Sophie Oak: Sirens in Bliss

It was rather like finding the Sasquatch the young man had talked about.

Yeah, he was totally interested in Max Harper.

He stopped outside the Trading Post, not willing to get too close to the subject. He had to maintain his distance while in the observation period.

And his cell phone trilled again. He glanced down at the number. Wolf.

“Hey.”

“You have to do something about Ma.”

Leo sighed. “Shelley isn’t going to take the beet, man.”

“Ma’s crying. And she’s threatening to call Mel. You know what’s going to happen if she calls Mel.”

Mel. The craziest man in Bliss, and that was saying something, because Caleb Burke was the town doc. “They go into his bunker and don’t come out until after the wedding, and then the whole reason we’re having the stupid thing is gone.”

Frustration welled.

“Or we could just convince our sweet sub to drink a little freaking beet juice,” Wolf replied.

Yes, that would be the reasonable reaction. “She said no.”

“She said no before we made a party out of it and you presented her with some really hot shoes in exchange for her drinking a cup and a half of beet juice. I have a friend and she’s willing to set up the whole thing. She’s going to the reception this afternoon and I’m ordering something called Prada wedges. Laura says the mint-green color is all the buzz this season. God, I feel dumb even saying that sentence, but I saw them online and they’re actually pretty hot. God knows they’re expensive as fuck, so they should work.”

Was his brother high? “Didn’t you used to date Laura?”

There was a brief pause. “Once or twice. She’s married now.”

“Dude, you’re asking advice from an ex? About our wife? What the hell do you think is going to happen when she finds out? And she will find out. She won’t drink the beet juice. She’d throw it in your face.”

“She’s not an ex. I didn’t sleep with her.”

That was hard to believe. “You slept with everyone.”

“Not Laura,” Wolf insisted. “So she doesn’t count. I can still be friends with her.”

He was right. It wasn’t like he’d been in love with Laura. He’d only ever loved Shelley. “Fine, so you want to use a single pair of wretchedly expensive shoes to get our wife to agree to a completely bogus ceremony that will potentially placate our mother and lead our family to a certain level of harmony?”

Wolf hesitated for a second. “Uhm, yeah.”

There were definitely times when having a partner made his relationship with Shelley so much easier. “You are so fucking smart, brother. Buy the goddamn shoes. And throw in some jewelry on top of it. We want her really happy to drink that nasty beet juice. We can do it at Trio tonight.”

“Why can’t we do it at home?”

“Because Ma has made a ritual out of it. She’s calling it a beeting.”

Wolf groaned. “We’ll be lucky if Shell shows up tomorrow.”

Leo felt a smile cross his face. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Shelley McNamara would be walking down the aisle tomorrow afternoon. She would be holding on to her brother’s arm and smiling that amazing smile, and she would belong to them because she already did. “This is a story we’ll tell our kids, brother.”

He never thought he would have them, but lately, he’d been dreaming about black-haired boys and girls. He’d found out he actually had a future.

There was a little pause on the line. “Yeah. We’ll tell them about how screwy their parents’ wedding was. I’ll order the presents. Logan says his partner, Seth, can have someone fly them out from Bergdorf.”

Seth was a billionaire, so Leo didn’t doubt it. “You do what you need to do and get your ass out to Mountain and Valley. Tell me you didn’t forget about our meeting with Mel?”

Wolf groaned. “How could I forget? The invitation was carved into a beet so I will never forget it. I won’t leave you alone with Mel. I’ll make it to whatever the hell this is. Do you know what the hell this is?”

Leo turned, looking down Main Street. He hadn’t been to Bliss in years, but it looked like nothing had changed. “He’s calling it a Meeting of Men. Jen Talbot is hosting a reception for the women out at the Talbot estate. This is Mel’s version. I’m sure it will be painfully embarrassing. That’s all I know.”

“Then I’ll see you at three. You don’t think this is just a way to surprise us with some crazy-ass fun bachelor party?”

Given by Mel, the alien hunter? “Not a chance in living hell, brother. Be ready for some surreal humiliation, but nothing more.”

His brother sighed over the line. “See you there.”

The line went dead and Leo turned, ready to get back to the task at hand. He was nearly startled out of his fucking head. It had been a while since he’d been snuck up on, but he’d been distracted.

Max Harper stared at him, a bag in his hand. “You following me?”

He could lie and make up some grand fiction, but he was too fucking old to make shit up. The truth was so much easier. “I’m a psychologist. I’ve been following you around and you’re completely fucking nuts. I’m thinking of writing a book about you.”

Max’s eyes narrowed. “Am I the hero of this book?”

“Sure, why not?” His general psychosis would likely aid everyone in the psychological world.

A broad smile caught on Max’s face. “Well, hell, then let me buy you a drink. Let’s go to Trio. I was headed there anyway!”

The big cowboy turned and started walking down the street. Leo followed because if there was one thing he wasn’t going to turn down at this point, it was a stiff drink.

Wolf Meyer looked across the table at Laura Kincaid-Briggs. “You’re sure these are the shoes?”

The lovely blonde smiled and gave him a knowing wink as she passed back his tablet “Yep. She’ll love them. It will totally make beet juice worthwhile. So I don’t count because I wouldn’t sleep with you?”

Shit. He’d hoped she hadn’t figured that out. “We went on two dates. It wasn’t a grand love affair. You were waiting on those two FBI guys.”

A little flush lit her cheeks. “Their names are Rafe and Cam, and I wish you had come to the wedding.”

He did, too. “I’m sorry. I really wanted to. Dani was traveling. Guarding her and the kiddo is my job. There are a lot of people who would love to hurt Julian, and I can’t let that happen.”

He was Dani’s bodyguard and he went to school. It was kind of a terrific life.

She slid a hand across the table. “I know. You look really happy, Wolf. I can’t tell you how glad I am. Though I seem to remember you claiming you would never be a ménage boy.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t into long-term sharing back then. Shelley changed my mind.”

“Yeah, well, since then I’ve heard a whole lot about short-term sharing.”

He’d cut a wide swath through Southern Colorado after his time with the SEALs was done. He’d shared women with his friends Logan and Jamie before they’d all settled down and gotten married. Logan was sharing with his best friend and Jamie with his brother, Noah. They had all lucked out. “I found something better than short term. And I’m glad you’ve worked it out with your FBI guys.”

A hint of sadness hit her eyes. “Yes.”

She’d just adopted a baby. She should be glowing with happiness. He liked Laura. He didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t glowing. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.” She sighed a little. “Rafe just doesn’t seem happy.”

Rafe was the one from the city. Oh, both Rafe and Cam had lived in DC, but Cam was obviously a Southern, small-town boy and Rafe had big city written all over him. “He miss DC?”