Hat Trick (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Lynn Tyler Page B

gazed up at her gravely. “Feel better?”
    She pouted for a few seconds and then nodded. As childish as her actions may have seemed, they had made her feel better. But the knowledge that she and Nathan still had to tell Jeremy the news of the gossip column had her anger boiling over again. She slapped her palm against the table, infuriated beyond belief.
    “Whoa, Rach. Wanna tell me what’s going on? Who did they accuse Nathan of cheating on you with?”
    Boy, for a smart man, Jeremy could be very dumb. “You.”
    He blinked at her, and she waited for the comprehension to set in. She watched his expression as understanding seeped through him. “Me?”
    “Yeah, buddy,” Nathan said, placing his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. She watched as his fingers tightened on the flesh slightly, as if he were desperate for some sort of physical contact.
    Jeremy’s expression tightened, but he didn’t move away from the touch. Instead, he looked up at her husband and gave him a strained smile. “Well. That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.” He rose to his feet and stared blankly at his cup of coffee for a few minutes. “How likely is it that anyone actually reads those gossip columns?”
    Rachel shrugged, pursing her lips contemplatively. “I’m not really sure, Jer. But I don’t think anyone will actually believe it.”
    The younger man offered another edgy smile but looked like he wanted a hole to appear in the floor and suck him in. “Well, at least my dad died last year and won’t be around to hear this latest rumor. He was the most homophobic bastard I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”
    Rachel was stuck for something to say. It was the first time he’d actually mentioned his father’s passing. Until now she hadn’t been sure if the man had been dead or simply out of the picture. Should she offer her condolences for his loss or should she commiserate with him about having a bigoted parent? She felt like there was no appropriate response.
    Jeremy stared at the table for a few more minutes before finally looking at them fully. His face was solemn, and his eyes were sad. “Rachel, can I use your office to work on one of my games for a few hours?”
    Again, she nodded mutely. Both she and Nathan had quickly learned that Jeremy lost himself in his work when he needed time to absorb information or to decompress. When he locked himself in the office, they knew he needed to be completely alone for a while. He didn’t say anything else. He just turned on his heel, walked into the office, and closed the door behind him.
    Rachel stopped fighting her tears and let them fall freely. “Nathan…”
    Nathan pulled her into his arms, and Rachel went willingly, resting her head on his chest. “I know, honey. I know. Let’s just give him some time.”
    She paced for an hour, staring a hole in the office door. Finally, she had enough. “Nathan, we’re going to go get him and make him forget all about that damn column.”
    Marching over to the office, she opened the door without knocking and stomped over to Jeremy.
    He was staring morosely at the screen, a long string of code stretched out before him. “This isn’t really a good time, Rach.”
    Oh to hell with that. She wasn’t going to let him sit and stew about this the whole day. Grabbing his arm, she used all of her strength and pulled him up. He went willingly but shoved his hands in his pockets.
    For heaven’s sake. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a scorching kiss. It took some time but Jeremy finally responded, slipping his tongue between her lips and sliding it along her own.
    He deepened the kiss, making love to her mouth. When he shivered and whimpered, she pulled back a little and what she saw nearly took her breath away. Nathan had stepped up behind Jeremy and was mouthing softly at a spot just below Jer’s ear. “Now that’s hot.”
    She regretted her comment when Jeremy immediately stiffened.
    “Relax,