Love Me More

Chapter Four

“I’m going to drag Duncan’s hung-over ass out of bed. You wanna come?”

Melina grinned. “You know he’s hung-over?”

“Hell, yeah.” He shared her smile.

The much-anticipated bachelor party had been last night. It was over. Melina had no idea what had happened, but…it was over.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” she said. “Kylie and I are going to pick up all the table centerpieces and decorations for the wedding. What is it you’re building again?”

“Some storage shed. I don’t know, Duncan bought the thing. Some of the guys are coming to help.”

When they got to Duncan and Kylie’s place, surprisingly, Duncan was out of bed—it was noon, after all—but he did look a little rough around the edges.

“Jimbo and Davester should be here any time,” he told Gavin. “Come help me find my tools.”

The two men disappeared.

“Let’s go out for lunch before we go pick up those things,” Kylie suggested.

“Sure, sounds great.”

They went to a nearby restaurant with an attractive patio, and sat outside. The hiss and drone of traffic provided background noise, along with the jazz music drifting from the speakers. They drank coffee as they waited for the salads they’d ordered.

“What time did Duncan get home?” Melina asked.

Kylie rolled her eyes. “He staggered in around three, I think.”

“Weren’t you…worried about what was going on at the party?”

“No.” Kylie’s brows rose. “What do you think was going on?”

Melina shrugged. “I don’t know, but I can imagine.” She held her coffee cup in two hands.

“It was just a bachelor party. Even if they had girls there…Duncan wouldn’t do anything. I mean…” Kylie hesitated. “Anything serious. I’m sure he was right in there with the rest of them. I wouldn’t expect anything else of him.” She smiled ruefully. “But it’s just…strippers. You know. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Melina nibbled her bottom lip. “I guess.”

Kylie studied her. “It’s not like having an affair, or falling in love with another woman. That’s different, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

Kylie was right. There was a big difference.

“I don’t know why I felt so weird about it,” she told Kylie. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

They chatted about other things, mostly the upcoming wedding, as they ate their salads. Then they went to pick up all the decorations and candles for the centerpieces. A thrill of excitement shimmered through Melina at the thought that in one more week, she and Gavin would be married.

The wedding was a small affair, but Melina had carefully planned every detail. As a department store designer, she was used to setting scenes, and her wedding was going to be perfect—small but sumptuous.

When they got back to Kylie’s place, Kylie said, “I’m really sorry, but I have to go over to my mom’s place. Just for an hour or so. She wants me to look at some things from her attic that she’s getting rid of.”

“Oh, that’s no problem.”

“You can just make yourself at home on the deck. It’s nice and sunny today, get yourself a tan. I’ll be back in a little while.”

That sounded very relaxing, although she might feel guilty just lying around while the guys worked. But it wasn’t like she could help much. A hammer she could manage, but any kind of power tool…forget it.

She helped herself to a Coke from the fridge and went out onto the deck. Dave and Jim had arrived and all four guys were moving pieces of lumber and plywood around the yard. The whine of a power saw cutting through wood split the neighborhood calm. She hoped at least one of them knew what he was doing.

She stretched out on a lounge chair, the sun warm on her bare legs. Good thing she’d worn shorts and a tank top. She closed her eyes and watched colorful patterns dance behind her eyelids in response to the bright sunlight. She sighed. She was so relaxed and at ease now that the stupid stag was over and she didn’t have to worry about it any more.

She became aware that the guys were talking about the party, their voices drifting across the yard.

“…and then she did this amazing thing with her tongue…” Melina frowned and sharpened her ears.

“You dog, you,” she heard Gavin say.

They all laughed.

“I can’t believe you wouldn’t let them give you a blowjob,” Dave said

Melina’s stomach tightened. She resisted the urge to sit up so she could hear better.

“Yeah.” Jim’s voice carried across the yard. “They were both gonna do it at the same time. That woulda been so fucking hot, man.”

“Too bad you’re so whipped already,” Dave said. “And you’re not even married yet.”

“I’m not whipped,” Gavin said mildly. Attaboy. “I just wasn’t interested in a blowjob from two strangers.” A loud hammering noise drowned out his next words, but then she heard, “…one of them was Melina.”

Warmth rose up inside Melina. He’d turned down a blowjob from two women. For her. She was right to trust him.

But she did feel bad that his friends were making him the butt of their jokes. That wasn’t fair. Jim and Dave were single, what did they know about being in love and committed? The jerks. Well, they weren’t total jerks; she liked Jim and Dave. She sighed.

A desire to show Gavin how much she loved and trusted him and appreciated him swelled inside her, and she sat up straight on the lounge chair. She blinked into the sun.

How could she have been so stupid and selfish as to ask him to give up his own bachelor party? Regret gnawed at her insides. They’d fought about it for nothing, because he’d gone and it had been fine

What could she do for him? How could she show him? How could prove to him she trusted him?

Her brain spun in circles for a few minutes. Nothing she thought of was sufficient to make restitution, substantial enough to demonstrate her trust. She lay back, heart thudding painfully. She would never do that again. She would never try to stop him from doing something he wanted to with the guys.

She’d tell him that. Apologize.

She sighed. It wasn’t enough. She needed to show him she trusted him. How could she do that? How would she really feel watching him with another woman?

The idea of the two of them going to a strip club together popped into her head. That could work. She’d find a nice one, high class, and they’d…ugh. The idea was so unappealing. And, it didn’t seem…enough. There must be another way…

She sat up straight. Blinked. Looked at the guys, hammering and sawing, looked at the sliding doors. She got up and slipped through the doors into Kylie and Duncan’s silent house. She glanced at her watch. Kylie wouldn’t be home for half an hour at least. She had time to snoop.

But she didn’t have to snoop very far. She knew where Kylie’s address book probably was…in the desk where her computer sat.

She tiptoed into the den, slid open a drawer and sure enough it was right there. She drew it out, opened it up and flipped through the pages until she found the name and phone number she wanted. Gavin’s ultimate fantasy was about to come true.