls,” Jack said. “You should have come over that night and fucked our brains out.”
“I wanted to bash your brains out for breaking up with me.”
“No.” Dean grabbed her. “We’d never do that.” He kissed her, backing her into the nearest wall.
When she trembled and moved restlessly against him, he came up for air. Jack shoved him away and kissed her with equal enthusiasm. She was boneless when he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
“We didn’t want to ruin everything you worked so hard for. We knew the shit your parents pulled would blow over. We just wanted to lay low.”
Paige stroked his hair and then shrieked when he dumped her on the bed. “I thought we were taking a break because you needed time to be normal for Brendon.”
“That was part of it. We had to be absolutely certain we could protect Brendon from any ugliness. But it was always just a temporary fix.”
Jack groaned. “We stayed away because we figured your parents were still clutching the purse strings.”
When Dean stood over her and stripped out of his clothes, Paige licked her lips at the sight. She missed him. Missed this.
“We love you,” Jack said.
Relief crashed over her like a summer wave. She sagged into the mattress. “I can’t believe it. Am I dreaming?”
Jack pinched her.
“Ow. Jerk.” Paige slapped at him.
“Yes or no?” he asked. “Will you be our wife, even though it’s not legal or even remotely recognized by society?”
“I do,” she said.
Dean crawled into bed with her and peeled off her sweater.
“Do you want to be a stepmother to Brendon?” Jack asked as he pulled off her pants.
“Will Stephanie allow that?” Paige refused to acknowledge that the bluebird of happiness was beating its wings inside her chest.
“She’s going to need all the help she can get with that kid.” Jack grimaced. “Wore me the hell out.”
“I do,” Paige said. “I love you both so much.”
Jack hauled her into his arms and kissed her, nipping at her lips and darting his tongue into her mouth. Dean removed her panties.
“Then I now pronounce us husbands and wife,” Dean said.
Jack pulled off her T-shirt. “We’re now going to fuck the bride.”