“Men fix things, angel,” James said. “That’s what we do.”
His grin, half shy and yet sincere made her smile. She knew she didn’t have to explain herself any further than that.
“That’s how your father ended up making the mistake he did. His inborn need to fix the financial situation he found himself in after the death of his wife led him to misjudge an opportunity. Making any decision of importance while in such an emotional state is always a tricky proposition.”
“He has been so different these last few months. He’s been lost without Mom. I imagine being grief-stricken only contributed to his lack of judgment.” Pam sighed. “Thanks for that. I was having trouble dealing with my own emotions. I was angry with him. No, I was furious.” She sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. She smiled at Adam and then at James. “I was furious, but looking at it from a man’s perspective…that’s helped me.”
“You’re welcome. You’re allowed to feel how you feel—even furious with your father. And we do know you’re not asking us to do anything for you. We already know you’re a self-sufficient woman, sweetheart,” Adam said. “We know you didn’t confide in us expecting anything except a sympathetic hearing.”
Adam sat back and looked at James. He had his head tilted to the side as he met his brother’s gaze, and Pam had the sense they were somehow communicating with each other. This was something they had done on occasion since she’d met them. Her brothers had the same tendency, but they were twins. She’d considered it a twin thing, not necessarily a brother thing. But I guess it is a brother thing because Adam is a year older than James and they are definitely on the same wavelength.
James gave an almost imperceptible nod. Adam moved his chair slightly so that he was facing her. Reaching for her hands, he took gentle hold and brought them to his lips. She adjusted herself in her chair so she faced him.
“You may have already figured out, Casanovas, we are not.” He held her gaze. In his eyes she read an apology but also such fierce determination. “We’re not smooth, and neither of us has a silver tongue. I’ve been hesitant to move our relationship to the next level, because there was a conversation we needed to have first, about expectations.
“But we have to leave Baltimore soon, and we know the time for procrastination is done. We’d already planned to have this conversation tonight before you told us about your worries over your father.
“The truth is, Pammy, we don’t want to go home without you. We want you to marry us.”
Pamela blinked. She couldn’t have heard right. “Did you just say us?”
Adam nodded. “James told me he believed you’re drawn to both of us. That you’ve begun to fall for both of us. Is he wrong, sweetheart?”
Heart in her throat, her pulse pounding out a staccato beat, she wished for one moment that the floor would just open up and swallow her. That she wanted both men had been her dirty little secret—she’d thought. Then she looked, really looked, from Adam to James. All she could see on their faces was…hope.
How could she possibly lie to them? “No, he’s not wrong. But how—”
Adam placed a gentle finger on her lips. “Where we come from, it’s not uncommon for two men to share a wife. We have two fathers, ourselves. Another thing that’s common and has been a pillar of our community, our lives, is that family always comes first.”
“I…I’ve always felt that way myself. It’s why I moved home after…” Pamela was having a hard time stringing her thoughts together. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Had she fallen down the rabbit hole? She didn’t think so.
“We know. We both admired the way, when we first met, you made no apologies for having done so. Your worry for your father now just shows us your character. Pamela Jayne Franklin, will you marry us? Marry us, and we’ll help you fix this mess.”
She felt a wisp of unease. She wanted to marry them to be married to them, not for any fixing they could do. They must know that about me, after those glowing words about my character. “I don’t know how that can be done, but yes. Yes, I’ll marry you both.”
“Thank you.” Adam leaned forward and kissed her. The caress was soft, sexy, and over way too soon.
“I’ll kiss you when we’re all three of us alone,” James said. “The ‘how’ is that you’ll be Adam’s legal wife. Right now, his and only his fiancée when we’re out in public. Later, at home, there’ll be a commitment ceremony where we all three will pledge to each other and be recognized by the family as husbands and wife.”
“I want us to marry very soon,” Adam said. “But even though we’re not officially married, we both consider ourselves your husbands now. And as your husbands, it’s our duty and our privilege to take care of you. So, here’s what we propose, to ease your heart over the situation with your father.
“We’ll invest in the farm, and we’ll set it all up through your father’s lawyer.”
“Oh! No, that’s too much money! You haven’t even opened your practices yet!”
Adam’s grin—his satisfied grin—just added to her confusion. That rabbit hole theory was gaining ground in her mind.
James leaned closer across the table. “We do have a practice we share back home. Our father is there now and has been since we came here for extra training. Also, and more to the point, we both have massive trust funds,” he said. “More money than we could ever spend in
