A Little Harmless Fantasy(44)

“So, Rory, what meals do you plan to make for me.”

That was Maura. While her figure was trim, it wasn’t due to her lack of eating. She’d been graced with a high metabolism. And now that she knew Rory liked to cook, she would badger him until he made her several meals.

“I don’t know. I thought we would be eating out more often.”

She lifted her head and grinned at Rory. “That was before I found out you could cook. Tell me, how are you at Italian?”

Zeke groaned. “Oh, god, she is going to have you making pasta every night. I can’t handle the carbs.”

“Suck it up, Zeke,” Maura said. “So, what can you make me?”

“Are you more of a Northern or a Southern Italian lover?” Rory asked.

Maura let go of him to clap. “Anything, all, I want it all.”

“I’ll make a lasagna this week.”

“With béchamel sauce?”

“Of course,” Rory said.

“I will be your slave for life.”

Rory gave him a look then leaned closer to her. “I’ll make sure to remind you of that next time I have you naked.”

Her face turned red, then she looked around them.

“What?” Rory asked. “You’re not embarrassed, are you?”

She shook her head and shrugged. “I feel like someone is watching me. Weird.”

Immediately, Zeke’s alarms went off. Maura wasn’t a woman who worried about being followed on a regular basis. He knew Conner didn’t get calls in the middle of the night from Maura.

“What?”

“When we got into Ala Moana, I felt it, but it’s gone just like that. Might be my imagination.”

He looked back at Rory who was already looking around. The fact that neither he nor Rory felt it was enough to satisfy him, or it should be.

“You don’t have an imagination.”

She rolled her eyes. “Way to romance me, Zeke. The flattery is going to make me faint.”

“Maura,” he said, lowering his voice in a warning.

She patted him on the cheek. “It’s probably because I’m tired. It’s been such a long day. Even with a few cat naps, I need some rest.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Rory said, but Zeke wasn’t too happy with it. He knew not to blow it out of proportion and coming to Hawaii had only been a precaution, but still, it was something he would have to think about.

“It has been a long day. Let’s head back.”

She sighed and set her head on Zeke’s shoulder as they walked. “That sounds great.”

* * * *

By the time they got home, Zeke had mostly dismissed her worries. She went to the bathroom leaving them alone.

“What’s bothering you?”

He looked at Rory. “Maura doesn’t have things like that happen to her.”

Rory shrugged. “So, she felt someone staring at her. She’s probably tired.”

Zeke thought about it and realized he might be blowing it out of proportion. How much of it had to do with their relationship?

“I see those wheels turning, so what the hell is going on in there?” Rory asked.

“Nothing.”

But he was lying. He was in love with two people who made it very hard to choose. Not that they had asked him to, but he could feel them dancing around each other trying to figure out the relationship. There was a small part of him...okay a bit part of him that wanted to make it permanent. He wanted both of them forever.

That thought hit him hard. He blinked.

“Zee, are you okay?”

Rory’s concerned voice reached him. He nodded.

But he wasn’t. Shit, he had promised himself that he wouldn’t get bogged down on what would happen when they returned home, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he had been. He had been hoping that they could be together forever.

“What’s up with him?” Maura asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“Not sure.”

“We just need to get to sleep.”

Maura smiled, but it wasn’t her usual brilliant grin. Zeke realized just how exhausted she was. He patted her shoulder.

“Come on, love, let’s get to bed.”

She nodded and he practically carried her up the stairs to the bedroom. By the time she was in PJs, she was almost asleep. He tucked her into bed then looked up at Rory.

“She’s wiped out,” he said.

Zeke nodded and waited. It was going to be a real test if he wanted to sleep with her. Zeke wanted to, but Rory tended to avoid sleeping with other lovers. The intimacy was something he could not handle. Zeke was pretty sure he was the only lover Rory had ever really slept beside.

Rory pulled his shirt up over his head, and dropped his pants. He climbed into bed with Maura as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Zeke was so happy, he didn’t even mention that Rory had left his clothes on the floor.