Lexi Blake - Steal the Moon

“Nice, Zoey,” Dev ground out, pulling his hand back. He smoothed down his jacket and frowned at me like I’d planned this out. “That’s going to make things so much easier.”

Daniel had his head in his hands. “Of all the ways you could have told him, this is how you go?”

My father just stopped. He was still as a statue, standing there with his mouth open as his mind tried to process what I had told him. He slowly turned and stared past me at Dev. “You bastard. You stole my daughter’s husband.”

“I give up,” Dev said, throwing his hands in the air.

Daniel groaned and stood, his face a nice shade of pink. “He didn’t steal me, Harry. I don’t sleep with Dev. I mean, I do sleep in the same bed, but Z is firmly between us. Unless she gets up first, of course, but then we stay on our own sides of the bed. There was that one time when he thought I was her, but we got that settled really quickly and there have been no further incidents. None. Dev decided he wanted to keep all his limbs intact.”

“I was half awake, dude. You’ve gotta get over that,” Dev explained. “I can’t help it. I like to cuddle.”

My anger dissipated, and I could easily see that I’d screwed up. It was time to make things clear. “Dad, I’m living with Dev and Daniel. I love them. They love me. You wanted me to get back together with Danny, and the good news is I have. We’re together, and we take those vows we never got around to making seriously. Well, all except for the forsaking all others part. We’re forsaking all others except Dev.”

My father shook his head and walked out of the room.

“Great, Zoey,” Christine said, giving me a harsh look as she walked after him. “I think you broke him.”

I wished I could take it back, but it was done, and now I had to deal with the fallout. Daniel was shaking his head like he’d known this would happen. Dev just stared after my dad. Sarah covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh. It wasn’t the first time she’d witnessed one of my knock-down, drag-outs. Ingrid appeared serene and somewhat pleased. Felix just shook his head.

“When I get my practice up and running, I’ll give you a group discount,” he promised.

****

“All right. So someone is going to have to explain to me how the hell this thing between the three of you works.” My father spoke for the first time in an hour. Dinner had been served and my father had taken his place at the head of the table, but he hadn’t touched the excellent osso buco or said a single word since I made my announcement. “Do you have a schedule? Do you see Dev on certain days and Daniel on others? I’m just not sure how something like this functions.”

“Well, Harry, when two boys love one girl very much…” Dev began.

“Devinshea, you hush.” Ingrid sent him a quelling look. To her credit, he actually shut up. “Harry, it’s a common thing in the Fae world. It’s a committed relationship, much like a marriage. Zoey is at the center. She’s beloved by both of them, and they take care of her. Can’t you see how happy they seem? I’m thrilled for the three of them.”

“We don’t live in the Fae world, Ingrid. We live in this world where marriage means one man and one woman—at least in the state of Texas it does,” my father replied. “If Dev wanted a Fae marriage, he should be with a Fae girl.”

“Harry, give Dev a break.” Daniel sat back in his chair, the only one without a plate in front of him. “He’s not a bad guy. He’s trying to make Z happy.”

My father took Danny’s reasoning seriously. “What about you, Danny? Is this…relationship making you happy?”

“It’s working.” Daniel leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. “In a perfect world, I wouldn’t be a vampire and Z wouldn’t be a companion. We would have gotten married after college and started giving you a ton of grandkids. That ain’t happening. In this world, our current situation works. You have no idea how much trouble she can cause. It takes two of us just to keep her alive.”

“And satisfied,” Dev added needlessly with a salacious grin.

I let my head drop and just prayed the evening would be over soon. My father already knew too much about my sex life. If the night kept going like this, I should just send him a video.

“Dev and I can switch off duties,” Daniel explained, warming up to the subject. “I can handle all the dangerous stuff, and Dev can take her shopping. Don’t forget those pedicures he gets with her, either. Apparently it’s important his toes are pretty.”

“Laugh it up, Dan, with your hobbit feet. I have no idea why Zoey lets those hairy things anywhere near her,” Dev cracked. “And I enjoy shopping with Zoey. I especially enjoy all the time we spend in dressing rooms.”

Daniel sighed. “Man, I should have known there was a reason you did that. I’m going next time.”

“I’m sure Zack will be thrilled to get the day off. Zack is one of the bodyguards I provide for your daughter,” Dev explained my father’s way. “Daniel can’t protect her during the day. She’s precious to me, and I try to give her everything she needs.”

My father watched the byplay with a shocked look on his face. “The two of you get along?”

Daniel shrugged a little, relaxing again. “Once we stopped trying to kill each other, we realized we had a lot in common.”

“We both survive Zoey on a daily basis,” Dev agreed. “It builds camaraderie.”

“Well, I think it’s perverted.” Christine watched the scene with a judgmental look on her face. I thought it was nice that I got judged by a woman who practiced black magic and slept with a man more than twice her age.

“It often is perverted,” Dev said with a big smile. “As often as I can convince Zoey.”

“Zoey, it isn’t normal,” Christine continued, wagging her finger at me and pursing her lips. “You should pick one and be miserable with your choice just like the rest of us.”

“Christine, if you’ll get on board, I promise I’ll speak to your witch’s support group about the time I met Lucifer Morningstar.” I knew how to handle her. Even though I sometimes couldn’t stand her, it would help if she was on my side. It didn’t look like she was going anywhere soon.

Christine sat up straight and patted my father’s hand. She was interested in a little social climbing. Bringing in guests might get her on that committee she’d been angling for. “Honey, I think we should support your daughter’s lifestyle choices no matter how counterculture they are. She’s your daughter, and we can’t really ignore her because we don’t agree with her living arrangements. Maybe I could start a support group.”

“Does Heaven want to weigh in on this?” Dad looked to Felix for advice.

“They love each other, Harry. It might not be conventional, but it is love,” Felix stated sagely. “Now, the thievery on the other hand is something we should talk about.”

My father immediately disregarded Heaven’s opinion. “Are you happy, girl?”

I stared at him across the table. There was a tired cast to his eyes, the lines deeper than I remembered, and I realized how old my dad was getting. I nodded. “I am, Dad. I really hope you can accept it.”

My father nodded and picked up his fork.

Daniel leaned over and kissed my cheek. “See, I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”

****

An hour later, I made my way up the stairs and out to the balcony. I closed the door quietly behind me and took a deep breath. The heat of the June night rushed over my skin, but it couldn’t possibly be more oppressive than where I’d just come from.

The night had settled into a sort of awkward therapy session. My dad asked an awful lot of questions and Daniel and Dev and Ingrid answered them. I’d been much discussed but my voice wasn’t needed. I had no doubt the people in that room loved me, but they didn’t seem to want my opinion.