Taking a Gamble on Three of a Kind (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Kalissa Alexander Page B

charge.”
    “Did she? I think the house is fine. But regardless, we don’t do freebies.”
    “Hell, we’re practically family,” he said, taking a step closer. “Families help each other.”
    “Well, we’re not family…yet,” she added, not wanting to sound too severe. “So, let’s keep it business for now.”
    “I’ve got a few beers in the frig,” Justin said, taking a step back.
    “I’ll have one,” Luke said from behind them.
    “Me, too,” Adam said going to the small frig to help himself. He pulled out four bottles. “One for you, too, Jenny?” he asked, looking her way.
    “Sure.”
    They wandered back into the living room and sat down. She found herself between Luke and Adam. Justin sat in the chair across from them.
    “What are your plans now that you’re staying home, Jenny?” Luke asked, reaching for her bottle and twisting off the cap.
    “Thanks,” she said before she took a sip. “Get a job and make some money.”
    “Doing what?” You said something about helping out your mother? I thought maybe you were going into the real estate business with her?”
    She wished Luke would stop with the questions. She should have just gone home and put an end to the evening. Now she had all three of them staring at her like she had three heads. None of them, including their father, liked the idea that she wasn’t going back to school. She had a feeling they suspected something was going on that neither she nor her mother was telling them.
    “Look, I know you all think it’s a mistake that I’m not going back to school. Why you care, I have no idea. But for the record, I’m not going back because I don’t want to. Sometimes you need a break and the comment about my mom needing help…well, she’s my mom, and I’ve been away from her too long as Adam pointed out to me the other night. And to be honest, she’s still not over my dad’s death.”
    “It’s been awhile, and from what I’ve seen,” Adam said, reaching for Jenny’s hand, “she seems to be coping with it okay, and I think my Dad’s helped. I know she’s helped him.”
    “That’s nice,” Jenny said, knowing she was treading on dangerous ground. “But things aren’t always what they seem. You’ll just have to trust me on that one.”
    “Are you against her marrying our father?” Adam asked, still holding her hand.
    “I don’t think she’s ready to marry anyone.”
    Justin leaned closer to them. “And what about you, Jenny, are you seeing anyone?”
    Although she was happy to take the conversation in another direction, she wasn’t about to discuss her sex life with them. “No. I’m not seeing anyone.” She wasn’t lying. She hadn’t been seeing anyone steady since she had broken up with Michael before the end of the previous semester.
    He smiled. “I’m glad. Although if you were, it might be easier for you to let your mother go.”
    “He’s right,” Adam said.
    She realized Adam was still holding her hand. She slipped it out from his. “One has nothing to do with the other. I’ve never been jealous of your father. That is what you’re implying, right?” She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She took a gulp of her beer.
    “If the shoe fits…” Luke said.
    “This conversation is over. You have got to stop interrogating me. I’m tired of it.”
    “If I thought you were telling the truth, I would,” Luke said, putting his beer bottle down on the floor next to the sofa. He turned to her. “What’s going on, Jenny? Something doesn’t feel right here.”
    “Oh, so now you’re into feelings, is that it? You don’t know me. I’m just a kid you knew when we growing up and we weren’t friends, and the fact is we’re not friends now. The only reason we’re here talking is because my mother and your father wanted their alone time. Well, they’ve had it, and now I’m going home.”
    She got up quickly, too quickly, as her foot snagged Luke’s beer bottle and the remaining contents