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“Where are we on the potatoes?” Finn asks, pulling the roast out of the oven.
Elias gives him a scowl. “For the millionth time, they’re already on the table, getting cold.”
“I told you to let me get the meat going first,” Finn shoots back. “If we end up eating cold potatoes, it’ll be on you, buddy.”
“We should’ve gotten one of those heating trays they use at the restaurant,” Kace grumbles as he inches closer to me. I’m almost done slicing the bread for our bountiful table, while he’s busy preparing a garlic sauce for our roast. “It would’ve helped us avoid this senseless drama.”
I laugh lightly. “I’m so hungry right now, I could eat them raw.”
Finn comes back and hugs me from behind, planting a kiss on the back of my neck. It sets me on fire. Instantly. I have a hard time focusing. All I can do is moan softly and giggle as my cheeks burn hot. “Is there anything else you’d like in your salad, Miss Amaya? Avocado? Mandarins? Feta cheese? Mozzarella balls? The eye of a newt? The soul of a demon? A rabbit’s tail?”
“This is starting to sound less like a romantic dinner and more like the beginning of a horror cult classic,” Kace mumbles, half-smiling. “It’s also threatening to kill my appetite.”
“Weakling!” Finn jokes.
“Why don’t you handle the salad, my good man?”
Finn gives me a broad smile. “I’ll handle whatever it is y’all want me to handle, as long as we don’t skimp on dessert.”
“Oh, we’re definitely having dessert,” I reply, eager to whip it out of the fridge as soon as we’re done with the main course. “It’s my first time making an Oreo cheesecake, though, so you three need to be honest but gentle. Don’t crush my hopes of one day becoming a Master Chef contestant.”
Elias stills by the dinner table and raises a playful, black eyebrow at me. “Oh, baby, that’s not the kind of dessert we had in mind.”
“But we’ll eat that, too,” Kace adds.
Great. Now I’m all wet, my panties flooded with liquid desire. Dinner is going to feel much longer than it’s supposed to. Thank heavens they’re all wonderful company. “Good, we’ll have two desserts, then” I quip and bring the breadbasket to the table.
Once we’re seated, Kace turns the music down so we can better hear one another. As expected, we practically inhale our food after a busy day, but I enjoy every second of it, nonetheless.
“We heard from our attorneys,” Kace says at one point. “They’ve advised us to testify against Derrick on the charges of blackmail. They’ve also obtained a restriction on your name in the case. You don’t have to testify as a victim, but you should be a character witness. Derrick’s lawyer is compelled by a gag order. He can’t ask you anything about your relationship with us or your involvement in the events depicted by the photos.”
My stomach churns. The mere thought of testifying fills me with dread, but I know it’s something I have to do if we’re to make sure that the bastard stays behind bars for a long time. I nod slowly as I chew on my meat. “Yeah, I’ll testify if there’s a gag order,” I say. “What about Ramada’s case?”
“You’ll definitely have to testify there. You and Mikey are considered victims,” Kace says.
“Wait, does Mikey have to be there?”
“Absolutely not,” he replies firmly. “Our son will never see a day in court because of those idiots. There’s no reason for the court to hear his testimony, anyway. Derrick doesn’t have any custody rights to begin with. It’s more about confirming the crime of fraud and forgery.”
“How much time is Ramada looking at?” Finn asks, stabbing a roasted potato with his fork.
“I think five to seven years,” Kace replies. “Honestly, the longer, the better.”
Elias shrugs and adds more meat to his plate. “She can rot in prison for all I care. Besides, her reputation is ruined. She’ll still have a comfy situation to go back to when she finishes serving her sentence, considering her family’s money. Aside from the humiliation and discomfort of prison time, Ramada won’t suffer the direst of consequences.”
“That depends,” Finn says. “She’ll be banned from any financial business endeavors. She’ll be a pariah in Silicon Valley, for sure. The best she can hope for is a reality TV show.”
“Yes, glamorizing the criminals,” I sigh deeply.
“As long as she and Derrick stay away from us, I don’t really care,” Kace says. “All that matters is that we’re together. Stronger and better together, in fact.”
It’s heartwarming to find such steady support with my men. My men. I never tire of saying it, of thinking it. My men. Yeah, I got lucky. I almost lost everything, but I still got lucky. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Kace, Finn, and Elias have become the most important people in my life, right up there next to Mikey. They’ve given me the kind of love and peace that I could only dream of in past years.
“Come back to the estate,” Kace says, as we’re about done with the first round of dessert.
For a moment, I’m more inclined to request feedback about this fantastic cheesecake, but the request makes my heart swell in the blink of an eye. “You really want me to come back?”
Elias offers a warm smile. “Of course. We’re not the only ones who miss you. Our clients miss you. You were becoming a staple of the Golden Sequoia Estate. Your yoga sessions were the highlight of the day for a lot of people. You’re a brilliant teacher, Amaya. And we feel like you can grow a lot more and get a lot farther in your career if you come back to work with us.”
