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“Of course you are. She is a beautiful woman, and has never looked as stunning as she did tonight.”
“I think I’m in love with her.”
Now Tristan showed surprise. “Love?”
“I know we all agreed that it would remain physical only,” I said. “But I can’t help it. I’ve spent too much time with her. She’s…”
She was everything. Beautiful, smart, witty. She was stubborn in all the right ways. I had been falling in love with her before we jumped into bed together. And since then, our sexual relationship had only strengthened those emotions, like warm cotton surrounded by steel.
“She’s special. I can’t stop thinking about her.” I chuckled. “I think I’m going insane.”
Tristan moved his king. “How unfortunate.”
I captured his queen, then slammed the piece down angrily on the table. “You feel the same way about her. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You are mistaken.”
I jabbed a finger in his direction. “You’re the most enthusiastic participant of all of us.”
“I quite enjoy lovemaking. I fail to see what that has to do with emotions of the heart.”
“Bullshit. I know you, Tristan. I know you as well as I know Pierce, and you’re falling in love with Melinda too. I’ve seen the way you look at her. It’s the same way I look at her—the same way Pierce does. Hell, it’s the same way you used to look at that golf pro you dated three years ago. The one you were smitten over.”
“Smitten is a harsh word.”
“You’re happy,” I reiterated. “Happier than you’ve ever been in your life. And it’s because of Melinda.”
I held his gaze for three long seconds. He stared right back at me, defiant. I wasn’t going to get him to crack.
Then his shoulders slumped a fraction of an inch. “Very well. I have complicated feelings for Melinda.”
“There’s nothing complicated about it. You’re in love with her. Or you’re falling in love with her. Either way, straightforward.”
He didn’t acknowledge it, but he didn’t argue, either. That felt as close to an admission as I was going to get.
“We have to tell Pierce. He needs to know.”
“Why?” Tristan asked. “Why can we not enjoy this while it lasts? There are two more months remaining on her contract, and given her lack of pregnancy progress, it is likely she will be extending the contract for an additional six months.”
“Because I don’t want to wait until the end of the contract to have my heart ripped out!” I said, raising my voice. “You can do what you want, but I care too much about Melinda to let it bumble along like this without telling her how I feel.”
“And what of Pierce?” Tristan shot at me. “If he disapproves?”
That had been my biggest concern up to this point. We had all agreed that our contributions to Melinda’s conception would be physical only. We hadn’t discussed emotions… and it was clear Pierce cared deeply about her. How would he feel about his valet falling in love with her as well?
“If he disapproves,” I said, “then I’ll quit.”
Tristan flinched. “You would not.”
“I would,” I repeated. “If Pierce disapproves, then being around Melinda would be too much for me. I would have to leave. And deep down, I think you feel the same way.”
We had sent the bartender to bed, so Tristan got up and went to the bar to fix himself another drink. He returned, sat down, and took a long pull from his glass. Then a second pull.
“I have spent a great deal of time these past few weeks considering fatherhood.”
“Fatherhood?”
“I have never cared much for the idea of being a father,” he explained. “Yet now that it is a distinct possibility, I am reluctant to have agreed to this arrangement. Being a potential donor. Working and living alongside Pierce, around a child that is biologically mine… I do not know if I could stand it.” He swirled his drink around in contemplation. “If the child is mine, biologically, I would want to know them. And more importantly, I would want them to know me. For who I am. Not simply as Pierce Benning’s personal assistant.” He shuddered. “The thought bothers me more than I care to admit.”
