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Donnie reaches out and squeezes my arm. “I’m not excusing him. That’s why I warned him off. I’m just telling you that I know my brother and he’s just frustrated that he’s one of the last.”
“The last,” I say realizing that I’ve actually managed to be with nine out of the ten McGregor brothers in such a short space of time.
“He doesn’t know that yet. Look, Aaron’s a people pleaser. He’s always been that way. He tries the hardest to make my dad happy and my dad can be a real ass to him. It’s like he sees it as weakness.”
“Your dad’s a real ass,” I say to Donnie. “With all due respect.”
“He can be,” Donnie says. “But he’s my dad and I love him for all his good parts.”
I study the man in front of me, feeling such warmth in my heart for all his good parts, too. He’s forgiving and open, kind and reassuring. He has all the things I never realized were important to me and so much more.
He smiles at me. “Your aura just went a very pretty pink.” My cheeks flush a color that probably matches. “All I’m saying is that you should give Aaron a chance. He’s a good man who sometimes forgets himself. I think you’d be good for him because you won’t stand for his shit. He needs that.”
I shake my head and sigh. “You McGregor’s are just too much for me to take on board.”
“I think you’re doing just fine,” he says with a grin. “Dad was right.”
23
I don’t see my mom that night. I was expecting her to come and find me for a conversation at least, but she doesn’t. After the confrontation with Roderick I’m worried that she’s mad at me. I’m kind of mad at her too for setting me up into this situation in the first place. I get a pretty decent night’s sleep, ignoring a couple of knocks on my door because I was in the bath, trying to soak some sense into myself.
The next morning, Danna is there to pick me up.
Bless her.
I didn’t say much over messenger last night so I think she’s ready to explode with curiosity.
“What the hell,” Danna says when I’ve jumped into her car and slammed the door. “What kind of friend are you, keeping me hanging like that. What happened when I left?”
“You don’t even want to know,” I tell her.
“Oh yes I do,” she says. “Of course I do. What did Roderick mean when he said that you’re rejecting his family? You’ve just moved in. You haven’t told your mom you don’t want her to marry him have you?”
“No,” I say. “Although I am seriously considering asking her what the fuck she sees in him. This is fucking ridiculous. How rude was he? He practically knocked you down and didn’t say sorry. Then he leaves you standing there while he tells me off like a five-year-old.”
Danna puts the car into drive and we’re off. “Yeah, his tone did leave a lot to be desired.”
“I don’t think he’s picked me out as a special case, though,” I say. “He’s hideously rude to his sons as well.”
“Well, I supposed he’s had to get used to keeping them in line. Imagine what it was like raising ten boys. He was probably like an army general just to keep order.”
I didn’t think of that but even if that was the case, he must see that he needs to tone it down now. I mean, we are all adults. All his sons are qualified and working full time. The days of needing to run this house like a military operation are over. But maybe that’s the problem. He’s used to being in charge and now he’s struggling to adapt to his new role in this situation. I suppose all parents stay as positions of authority with their kids but it has to move to adult to adult communication at some point otherwise how will his sons ever have the chance to think for themselves. Family might be everything but sometimes it can be toxic when, instead of helping you to learn to fly, your parents start to try and clip your wings.
“So why does he think you’re rejecting his family? Did something happen this weekend? Is that why you went off with Ford?”
“He was just very rude,” I say. “And I didn’t like it. He made me feel really uncomfortable.”
“After he went to all that trouble to decorate your bedroom like a princess palace?”
I shrug. “Yeah.”
“And I guess he has no idea about what happened with Ford?”
“I don’t know,” I say, although I’m guessing he knows everything because his top spy, Aaron, was at the cabin.
“What about Donnie? You have to tell me about Donnie.”
Do I? And if I do, where does it stop. Do I tell her the whole truth about the crazy plan?
I can’t just sit here like a mute while I decide. Danna is glancing at me, waiting for the gossip. Eventually she gets sick of waiting
“Spill, Laura. That boy knew about your birthmark.”
“Did you ever think that maybe Ford told him about it?”
“Not really,” she says. “And you know why? Because you turned beet-red when you saw that painting. And you ran out of that studio like someone had stuck a red hot poker up your butt.”
I guess my bestie knows me too well. If I value my friendship with Danna, which I do, I can’t lie. She’s my rock, through thick and thin and I’m just going to have to put aside all my fears of judgment and exposure and face the music. To be honest, I need her counsel. This whole situation has me reeling and now mom is in Roderick’s corner, I don’t have anyone else to turn to.
But where to start.
“Roderick wants me to marry all his sons,” I blurt out. Might has well start at the beginning. Danna’s face is a picture, even from the side.
“What?” She turns to look at me, ignoring the road and I wave my hands to tell her to focus.
“That’s what I was angry about. It’s why I went to the cabin with Ford. . .to get away from Roderick’s crazy.”
She shakes her head in disbelief and I see reflected back at me the way I must have looked when I found out about the plan. “What?” she says again, as though she isn’t registering anything I’m saying.
“I wasn’t supposed to find out this early on. I overheard a conversation on Friday when I moved in and...” I hesitate because there is so much to tell her and I’m wondering how best to go about it. “I hurt my leg and Grant kind of rescued me. . .and then one thing led to another and...”
“Grant?” Danna squeaks.
“Yeah. . .and then it all got a bit nasty over breakfast and Ford offered to take me away for the weekend.”
“So you went and one thing led to another?”
“Yeah. . .and Donnie was there and some of the other brothers…”
“Other brothers?”
“And one thing led to another?” Danna’s eyes look like they are about to bulge out of her head.
“Kind off.”
There’s a pause while I recover from discussing one of the most mortifyingly embarrassing things I’ve ever had to admit to, and Danna recovers from hearing more dirt from me than she’s heard since we became friends in total.
“How many, Laura, you lucky bitch?” she asks. The grin that lights up her face is so full of wickedness I burst out laughing. “How many?” she says again.
“Nine,” I say.
“NINE!” Her hands start jittering on the steering wheel, unable to contain her glee at my promiscuity! “NINE!”
“Shhh,” I hiss even though there’s no one around to hear us. We’re still on route to campus so at least I can be sure there’s no rogue ears catching this.
“Oh. My. . .at the same time?”
“NO!” I scoff, although I have no idea why I’m being so self-righteous. The multiples are still pretty mind-blowing. I put my hand up to stop any further exclamations. “I know. It’s completely crazy and totally out of character for me. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
“Nine McGregor brothers, that’s what,” she laughs. “How the fuck did you find time to do nine?” I don’t say anything and she punches me in the shoulder. “Spill, Laura. Before I stop this car and extract it all by for
ce.”
I grip the handle on the inside of the door needing something to stabilize me while I confess the next bit.
“Ford, Grant and Antony I did one-on-one,” I say. “But the others…”
“You had a threesome?” she squeals. “I’m so fucking jealous. You know how much I’ve wanted to do that.”
“I do?” I gasp. I’m pretty sure that this isn’t a conversation we have ever had out loud. If we had, I never would have been so cautious about telling Danna all my antics.
“Well, you know I love reading those reverse harem books.”
“Reading books and having sex with more than one guys are really two completely different things,” I say. “One is indulging in a little fantasy without risk, the other is. . .well a whole lot riskier.”
“And a whole lot more enjoyable,” she laughs.
“Yeah. It definitely had its moments.”
“So what the fuck?” Danna says. “You’re just working your way around these brothers testing to see if you like them.”
“I didn’t start out that way,” I tell her. “When I overheard what they were thinking, I was shocked and disgusted. I couldn’t believe that my mom would go along with something like this.”
“I know. It’s so weird. I could understand if Roderick wanted his sons to have more than one wife but getting them to share one seems a little stingy. I mean, how on earth will you be able to satisfy all those men. . .no disrespect.”
We both burst out laughing.
“I don’t know. It’s what I’ve been thinking, too. In between the bursts of ‘this is crazy’ and ‘I need to get out of this house before I corrupt my mortal soul’.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” Danna laughs.
“Why not?”
“Well, there was plenty of polygamy in the bible.”
“Old testament,” I say. “And always one man with multiple wives.”
She waves her hand as though what I’m saying doesn’t hold any weight. “Anyway, Roderick is talking marriage.”
“Well, that wouldn’t even be legal, would it?”
“I guess not in the official sense but maybe he has an idea of a kind of binding contract.”
“I didn’t even think about that,” I say. “It’s all way too crazy.”
“Yeah. So crazy you’re almost done working your way through them!” I give Danna the side eye and she laughs. “Who’s the poor bastard you haven’t slept with?”
“Aaron,” I say. “He’s a bit too much like his dad for my liking.”
Danna rolls her eyes. “Well, you must be seriously considering Roderick’s plan otherwise what the hell are you doing?”
I shake my head and sigh. “I don’t know. With Grant it was pure attraction. He was so kind to me and he wasn’t up for going along with what his dad wanted. . .and he’s so frickin’ gorgeous.”
“They all are!”
“I know. That’s kind of my problem.”
“So Grant isn’t going along with this.”
I shake my head. “At least, that’s what he said.”
“Could have just been talk to get into your panties,” she laughs. “Guys will say anything.”
I stare out of the window, wondering if she’s right. I don’t think she is. Grant definitely didn’t seem like the type to lie and when we chilled out with him in the den, he just seemed withdrawn. “I don’t think so, Danna.”
“You sound disappointed. Nine potential men not enough for you?”
“it’s not that. It’s. . .well. . .I don’t know. I like him, and I think it was a ‘be with him and not the rest kind of arrangement’. I don’t think he’ll be interested now.”
“Do you think he’s angry at what you’ve done with the other eight?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “To be honest he could just be thinking that I’m full of shit. I said all this stuff and then I’ve gone and done completely the opposite.”
“Maybe, but you won’t know until you speak to him will you?”
“I guess.”
We’re turning into campus now and I don’t want to carry on this conversation anymore. My heart feels heavy thinking that Grant might be disappointed in me.
“What are you planning, hon?” Danna asks me gently. “It’s not gonna get any less crazy if you stay living there, is it? You seem to have gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle.”
“I have,” I say. “On Saturday, I was going to call you and ask if I could crash at yours but I didn’t know how to explain what was going on and then Ford gave me a way out.”
Danna pulls the car into the lot and parks up. She turns to me and puts her arm around me. “I wish you had, Laura. You know my parents would welcome you with open arms. I think Ford’s way out turned more into a ‘shove back in’.”
I nod because she’s right. I’m now right smack bag in the middle of this thing and it seems to have a life of its own. I think back to how I felt on when I heard about the plan, before any of these infuriatingly amazing McGregor brothers had had a chance to get under my skin and between my legs. Getting out of their house was my top priority. It was my first instinct. Maybe it still should be. Staying there isn’t going to give me any perspective. I’m only going to spend more time with these boys and they are going to worm their way into my mind and my heart. I’m going to end up with no choice at all and that isn’t good.
If I give myself some distance. If I let myself get clear on how I’m feeling and more in touch with reality, then I’ll be able to trust whatever decision I might make.
“You’re seriously thinking about walking away from all this?” she asks, sounding surprised.
I nod, and she pulls away, patting my arm. “You heard Roderick. The way he talks to me is awful. The way he’s bullying his sons into this ridiculous situation is terrible. Although most of them seem really keen to go along with the plan, I’m never going to know if they really would have wanted this if they had a choice. I need to know that they are following their own free will rather than being pushed around by their megalomaniac father. I need to know that they’ll choose me despite what they will inherit as a result. Things have gotten too crazy and I’m not happy that this is the right thing for any of us. I really like boys that I’ve met and had a chance to spend time with but…”
“. . .you think this is all too out there for you?”
“Exactly. I feel like I’ve been pulled into a parallel universe.” I run my hands over my face, feeling so unsure. “What would you do?” I ask her.
“Fuck them all,” Danna says with a leering grin. “I mean, you’ve seen them, haven’t you? You’ve practically achieved the unachievable!”
We both laugh but when that laughter subsides, I ask her the same question again. “Seriously, Danna.”
“I think the very fact that you are asking me that question should tell you that you have more reservations about all of this that you should be feeling.”
“You’re right,” I say.
“It happens,” she laughs.
“So, I guess I’m gonna need to get some things,” I say even as my heart starts to feel blue.
“Yep and I’ll drive you to safety in my beaten up Toyota for a life of dreary work and marriage to one mediocre dude.”
“You’re not exactly selling it, Danna,” I laugh.
“There might be some chocolate cheesecake thrown into the bargain. My mom was busy making one last night.”
I force a tight smile because Danna’s mom makes the best desserts. “Well, that seals it,” I say even as I feel like I want to cry. “Now all I’ve got to do is get through today and find a way to leave with my head held high.”
But in my mind all I can think is that walking away might be the biggest mistake I ever make.
24
I make it through my two morning lectures, spending more time thinking about the McGregor brothers than what the lecturers are actually talking about. A complete waste of my time.
This
is not good.
I value my education and I don’t need anything or anyone coming along to mess things up for me.
After the second lecture, Danna and I gather up our things so that we can head to the coffee shop. I need caffeine and Danna’s stomach has been rumbling for over thirty-minutes because she missed breakfast.
“God, that was dry,” Danna says. “I mean, seriously, can they not find someone to teach us who has some life and enthusiasm.”
“I know,” I say. “That last half hour was awful.”
“You looked pretty engrossed,” she said.
I shake my head, throwing my bag onto my shoulder. “My mind was elsewhere.”
Danna laughs. “I bet it was. My mind would have been there too if I’d had the week that you’ve had.”
I’m blushing as we leave the lecture room, stepping into a hallway that’s so busy we are almost pulled over by the throng of students. It’s crazy how busy this building gets. We all spill outside and I wait for Danna who’s a little behind me. As she emerges, I see another student pointing in my direction and laughing. His friends all look over and laugh, too. I turn around to see if there is someone standing behind me but there isn’t.
Ugh. I hate this kind of thing. I don’t know what age you have to get to in life when people can just get passed the ridiculous immaturity and just focus on their own shit.
“What is it?” Danna asks, seeing my odd expression.
“Those idiots over there just pointed and laughed at me.”
“Ah, just ignore them,” she says. “One of them probably likes you and they are just taking the mickey out of him. You know how lame guys can be.”
We begin walking in the direction of the coffee shop and out of the corner of my eye I see someone else looking in my direction and then laughing with their friend. I shake my head, feeling like I’m developing some kind of weird paranoia. Then Connor steps in front of us, blocking our way.
“Fuck off, Connor,” Danna barks at him. Theirs is definitely a hate/hate relationship, although today I’m wondering if Connor might actually like Danna. Donnie and his strange ideas about men with crushes.