“No, we won’t, and no, you won’t. We’ll come to an agreement and make sure everything is taken care of. Everything will work out. Do you trust me?” Janice could be one determined woman when she set her mind on things.
“I trust you with my life,” Fred said.
“What about you?” Millie asked Gary.
“What he said.” Gary turned to Millie. “I don’t deserve you, but I want, very much, to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“That’s what I want, too,” Fred said. “To spend the rest of my life with you. To be a better man with you.” He swallowed his pride and, shaking, cupped Janice’s face. “Will you help me?”
Janice leaned forward and put her lips on his. She tasted like everything sweet and good, and Fred knew he’d gladly be her slave for the rest of his life.
“With great pleasure,” Janice said. “Let’s have dessert and then go home. To our home.”
Fred rested his forehead against hers and didn’t even mind the tears that fell. He now understood another famous quote, this one fairly new. Today really was the first day of the rest of his life.
Chapter Eighteen
“What have you been thinking about, baby?” Adam asked. “You were quiet all the way home.”
The solid click of their front door closing followed by the soft snick of the lock coming from behind her had become one of Pamela’s favorite sounds.
She’d asked James, not very long after they’d arrived in Lusty, if he locked the door to keep them safe. “No,” James had said. “We want it locked to keep family out.” And then he’d given her such a sexy look she’d understood perfectly why they wanted to protect their privacy.
So, yes, she did love that sound. Sometimes she didn’t need any more than that to get her horny.
Pamela took Adam’s hand when he held it out to her. “I remember having a talk with my mom once, when I was about eighteen. I guess you could say I’d lived a sheltered life because there were people and situations I’d never been exposed to in my growing-up years. But when I was eighteen, I went to a party a friend of mine was having. Her cousin Mike, who lived in Boston was there—with his boyfriend. It shocked me. Sure, I knew there were gay people in the world. I’d just never met any. I wasn’t offended or anything like that. I think I was more just curious about their relationship.
“So when I got home from the party, Mom was there, in the kitchen. She said just reading and having some hot chocolate but I knew she’d been waiting up for me. I told her about meeting Mike and his boyfriend, and I asked her what she thought about that—about same-sex romances.” Pamela smiled. “She got this far-off look in her eyes, and she said, ‘the heart loves who and how the heart loves. And there’s really nothing wrong with that.’ Those words have stayed with me ever since. And I think those words actually helped me to say yes to the two of you. Because there was no doubt my heart loved you both.”
Adam kissed her hand, and the three of them began to head upstairs.
“Over the years, here in Lusty,” James said, “we’ve had ménages, both heterosexual and bi-sexual, and couples, both heterosexual and gay.” They’d reached the bedroom, and James came over and gave her a sweet kiss. “You’ll never find any of us doubting the power or the aptness of love. Not even if it involves a pair of heiresses falling for a couple of grifters.”
Pamela grinned. She couldn’t help it. For a moment, back at the New House, she’d thought most of the younger men—her own included—were going to protest. Until Grandmother Chelsea’s sharp look and wise words had them all thinking better of it.
“At first, when I discovered the grandmothers weren’t going to turn over the whereabouts of Thomas and Morris to the authorities, I was really mad. A part of me wanted them to pay for what they’d done to my father. But the more I thought about it, the more I ended up looking at things differently. If not for them, I’m not sure we’d be married yet. And while I can’t deny they’ve broken the law and cheated people, including my dad, out of money, my dad wasn’t blameless in that, and neither were the others. All that kind of took the edge off my anger.
“Then, hearing how Jan had lost her husband, and her sister had remained single to look after their mother until she passed, it made me glad the two women had fallen in love. And I have a feeling that, in the end, we’ll find out that, while those two con men likely won’t be going to jail—primarily for a lack of evidence—there will likely be some restitutions made. Grandmother mentioned redemption and second chances. I just think there’s room here for that.”
“Martin reminded me that not everyone who breaks the law gets caught, and some who do get caught end up not being prosecuted in the end—or the charges get bargained away.” Adam shrugged. “I was very much with Martin’s and Nick’s initial objections about giving those two a pass, especially because Reg had been one of their victims. And I guess I’m a little more rigid in my thinking than some, because I’m not crazy about how things ended up. But I can understand and accept Grandmother Chelsea’s decision. Especially if you’re all right with it.”
“I never expected that Grandmother Chelsea would seek justice on my dad’s behalf in the first place,” Pam said. “Knowing that those two, Thomas and Morris, aren’t going to be conning people anymore, I’m content with that. And who knows? They may go on to contribute greatly to society. Maybe they’ll do
