Page 4 of Conveniently Theirs (Viva Las… Oh, Sh!t)

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Devin

F rom the look on her beautiful face, I’ve surprised Kendall.

Josh is only slightly less astounded by my statement.

We’d talked about this. What needed to be done to make sure their fake marriage appears as real as possible.

And knowing Keni, she hasn’t packed any kind of clothes that would be appropriate for their ceremony.

One of my goals for this—arrangement—is to help her discover how beautiful she is, how desirable. She’s lived too long in the shadows of her own perceptions of herself, her body image, her intelligence and drive. I need her to see herself through the eyes of someone who loves her. Like Josh does .

Like I do.

It wasn’t long after we got together that a blushing Josh admitted he was in love with Kendall.

I wasn’t surprised, but did shock him when I admitted to finding women attractive as well.

So there we were, a couple of bi guys who eventually came to realize there’s an empty space in our relationship.

One we ached to fill with lush female curves. For him, that has always been Kendall.

Once I met her, it didn’t take long for me to fall as well.

But it never seemed the right time, or the right thing to do, to tell him I share his feelings.

Keeping the attraction and my love hidden isn’t difficult.

When she’s around, I fade into the background, and I’m free to love them both from a distance.

Some might say that’s not healthy. I suppose not.

It will come to light soon enough though.

I won’t be able to keep my emotions under such strict control when she moves in with us.

I don’t know if there will ever be the right time for this discussion.

Even though we’ve talked about the possibility of becoming a throuple with a woman, and Josh dreamed of that woman being Kendall, I’m not sure how welcome I’ll be.

Maybe he’ll want her all to himself after all .

Either situation is complicated. Just like my desires. My love for the two of them. But there won’t be a situation if tomorrow never happens.

Moving back to my chair, I perch on the arm and study the two of them for a long moment then nod as though I’ve made up my mind. Of course, I have the plan already well in hand and I’m ready to initiate the workflow.

God, I hate it when I think like a businessman.

“Yes, shopping. I will not allow you to be married in jeans, sweets.” As she opens her mouth to complain I hold up one finger and continue. “You know I’m right. In order to carry out this deception, we need all the pieces to be in place and realistic. There will be photos.”

“No, not pictures,” she whines and sinks back against the couch cushions. “I hate photos of me.”

Josh leans close and strokes a strand of escaped blond hair behind her ear. My fingers twitch in response. “You always look beautiful,” he says.

“Nuh uh. Pictures always look like me.”

“That’s what I said, darlin’. Beautiful.”

She examines his earnest expression for a long serious moment before grimacing. “Okay, fine. Pictures. Not too many. And only because I know they’ ll serve as proof.” Her gaze slides back to me. “Please don’t make me wear a wedding gown.”

“As much as I’d love to see you in that official attire, sweets, no, no gown.

There’s not enough time. I… umm… I’ve scheduled the ceremony for early evening tomorrow.

You don’t need to know details but suffice it to say there was some under the table dealing to assure that the marriage certificate is real at first glance, but not legal if one were to check out the accuracy of the officiant’s signature. ”

She blinks before her eyes go wide. “We’ll need to get that, too, won’t we. The license, I mean.”

Josh eases closer and wraps his arm around her shoulder. I swallow back the rise of jealousy when she snuggles against him and rests her palm over his heart. I can do this. I will do this. For Josh.

“That’s first on the list in the morning. Then an outfit for you. Josh’s suit will do fine. And rings.”

She takes Josh’s hand and strokes the wide band that matches mine. Clasping my hands, I mimic her movements and caress the satiny platinum ring.

“Josh, do you really want a ring? I won’t allow you to move this one to another finger. We could just get me a plain band. Lots of guys don’t wear wedding rings.”

“No, darlin’, we’re doing this right. Besides, the more outward and physical representations of our love people can see, the more they’ll believe. I’ve been thinking about different possibilities.”

He has? This is new to me and I slide down to sit properly in the chair and lean forward, waiting for him to continue.

“If we had time, I’d suggest finding matching gemstones and have one set into this band.” He glances at me, eyes filled with questions.

I nod. That would be a perfect way for him to keep us both close.

He frees his hand and touches two fingers to his heart before focusing on Keni again.

“But there’s not time for that. Second idea is to try to match your band to this one.

But that doesn’t feel right. You deserve a ring, a look of your own.

So how about this? You pick out whatever wild engagement style ring you can find—we can always replace it later with something better—with a narrow wedding band.

There’s room on my finger for a matching, simple narrow band. ”

“I don’t need an engagement ring.”

“But, sweets, you do,” I interject. “It’s all part of the illusion. Doesn’t have to be diamonds. Under the circumstances though, especially if you go with a plain wedding band, it needs to be showy. ”

“I’m not a showy kind of girl. You know that.”

“Do you trust me?” I ask.

After looking back and forth between Josh’s hope filled face and the calm expression I’m fighting to maintain, she nods slowly. “I do.”

“Good, keep practicing saying that.” I chuckle as a bright pink tints her cheeks. “I’ve done a little ring reconnaissance?—”

Josh frowns. “When did you have time for that?”

“You had business. I had free time. May I continue?”

“Please do, love,” Josh says, earning him a side-eye glance from Keni. We may need to be more aware of our use of endearments around her—and others.

“There are two jewelers who carry enough stock we should be able to find what we want in the appropriate sizes. In the morning we’ll get the license first. Then rings. After lunch, Keni and I will outfit shop.”

“I want to help.”

“Sorry, Josh. I’m going with the old tradition here. You can’t see the bride in her outfit until the ceremony.”

He crosses his arms and glares at me. “Fine.”

Keni sticks her tongue out at him. “Poor baby. Believe me, I’d just as soon not go shopping.” I receive the same gesture. “However, someone won’t let me get out of the unpleasant task.”

“That’s right, sweets. Tomorrow afternoon is all about you. Then a romantic dinner for the two of you before you head to the chapel for the ceremony.”

Confusion draws her brows together and her nose wrinkles in a positively adorable manner. “You’re going to have dinner with us, aren’t you? Be at the ceremony?”

I’ve considered these questions many times and finally decided this is something the two of them need to do alone.

Part of my heart weeps at the thought even though I know it’s for the best. From now on, for the foreseeable future, I need to remain in the background. A silent and invisible third wheel.

I clear the lump from my throat. “You know those photos you’re going to hate?”

She nods and makes a face.

“You’ll need those for public confirmation. It’ll be best if I’m not in the background. Those members of the board who… um… disagree with my relationship with Josh need to see only the two of you together. If I’m not at the ceremony, there’ll be no opportunities for me to be included in any way. ”

“I don’t agree,” Josh says. “But I do understand. We’ll do it your way. Won’t we, Keni?”

“I suppose. It still doesn’t feel right.”

I have to agree. “It doesn’t. However… so, my dears, we have a lot to get done tomorrow.”

Josh and I remain in the living room, silently staring out the tall windows for a long time after Keni goes to bed. There’s so much to say and yet, no words can convey what I’m feeling. Finally Josh rises and holds out his hand to me. “I love you, Devin.”

I stand and pull him into my arms. His body presses against mine, warm and firm in all the right places.

His lips though are soft and his kiss tender.

I whisper my love against his mouth before leading him to our room.

Our lovemaking is slow and passionate, a reverent pledge to each other and to the future.