“He may want to leave.”
“I’ll talk to him,” she said.
“Liberty, think about what you’re saying. No more secrets. No more lies. Sean is someone from my past that I cared about very much. I never expected to feel the same way so many years later, but I do. His presence complicates things and will continue to.”
“And you think sending him away will make you stop loving him? Mason, I know how you two feel about each other. I saw it clear as day.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying…if you claim we’re partners, belonging to one as much as the other, then I have as much of a right as you do to…” She let the statement fall away and blushed.
“Liberty?”
“I want you to be together,” she rushed the words out. “I can’t deny you this. I just…I…Please, don’t abandon me.”
Her words hit him like a cannon ball in the stomach, buckling his strength. “Oh, sweetheart, I would never, never abandon you. Why would you even think that?”
“Because what you have with Sean, it’s apart from me.”
“No, Lib, you’re the glue that binds me together. There is no you, separate from me. We’re one. Sean may have been a part of my past, but you’re my future and there is no me without you. I can’t agree to any of this if it’s not what you want too. You come first. You’ll always come first.”
She sniffled and cupped her palm over his jaw. “I don’t see a rewind button in this situation. If one of us bows out, someone gets hurt. I don’t want anyone hurting or resenting their circumstances. We’re all here and I think we should cope with it and move on accordingly. I understand why you care so much for Sean. I do. He’s very easy to love.”
He stilled. “Do you love him?”
“Not the way I love you, but I think there’re parts of him I love. He’s funny and sweet and kind.”
She seemed to be remembering something. A secret smile played at the corner of her mouth as she stared unseeingly at the floor. He would have given anything to be able to read her mind, but didn’t dare ask.
“I believe we could do this, Mason. If we all promise to be honest with each other, I think there’s a chance we may find a level of happiness most people can only dream of.”
He wanted to believe she was right, but Mason had always been a realist. “Liberty, it won’t be easy. This isn’t simple logistics. It’s more than sleeping arrangements and another mouth to feed.”
“I am aware Sean isn’t a golden retriever, Mason. He would be a part of our family. Not a pet we play with when it suits us.”
He hesitated, unsure how to explain this. He figured honesty was the best policy. “He may not want to.”
“Why?”
“When Sean and I called it quits it was because he couldn’t admit to the world he was in love with a man. You’re asking him to openly have a relationship with not just another man, but another man and his wife. And think about what this would mean to you. We may not be the most social couple, but eventually people will notice and talk. We could wind up being ostracized.”
“I know you think I’m being naive, but so what? Who cares what they think? If anyone has to be concerned, it’s you, Mason. You’re the one in the public eye. And not to sound like a bitch, but I’m pretty sure when someone needs an operation and you’re the only doctor around to perform it they won’t care what kind of proclivities you have so long as you can save their life. Let them talk. I’ve never fit in. I’m so over caring about what others think.”
He wanted to believe her. He wanted to take her words to the bank, but one never knew what the future would bring. He sat, thinking quietly for a while when she whispered, “Is this something you would want, Mason? Would sharing our home, our bed, our marriage with Sean please you?”
He shut his eyes. If it were only that easy.
“It could be.”
He didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until he heard the words echo around the room. He looked at his wife, but could think of nothing further to say. Something momentous had happened. He got that, but the import of it eluded his reeling brain. Something changed for Liberty.
“Why don’t we ask Sean what he wants instead of deciding for him?”
“Liberty, the only way I’ll ever consider this is if you understand that, no matter what, you’re first. If this doesn’t work, you and I are walking away. You aren’t abandoning me.”
She smiled a smile that spoke volumes if only Mason could read it. “Okay.”
Chapter Thirteen
“You want to do what?” Sean sat in Mase’s study facing the two of them, sure he hadn’t heard them correctly.