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I could honestly say it didn’t take much to shock Dominic Barretti, but my story had clearly done the trick because he was completely speechless.
“Tristan,” my dad said as he got my attention and I turned to face him. “You said Ray was dead…”
I understood his unspoken question. “He was murdered. They think he owed some other guys money and when he didn’t have it-”
“You’re moving back in here!” Pops said before I could even finish. “You don’t leave the house without protection-”
“Pops, I have it already!” I interjected. “Brennan’s friend has me and Brennan being monitored 24/7. The guy shadowing me is named Phoenix. He’s downstairs in the lobby. He said he’d come up whenever we’re ready if you want to meet him.”
My poor father looked like he was going to have a heart attack, but he nodded. “Yes, yes, we want to meet him.”
“Pops, Brennan’s friend doesn’t think the guys who killed Ray are a threat to me. He thinks the fact they killed him instead of keeping him alive while they came after me is proof of that. But he’s going to keep the protection on us both for a while longer.”
Pops rubbed his face and took in a deep breath. “Okay, but I want to talk to him too.”
I’d suspected as much, though I wasn’t sure if Memphis was going to go for that. While it had been almost a week since Memphis and Brennan had taken my virginity, Memphis had still kept himself from us. Not in the bedroom of course. No, in there he was more giving than I would have guessed possible. He’d made love to both Brennan and me with equal fervor. When I’d gotten to slide into Brennan’s tight body for the first time, Memphis had been an equal partner as he’d encouraged me and praised Brennan. It had been nothing short of perfection, these past seven nights. Except for the minute it was over and our bodies had drifted off to sleep. Because that was the moment Memphis would untangle his limbs from ours and go into the living room to sleep or work or do whatever it was he did out there, night after night. During the day, he disappeared with his laptop with the excuse that he had to work, and we didn’t see him again until well after Brennan and I had finished eating the dinner we’d make, night after night, in the hopes he would show up on time to enjoy it with us. He hadn’t.
“Pops, he’s more than just Brennan’s friend,” I said. “And mine.”
I waited for my father’s head to blow completely off, but he just rubbed his hand over his face and said, “Are you saying you’re in a relationship with him? And Brennan?”
“It’s more than that,” I said as I cast a glance over my shoulder at my dad who nodded his encouragement. I turned my attention back to Pops and said, “At least for me and Brennan.”
“What does that mean, Tristan?” my dad asked and I turned to face him.
“We’re in love with him. Brennan and me. And each other.”
“But?” Dad prodded.
“We’re not sure if he feels the same way.”
“Who is he?” Pops asked from behind me.
I straightened in my chair and took a sip of tea to buy time. I knew Memphis had wanted our relationship to remain a secret, but the idea of lying to my fathers just wasn’t an option anymore. “It’s Memphis Wheland.”
Pops was quiet for a long time and it was finally my dad who said, “Isn’t that the man who saved Brennan’s life?”
I nodded. I risked a glance at Pops and then looked at my dad. “We…we’re hoping to have what Uncle Ren, Uncle Declan and Uncle Jagger have,” I admitted. I expected some look of censure or a comment about how that was a pipe dream, but my dad just smiled and laid his hand on my arm.
“Does Memphis want that?” Pops asked.
I just shook my head and then I felt my dad’s hand smoothing over my back. I took it as encouragement that I wasn’t being told that it was a stupid thing to hope for. “Um, there’s something else,” I murmured and I figured I might as well rip the Band-Aid off.
And then I told them about my health scare which unsurprisingly was just as upsetting for them. By the time I was done talking, both of my fathers had their arms wrapped around me and were crying tears of relief. When we’d all managed to pull ourselves together, I introduced them to Phoenix. That meeting went as expected and they both instantly liked and respected the man charged with my safety. But my relief was short-lived when Pops reminded me before Phoenix and I left that he wanted to talk to Memphis.
