Sirens in Bliss(18)

Jen knew the feeling. “My mother kind of rambled through life. She wasn’t a bad mom. She just never settled down. We lived all over the place.”

“When the going got tough, she got going, huh?”

God, she didn’t want that life for this baby. She wouldn’t have it. She would do what she needed to do in order to make sure her baby had a stable home and family. And that meant Stef couldn’t pull away every time he got a little scared. Babies were scary. Kids were even scarier. Kids didn’t necessarily follow the plans their parents set out for them. Stef couldn’t always be in control. It was easier for Jen. She’d accepted that control wasn’t an option a long time ago. “Yeah, I don’t know that she really knew who my dad was. She always said he was a military man, but she never gave me a name. The father’s name on my birth certificate is mysteriously missing.”

She wasn’t sure why she was being so open with Lucas O’Malley, but he seemed very easy to talk to and to have many of the same problems. All around them people were happily talking and toasting the bride and she and Lucas were the only two who seemed to be standing apart. And she was the hostess.

Though Nell seemed to be doing a fine job. Her friends picked up the slack. While Rachel and Callie dealt with the chaos that tended to follow Cassidy around, Nell and Holly were making sure the guests all had what they needed. Holly was walking around the lawn talking to all the guests. She was wearing killer heels and a smile that went on for days. Nell was dealing with the caterers. God, Jen hoped she wasn’t convincing them to change her crab dip for tofu, but it was wonderful and it left Jen with a whole lot of time to think. And she thought way too much.

It felt good to talk.

“I know where you’re coming from. Not that I didn’t know who my dad was, but the rambling part.” Lucas seemed to relax as though he was happy to have someone to talk to as well. “I spent a lot of time in various boarding schools. I was very good at getting kicked out of them. It was all an attempt to get my parents’ attention. It didn’t work. They had a list of schools. I just got sent on to the next one. I didn’t stop trying though. I finally did something shitty enough to get someone to notice me.”

“Who?” She was curious. His story wasn’t so far from her own. She’d acted out trying to get Stef to notice her.

A little smile curved his mouth up. “Jack. I tried to blackmail Jack. He threatened to kill me and bury my remains all over the ranch and I very nearly crapped my pants.”

She shook her head, laughing a little. Lucas O’Malley was a brave man. “I can’t imagine anyone threatening Jack. I have to admit, Stef can be intimidating, but Julian and Jack are a one-two punch.”

“Oh, I threatened Julian, too,” Lucas admitted, his eyes soft with the memory. “Julian didn’t do anything so gauche as tell me how he was going to kill me. He would have simply had me brutally murdered by a well-paid contract killer so he wouldn’t have to get his suit dirty. Lucky for me, Jack likes a challenge.”

“He took you in?”

“Oh, yes. It was the first time my bad behavior got me the attention I wanted and it was pretty much the last time I behaved poorly. Jack’s been more like a father than a brother to me, though he’s not that much older. I learned everything I know about life and love and making a home from Jack Barnes. I married his stepdaughter.” He sighed a little. “She’s trying to make everyone proud. This was her dream, you know. Jack or Julian could have made it easy for her, but she wanted to do it the hard way. She wanted to earn it.”

“I can understand that. I paint, too. I’m not as ambitious as Stef, though. I really just do it for myself. I don’t care if the world knows I can paint. But Stef does. He won’t admit it, but art critics get to him. I can imagine it’s the same for reviewers with your wife.”

“Oh, Aidan ordered her to stop reading them a long time ago. She can have ten great reviews and one bad review and guess which one she remembers? No, I want her to have her career. I just wish she would take a breath every now and then.” The longing was right there in his eyes as he watched his wife.

“Do you ever feel like she doesn’t see you anymore?” It was how she felt about Stef.

“That’s a good way of putting it.” Lucas’s face settled into a grim mask. “And I spent so very much of my life trying to get someone to see me. I guess I never thought she would stop looking.”

“Lucas?” A tall, ruggedly handsome man with dark blond hair stood in the doorway, a concerned look on his face.

Lucas’s expression cleared and the sexiest smile crossed his face. “Hello, Master.”

God, she needed to visit Texas more often. All of the threesomes here were about the girl. Texans seemed to be a little more open in their sharing practices. Despite the fact that she loved her husband deeply, she couldn’t say that the idea of two hot guys going at it didn’t do a little something-something for her libido.

Lucas’s Master joined him, putting a familiar hand on his partner’s shoulder. “Do I even need to ask where our sub is?”

Switch. That answered her question. Aidan O’Malley was the Master and Lucas was the switch and Lexi was the well-topped sub.

“She’s busy. But it’s fine. Everything is fine. Aidan, please meet our hostess, Jennifer Talbot. She’s married to…”

“Stefan Talbot,” Aidan finished, offering a hand.

Jen shook it. “That’s my man. Are you staying out at the G?”

“Yes, my brother is Bo, Beth and Trev’s partner,” Aidan explained. “They’re hosting us. We’re ranch people so we’re certainly used to being around cows. It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for throwing this party for Shelley. We’ve been more than pleased with the hospitality. But now we have to go to the men’s reception. It’s at someplace called Mountain and Valley. The invitation said it was clothing optional. That was a joke, right?”

Oh, what she wouldn’t do to be a fly on that particular wall. The men were having their pre-wedding party at the naturist community. “Nope. It’s a nudist resort. Expect to see a whole lot of man parts. Didn’t Mel organize it?”

Aidan nodded. “Yeah, uhm, is he a comedian or something? Because the invitation said no aliens allowed.”

“Oh, he’s serious about the aliens,” Jen replied. “Really, don’t even joke about them. Apparently he gets probed on a regular basis, and some of them aren’t very gentle, if you know what I mean.”

Aidan stared at her like he was trying to figure out if she was joking. Jen kept her face perfectly serious. Doms were so fun to fuck with.

Aidan shook his head and turned to Lucas. “All right then, let’s head get going.”

He said good-bye and stepped out.

Lucas bit back a laugh. “Doms are so fun to tease, aren’t they?”

Jen smiled. Lucas would be a great friend if he lived in Bliss. “I couldn’t help it. Though Mel really won’t take well to pro-alien talk. Just say you’re against them and you’ll be fine. And don’t drink the tonic. It’s really rotgut whiskey. Mel makes it himself. It’s been known to get a man shitfaced in three sips.”

Lucas sighed. “Thank god. Something’s going right today. I could use some shitfacedness.” He reached out a hand gallantly. “It was lovely to meet you, Jennifer. And if your husband isn’t paying attention to you, perhaps it’s time to turn the tables on him. If he won’t listen, make sure he has no choice except to. It’s certainly what he would do to you if he’s half the Dom I’ve heard he is.”

Lucas walked away as his words sank in.

Oh, she’d been thinking about talking to the wrong friends. All her friends would do was hold her hand and curse Stef’s name.

But Stef’s friends…they were another story all together. They could be complete bastards and that just might be what she needed.

After one quick phone call to Rye Harper, she knew she’d made her play. One way or another she and Stef would have it out today.

She took a deep breath, calming her nerves and looked out across the lawn. Lucas and Aidan were walking toward the drive. Lucas tried to get his wife’s attention, but she gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. Even from her place on the balcony, she could see the way Lucas’s shoulders slumped and anger flushed on Aidan’s face.

Lexi put her phone to her chest and said something to them. She took a few steps toward them and then looked back down at her phone.

Lucas walked away. Aidan said something and followed him.

Lexi brushed away tears, but she answered the phone anyway.

Lucas might have just solved her problem. Perhaps it was time she helped him. She caught a glimpse of metal as the light shone in just the right place to illuminate the party crashers who were hiding in her bushes, no doubt listening in on all kinds of interesting conversations with one of their ingenious and slightly evil inventions.

Yes, a little hint of devious genius was called for and the Farley brothers were always up to the task.

She marched right across the lawn, and sure enough, there they were. They were hidden in her barberry bushes. Bobby and Will were hunkered down, a computer in one’s lap. They were perfect twins, and Jen didn’t even try to tell them apart. They talked quietly, but they had a friend who didn’t know how to be quiet.