“It’s okay,” I interjected. I didn’t want Joseph to have to go back to his responsibilities. If being with me was giving him a valid excuse to stay away from his violent business, I didn’t want to test his father. He might love Joseph, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t force him into doing things that went against his true nature.
“We can go,” I continued. “It’s just dinner. I know you’ll both keep me safe. I won’t leave your sight.”
It would simply be a matter of driving to the restaurant and then driving right back to the estate after dinner. There would be a brief window where I’d be on the street, moving inside from the car, but I had to trust that Joseph and Marco would protect me. They wouldn’t let anyone come near me.
Marco’s jaw ticked. “I still don’t like it.”
I wrapped my arms around him, letting him feel that I was safe with him. “Please, let’s just go. I don’t want Joseph to have to leave and stay with his family in the city. I need both of you here with me.”
It was true. I needed both of them, and not just for protection. I’d become addicted to them, obsessed. They held me and cared for me and cherished me. I felt pampered and loved.
Loved.
I was falling in love with them. Both of them. I’d been ready to say it to Joseph weeks ago, but I’d held back once Marco joined our relationship. I knew it would hurt him if I declared my feelings for Joseph but not him.
I was swiftly coming to realize that I felt the same deep affection for both of them. It was unconventional, but that didn’t make it any less true.
But now wasn’t the time to say it. I’d tell them when we got back to the estate tonight. Everyone was tense, and this wasn’t the moment to fall into their arms and confess my feelings.
I tucked my face against Marco’s chest. “Please? Let’s just go. I know you’ll keep me safe.”
He stroked my back. “Always, babygirl.” He sighed. “I don’t want Joseph to have to leave us, either. We can go to dinner.”
“Thank you.” I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him.
I felt Joseph’s heat against my back. His hands settled around my waist, and he kissed my neck while Marco claimed my lips. The held me as though they couldn’t get enough of me, and I definitely couldn’t get enough of them.
Joseph’s hands roved higher, moving toward my breasts.
I tore my mouth from Marco’s. “We don’t have time,” I panted.
“My dad can wait,” Joseph declared.
“No,” I protested. “If we’re going, let’s go now. I don’t want to test his patience.”
“Dad’s not like that,” Joseph insisted. “He only wants to get to know you because he cares about me. He wants to meet my girlfriend.”
“But if we don’t go, he might make you come home and work for him,” I countered quietly.
He stiffened. “Yes, that’s a possibility.”
“Then let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back.”
“Don’t worry, Joseph,” Marco rumbled. “I’ll remember where we left off.”
With that promise, they both stepped away from me. But each of them took one of my hands, unwilling to release me even for the walk to the garage.
They decided Marco would drive while Joseph sat with me in the backseat. Marco would have to park the car after dropping us off at the restaurant, and it made more sense for Joseph to go in with me. After all, I was supposed to be his girlfriend.
Girlfriend. The term didn’t seem weighty enough to encompass my relationship with Joseph and Marco. And I didn’t like that I was going to have to hide my feelings for Marco in front of Joseph’s family.
Better get used to it, I told myself. If the three of us were going to be together, we’d have to put on a public front. Everyone knew I’d been with Joseph in Cambridge, so it was only logical that we posed as a couple.
It made my heart ache to think about Marco being left out. He would put on a tough face and pretend it didn’t bother him, but I knew him better than that now. He needed affection, acceptance. Love. It would kill him to stand off to one side while Joseph got to hold me close in public.
I resolved to figure out that particularly difficult issue later. We just had to make it through this dinner, and then we could all discuss how to handle our relationship in public, once we got back to the privacy of Marco’s estate. For now, I was Joseph’s girlfriend, and that was all his family needed to see.
I rested my head on his shoulder during the ride into the city. Marco had finally told me the location of the estate—the North Shore of Long Island—a couple weeks ago. I’d had no idea that we were so close to the city, but I’d known Joseph and Marco could get there and back within a day.