Dalton, Tymber - Stoneface (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Tymber Dalton

cry.

Chapter Eight

    Jack watched as Tim stormed through the kitchen, grabbed his arm, pulled him into their bedroom, and quietly shut the door behind them.
    Then Tim turned on him with an angry look he’d never seen before on his lover’s face. “Now, dammit, you listen to me and you listen good. You behave yourself. She’s my friend, and I really like her, and she needs our help. I don’t care if you two got off on the wrong foot, she’s really worried about her sister, and she’s got a lot of shit going on in her life right now. What is wrong with you? This is rude even for you!”
    Of all the possible ways Jack had thought of broaching this conversation, this never made the list. He sank to the bed. “She looks just like Mel,” he softly admitted.
    “What? Who…” Comprehension dawned. “Oh,” he softly said. “Oh, Jack.” Tim sat next to him. When he slung his arm around Jack’s shoulders, Jack let him pull him close. “I’m sorry, baby.”
    It spilled out in a rush, even though he hadn’t meant to let go. “Pete killed her. The son of a bitch was drinking, and he drove and he killed her. So I lost both of them.” He finally met Tim’s sweet gaze. “We were poly, a triad. It was me and Pete, and then we met her and we fell in love with her. No one knew that, we couldn’t tell anyone. We said she was my girlfriend because of my parents. Pete’s family was all back East. Can you see my parents accepting something like that when they barely tolerate me being gay?” He wiped at his eyes. “So they’re both dead to me. Mel’s in her grave, and he’s in a cell. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole thing before. It’s not something I like to think about, much less talk about.”
    Jack pulled his wallet out and opened it. Inside, tucked behind a picture of him and Tim, he kept a picture of her. “See?”
    Tim nodded. “Yeah. They could be twins.” He returned the picture. “Is that the real reason why you got into it with her this morning?”
    “Her sister’s not missing.”
    “Come on. Rapid City isn’t LA or New York. You can bend rules in some cases, and you know it. You’ve told me it happens all the time with you guys, as long as you don’t bend them too far. You’re just doing someone a favor, like you would check on someone’s coworker who didn’t show up when they’re Mr. Reliable. Don’t blow her off and be rude to her because you’re afraid of getting your heart broken.”
    “What the hell are you talking about?”
    Tim grabbed his chin and made him look at him. “You can’t go back in time. She’s not Melodie. But she’s a sweetheart, and believe me, I think she’d jump at a chance to have some fun with us.”
    “What?”
    Tim smiled. “Look at the stuff she writes. I’ve been flirting with her, and I’m pretty sure she’d be interested if we told her we were, too.”
    “Then what? She leaves and we never see her again? She’s here to find her sister, not fuck around.”
    Tim told him about kissing her. “We all have some fun. Friends with benefits. Right? If you want to.”
    The problem was, Jack did want to, especially when he thought about her books. The important question though, did he want to because of her, or because she looked like Mel?
    Tim didn’t force him to give an answer one way or another. “Go talk to her,” he said. “Apologize for getting into it with her. Then we’re going to grab a shower and take her out to Bartlett’s for steaks. I want to show her a good time regardless of whether she makes it into our bed or not. She’s still my friend, nothing about that will ever change.”
    Jack knew it meant a lot to Tim. If for that reason alone, he’d make up with her.
    Even if it ripped his heart out in the process.
    Leaving Tim in the bedroom, he went and knocked on the guest room door.
    “Come in.”
    When he opened the door, he found her sitting on the bed. She frowned when she saw him. Probably expected Tim.
    He walked in.