I nodded, almost nervous to say yes. He winced. "God. I'm so sorry," he said to me before turning back to them.
"Did you call the help your girlfriend?" Maisie asked, her tone had gone from amused to angry. She was sitting up straight now from her lounged position. There was fire in her eyes.
"Holy shit," Tate said in a whisper loud enough for us all to hear him.
"Wow. Wasn't expecting that," Sterling added.
"You need to leave. Pack your shit and get the hell out of here. We broke up, Maisie. Do you not remember that? I thought it was very clear. You coming into my home uninvited and acting like you own the place is typical of you. One of the many reasons I'd never want to try that again. Go."
He turned around and walked toward me. His arm went around my shoulders. "I'm so fucking sorry," he said as he walked us back inside the house.
"You threw the drink." That was all I could think to say.
He chuckled. "Yeah. I might have lost my shit for a minute."
"I didn't mind serving them."
He shook his head. "You might not have, but I did. She shouldn't be here. You live here, you do not work here. I wish you'd called me. "
"I thought you knew."
"If anyone ever comes in this house and I haven't spoken to you about it, I don't know. I've not had time to talk to anyone. No one knows about us yet. But they will now. Which is good. They all need to know."
"She's beautiful, but she's not nice." I told him.
"She was in the beginning. I had been searching, hoping she was different. She wasn't. She was a fantastic actress."
I could see that.
"I'll deal with them. You don't have to see them again. If you want, just head upstairs. Take a bath, relax."
Other than Maisie, these were his friends. If I had any hope of fitting into his world I had to fit in with his friends. Running from them wasn't fitting in. "I'd like to stay. They're your friends. I need to get to know them."
He studied me a moment. He looked unsure. Concerned. I couldn't have him protecting me all the time. He'd get tired of that. Finally, "Okay. Let me make sure Maisie is gone. Then you can come out and join us. I won't run them all off. Just her."
"Thank you."
His frown increased. "Why are you thanking me?"
"For allowing me to find my place in your world."
He chuckled then. It was soft and the look in his eyes said so much. "You are my world, Beulah."
I didn't have any words that seemed adequate to respond to that. Instead, I managed a nod and a smile. One I felt deep inside.
"Let me go out there and deal with Maisie. Then I'll come get you. Sterling and Tate can get to know you as my girlfriend. Not the help."
"Okay," I agreed. I started to clean the kitchen from earlier when I had cooked dinner.
"Don't do that," Jasper said walking up and wrapping his arms around me.
"Why?"
"Because you aren't the help."
I leaned back into him. "If we were normal. If you were a regular guy and this was your apartment, would you argue with me about cleaning up after entertaining your friends?"
He was quiet as he held me. I gave him time to think it through. He'd never been a regular guy. It was something I wondered if he could comprehend. Did he know how normal people lived at all? Had he ever been around it?
"I think I understand what you're saying. If this makes you feel good, then do it. I won't dictate what you do. I just don't want you to do things because you think you're supposed to."
I nodded. Because I understood. Even if deep down he didn't.
Jasper
TATE AND MAISIE WERE BOTH gone when I stepped back outside. Sterling remained. He was sitting on the lounger with a beer in his hands and lifted his head to meet my gaze when I returned.
"Tate helped her take her things to her car. She drove. We'll need a ride when we leave."
I didn't care what they needed if that meant she was gone. I just needed her to be gone.
"We thought you'd be happy she wanted to get back together. Didn't know. Sorry."
I nodded. I hadn't told them or anyone about my catching her coming onto Stone. I'd let them all believe she ended things with me. My funk had been about returning here. Facing my life, the one I had no choice in. The one that was always empty. The void I had countless parties to try and fill. They had all assumed I was in a mood over Maisie. They knew now.
"So, the help," Sterling said with his eyebrow raised.
"Don't call her that. She has a name. Beulah. And she's not the help any longer. Although you all treated her like it today."
"Sorry about that too. In our defense, last time we were here she was, in fact, the help. Why didn't she correct us? She just let us order her around."
Because she was Beulah. She was kind. She didn't have an ego. "She's the most genuine person I've ever known. She didn't wait on your asses because she thought she had to. She did it because you're my friends, and this is my home. She was making sure you felt welcome."
Sterling frowned. "Really? That's . . . different."
"That's Beulah," I replied.
"Damn, man. When you change shit up, why don't you let us know? That was completely unexpected," Tate said as he walked back through the entrance gate.
"I was unaware you would be coming unannounced for a visit."
"We always come unannounced," Tate reminded me. He was right. I'd never had an issue in the past. I wanted them here. Anyone to help me deal with this place. With my mother.
"I know. And it's fine. I should have told you but things changed fast. There wasn't time to tell anyone."
"Can't say I blame you. I've thought she was smoking since the first day I saw her. Couldn't figure out how she'd managed to get Portia to hire her," Sterling grinned as he took a drink of his beer.
They didn't get it. I could try and explain that she was more than just gorgeous. But I knew them well. They wouldn't understand. They hadn't had a Beulah walk into their lives. They'd lived similar lives to my own and it was foreign to them.
"I'm going to get Beulah. You can start over, and apologize for ordering her around all day. Not for her sake because she doesn't expect it. But it'll make me feel better. Not much. But some."
Tate looked back at the pool house. "So we fix our own drinks, right?"
I wasn't even going to respond to that.
"Jesus, dumbass. Yes," Sterling replied with a shake of his head.
"Just checking. Is the bar in there stocked?"
I turned to get Beulah. Tate could fend for himself. I had no idea if the pool house bar was stocked or not. But he had two fucking legs. He could see for himself.
Beulah was wiping down the bar in the kitchen when I went in to find her.
"You can't stop cleaning, can you?" I asked amused.
She shrugged. "I clean when I get nervous. I can't be still."
I walked over and took the rag from her hand, then pulled her into my arms. "There is no reason for you to be nervous. I got rid of Maisie. The two idiots now know the score. Let's go outside and try to enjoy their company. I'd like you to get to know my friends."
She nodded her head, then kissed my chin which was as high as she could reach. "Thank you."
Why she was thanking me after she'd waited on those three all day I had no idea. "You never have a reason to thank me. Now, let's go before I decide kissing you is a better idea and we end up in my room the rest of the evening."
Beulah laughed and nodded her head. Happiness was back in her eyes and the nerves she said she'd dealt with were gone.
I held her hand and walked her back through the house, then outside with the others. Sterling looked up at us immediately, but Tate was on the phone with a beer in his hand now.
Sterling smiled at her. "Sorry about today. I had no idea. And the Maisie thing was bad. We should have called."
"Have you ever called before you came?" Beulah asked him.
"Well, no."
"Then why would you have started now? I didn't mind."
Sterling's eyes softened and I could tell he was sinking into it. She had that effect on people, although she didn't realize it. I would have to get used to seeing men look at her that way. A lifetime of it. I could handle it. I knew I was lucky. I also knew I'd never let her go.
"How exactly did Jasper convince you to give him a chance? The ugly bastard that he is?" Sterling was teasing.
She shrugged. "Oh, you know, promised me millions, a new car. I prefer a Mercedes. Maybe a little red convertible one. And then he said he'd get me a private jet so I could go shopping in Paris when my wardrobe needed sprucing up."