Chapter 26

Paul sat on the side of the bed watching Leah sleep; he'd never seen anything or anyone more beautiful. The emotions she stirred in him were foreign and overpowering, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Unfortunately at the moment the strongest emotion he was feeling was regret. Not because he regretted any part of their relationship, last night included, but because he needed to wake her up and he knew she was exhausted.

When he woke up he had been a little disorientated. He couldn't distinguish his dreams from reality and it scared the hell out of him. Was last night a dream? If it wasn't, how badly did he fuck up things with Jake and Leah? His fears of the latter were quickly put to rest when his best friend walked out of the bathroom freshly showered and smiling.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?" He asked walking to the wardrobe and pulling on a pair of jeans. Neither one of them had a problem seeing the other naked, but it wasn't something they wanted to be when having a serious conversation. Paul sat up against the headboard making room for Jake to sit at the foot of the bed and pulled the sheet over his lap.

"Talk to me." Jake said sitting down.

"I'm…I'm a little confused. I'm not sure what was real and what wasn't." He admitted casting a nervous glance at Leah.

"I can see how you would feel that way. It was real, all of it." He gave him another encouraging smile. "How does that make you feel? Knowing it was real?"

"I don't know. I'm not going to lie I'm embarrassed, but I also feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I hate that I broke down and you both saw me like that, but at the same time I wouldn't change it. Being with her like that, it…it was…" He struggled to put the experience into words.

"You don't need to explain. I get it."

"I can't believe that's what I've been missing all this time. All these years—"

"No." Jake interrupted getting upset. He wasn't going to let Paul lump Leah in the same pot as a bunch of money hungry whores. "Not all these years, the last few months sure, but not all these years. I promise you Leah's special. It's only like that with her." Paul shook his head.

"No, you're not understanding what I'm trying to say. I wasn't talking about making love with Leah. That was beyond incredible, but I couldn't do that with anyone else. I wouldn't even try. I'm talking about finally feeling like I'm allowed to be happy. It's…liberating. For as long as I can remember I've tried so hard to validate my existence. I worked my ass off to justify the good things in my life because I never felt like I deserved them. To be honest I'm still not sure I deserve her, but there's no way in hell I'm letting her go."

"Good, because neither am I. I'm proud of you. Last night you jumped a major hurdle. I know it couldn't have been easy."

"It was a lot easier than you'd think." Paul's grin had Jake laughing. "I'm still going to be a little gun shy, but I know she'll help me through it. The more I do it the easier it will become."

"Planning on doing it a lot are you?" Jake teased. Poor Leah, she had no idea what she was in for.

Paul hadn't stopped to consider how Jake might feel; maybe he wouldn't want to be left out. "If that's ok with you?"

"As long as I'm allowed the same courtesy I have no problem with it. Do you think you can handle that now?" Paul let the image run through his mind and for the first time in months he didn't feel jealousy, just anticipation.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I can. But—"

"But what?" Jake prodded when he stopped talking.

"I don't want us to stop the threesome thing. As much as I love being with her alone I still need the threesomes and want them."

"You and me both and I don't think Leah would let us give them up. We're still a happy little trio. That's never going to change. If anything spending time with her separately will only strengthen our bonds with her like our date nights. I think since it's new you're going to be a little overzealous at first, but eventually it will all even out. Hell, who am I to talk, it's still new to me too. We might have to make a schedule so we don't kill her." Paul grimaced. Jake had a point.

"True. How did she take everything?" He hated the thought of her feeling sorry for him.

"Hard. At first she thought she hurt you or did something wrong. I explained it the best I could. She was also upset that I was left out. I swear that girl worries about everyone but herself. It's time to come clean, Paul, until you do she won't fully understand."

"I know. I'm ready and plan to, but not until we get home. I don't want to ruin the rest of our trip." Jake nodded agreeing with him.

That conversation took place a little over an hour ago. He'd put it off as long as possible and now he had to wake her up. Even though he practically begged him not to, Jake went to the hotel café to give them some privacy. He said they needed to have this conversation alone. Paul knew he was right, but that didn't make it any easier or any less terrifying. And he was terrified. What if things changed since she talked to Jake? What if she finally realized it was all just too much?

Swallowing the knot in his throat he leaned forward and started placing tiny kisses on the side of her neck. "Baby Girl, it's time to wake up." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She was warm and soft and he wanted nothing more than to say screw it and crawl back into bed with her.

"Noooo, its time to sleep and cuddle." She whined making him snicker. She really wasn't a morning person.

"Leah, we have to meet everyone downstairs in an hour. If you don't get up now you won't have time to get ready. C'mon, wake up." Untangling her arms he sat up and watched her eyes slowly open. He knew the instant she was awake and cognizant. The sleepy, dreamy look in her eyes immediately disappeared morphing into one of trepidation and worry. She started to lift her hand to touch him, but pulled it back at the last second. Her hesitance to touch him nearly broke his heart.

"Are you ok?" She asked suspicious of his mood. He seemed ok. He was showered and shaved and his eyes were bright and happy. He looked nervous, but he was smiling. She couldn't remember ever seeing him like this and it caught her off guard. She let out a small sigh of relief when he picked up her hand and kissed her palm before placing it gently on his cheek. She closed her eyes and said a small prayer of thanks that he still wanted her to touch him. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't. She knew she had finally pushed him too far.

"Look at me, please." He whispered. When she reluctantly made eye contact he scrambled for the right words to reassure her. "I'm…I promise I've never been better. I'm sorry I scared you last night; that wasn't my intention. Leah, last night…last night was…I don't have the words for how amazing it was. I guess I was a little overwhelmed with everything I was feeling and didn't know how to handle it."

"I thought I hurt you. I know there are things that you haven't told me and I'm not rushing you, but sometimes it makes this so hard for me. I'm always worried I'm going to say or do the wrong thing. I'm not sure what the boundaries are and I don't want to cross some imaginary line that pushes you too far." She explained making him feel even worse.

"I know and I'm sorry. It's time to tell you everything and I will, but not until we get home. We still have a week left and I don't want anything to ruin it." She knew it was a conversation they needed to have at home so she let the subject drop. Looking around the room she started to frown.

"Where's Jake?" she asked still feeling guilty about leaving him out.

"He thought we needed some privacy so he left. I think he went to get you some coffee."

"God bless him." She joked trying to lighten the mood. "What happened between us last night…is…is that something you think you want? Just us sometimes?"

"Yes, very much so. What about you?" She chose her words carefully. She knew despite the powerful persona he projected to the world, that he was still fragile in so many ways. Especially when it came to his feelings and dealing with them. If she even hinted at rejecting him he would close himself off and the conversation would be over.

"It scares me." She started, drawing his attention to her feelings. "It changes everything, sets it off balance. I want that with you and Jake, but I'm scared it will ruin us." She started to talk faster, panicking. "It puts a lot of pressure on me, pressure I'm not sure I'm ready for. How can I split my time between you two equally? How am I supposed to keep both of you happy?" Oh god, she wouldn't be able to, someone was going to get hurt.

"Hey…Hey…Stop." He pulled her up and into his lap forcing her to look up at him. "No ones putting any pressure on you. We just have more options now. We're not giving up being a threesome or having them. We just want to have you alone every once in a while when the opportunity presents itself. We'll balance it out, Leah. I promise. This is something we'll figure out together. Me, you and Jake and we don't have to figure it out today or even tomorrow. We'll let it happen naturally. It's not like I'm ready to jump right in there. It's going to take me some time. Last night was perfect, but I still have a lot to work through and its not going to be easy. I'll still need you to be patient and help me." Laying her head on his shoulder she closed her eyes.

She was quiet as she thought about what he said. They wouldn't push into any making any major changes so she had time to figure it all out. She also knew they would never make her do something that would hurt her or make her uncomfortable. She would try, but the minute she started feeling like it was too much or more than she could handle she would say something and she told him as much.

"I would hope so. We expect you to communicate with us, Leah. That was rule number one from the beginning. Nothing is going to happen without all of us sitting down and discussing it like we normally do and have done with everything else." He could feel the tension leave her body with every word he spoke.

"Okay." She whispered against his chest. She still wasn't completely convinced but she knew they would always put her wants and needs first. "Is Jake all right with all of this?"

"Yes. He is. I was afraid of the same thing before I talked to him this morning. He wouldn't lie. If he had a problem we'd be the first to know. Unlike us he has no problem saying what's on his mind, "

"No…that he doesn't." She smiled thinking about Jake. He really didn't have a filter. "Besides brunch what are our plans for the day?"

"We talked about driving up to Sorrento and along the Amalfi Coast to do some sight seeing and shopping. Sorrento is famous for its inlaid wood products and Limoncello so we figured we'd check it out. Maybe we'll grab dinner. Nothing's set in stone. We're just gonna play it by ear and see where we end up. This is the only day we'll have together. Tomorrow we're leaving for Venice, Jared and Kim are heading to Rome and Embry—on threat of life and limb—is flying CeeCee to Paris. I don't know what he was thinking when he agreed to that shit." She could hear his amusement in his voice.

"He was thinking CeeCee loves shopping and he loves CeeCee." She said with a yawn. Crawling off his lap she started to burrow back under the covers.

"Yeah, I guess that is reason enough. Lord knows there isn't anything I wouldn't give or do to make you happy."

"Anything?" She mumbled, "Perfect. That means I can sleep for five more minutes."

"Oh no you don't." The next thing she knew she was in Paul's arms and on her way to the bathroom. When he set her down to start the shower she let out an overly dramatic sigh.

"So much for anything to make me happy." She said with a little whine. Paul didn't say a word; in fact he didn't pay any attention to her pouting at all. He was too focused on unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing and the bare skin he grazed every time he removed one of the onyx tuxedo studs. The contact was subtle but effective. He didn't know it but he was rapidly stoking her from a latent ember into a roaring flame and all Leah's thoughts of sleeping disappeared. In fact every single part of her was now wide-awake and wanted more. It still amazed her that just a soft caress from this man could get her worked up. She wasn't ready to fly solo, but they could get warmed up for when Jake got back. "You know…you could make it up to me."

"Really? And how would I do that?" He asked sliding the shirt over her shoulders. His warm hands followed the path of the shirt and stopped when they reached her hips letting the shirt continue its path to the floor alone.

She took a step closer rubbing her now naked body against him, smiling when he let out a tortured groan. "Jake should be back soon, we could always kill some time until he can join us." She tried wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, but only managed to crinkle her nose. He started to chuckle, only Leah could turn sexy into adorable.

"As tempting as that is I'm going to have to take a rain check." The smile fell from her face. She was confused and hurt by his rejection, especially after everything they talked about this morning. Disappointment filled her eyes and he rushed to explain his reason for saying no. "It's not that I don't want to, Leah. I'd love nothing more. We just don't have a lot of time right now and I don't want to be rushed. I want to take my time with you and learn everything all over again. Last night was perfect, but it's also kind of a blur. There was so much going on and I was feeling so many things I couldn't focus on the details. I want time to focus on the details, Leah." Her smile returned with his confession. When he put it that way she could understand why he'd want to wait.

"Alright, we'll wait until later. Since you're not going to join me can you do me a favor and grab me something to wear. It would take me forever to decide and I don't need to make us any later than we're already going to be." For some reason he liked the idea of picking out her clothes.

"Of course I can." Giving her a chaste kiss and a swat on the bottom he left her to her shower.

When Jake returned he found Paul standing next to the dresser with his hands full of Leah's underwear. "Do I even want to know?"

"She asked me to find her something to wear. I got distracted." He explained with a sheepish grin.

Setting down Leah's coffee Jake crossed the room and joined Paul by the dresser. "Of course you did and I can totally see how that would happen." Picking up a pair of baby blue lacy boy shorts Jake shook his head. "How is a guy supposed to make an unbiased decision when he has so many appealing choices? You know what I think?" Paul snorted at the lascivious look in Jakes eyes.

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"Of course I am, the problem is they're all beautiful and look sexy as hell on her. I think it would be a crime to pick just one and of course she can't wear them all at the same time. The only solution—don't choose any of them." Paul's eyes matched Jakes when his meaning finally sank in. Jake dropped the underwear he'd been holding and headed to the wardrobe. Pulling out a long sleeved red sweater dress and knee high black boots he held them up. "Now that we have the underwear dilemma solved, I would suggest something like this. It's warm, comfortable, and casual and most importantly it gives us easy access. What's not to love?"

"You, my friend, have exemplary taste in women's clothing."

"A truer statement has never been spoken. Did you know I'm renowned for being a connoisseur of women's fashion? Granted it's always been off the women in question and on the floor, but I'm not opposed to branching out." With a saucy wink Jake headed into the bathroom to give Leah her clothes.

~DC~

Huddling under an umbrella a freezing Bella impatiently waited for the door to open. The minute it did she angrily pushed her way into the warmth of the small apartment.

"Took you long enough." She growled visibly shivering.

"Sorry. I was in the shower." Emily explained. Looking at her for the first time Bella realized she was wearing a robe and had a towel on her head. It didn't matter. She knew to expect her this morning; she should have managed her time better.

"And that's my problem how? I don't have time to stand around in the rain waiting for you to get your shit together. Did you find anything out?" After seeing the mood she was in Emily didn't want to answer that question. Especially since she knew Bella wasn't going to be happy with what she had to tell her.

"Yeah, a little bit. Would you like something to drink? Something hot to help you warm up?" She asked when Bella sat on one of the barstools in the kitchen.

"No. What I'd like is the information I'm paying you for." Bella snapped pissing Emily off. She had planned to break it to her gently, but if she was going to be a bitch then she could just deal with it.

"Fine. She chose them." She said not sugarcoating it. "Her dad gave her an ultimatum just like I said he would and she chose Paul and Jake over her family."

"She did?" Bella was genuinely surprised. From what she'd learned about Leah she was positive she would have done what her father wanted. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Her parents have pretty much disowned her. I tried calling my Aunt, but she's so upset she's not taking any calls. My cousin on the other hand was furious and needed to vent so he was more than happy to talk. Thank god he still confides in me after everything that happened. Leah never told him the details so he still sees me as some helpless victim of Sam's. Anyway…Leah showed up with her little bodyguard and my Uncle welcomed them with his favorite shotgun. She tried talking to them, but they didn't want to hear it. My Uncle slapped her, called her a whore and kicked her out—I would have loved to see that by the way. Seth said they were in North Bend for a couple of days before flying home on one of their fancy planes."

"They? Paul and Jake went with her? Why? And why would they stay there?" Bella asked trying, but failing to understand. Their behavior was so uncharacteristic when it came to this girl. It was making her head spin.

"They went to support her I guess. From what I've seen so far unless they're working they're always together. As for why they stayed?" She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. There isn't shit there. Seth met and hung out with them. To hear him tell it Jake is his new best friend and Paul is some sort of architectural genius. Apparently he's helping him with some college stuff. He couldn't say enough about them. It also didn't hurt that Leah gave him a car for Christmas." Bella snorted. Of course she gave him a car. A car she bought with their money—money that should have been spent on her.

"Were you able to find out where they went?" Bella asked dreading the answer. She had tried in vain to contact Jake after their disastrous lunch date. When her calls and e-mails were continuously ignored she went to their office. Their secretary told her they were away for the holidays and wouldn't be back until early next year. Bella knew she was lying. They never went away for the holidays; they never went anywhere. They were notorious for being workaholics.

"Italy."

"Excuse me?" She couldn't have heard her right.

"They took her to Italy for Christmas. According to my cousin it was a big surprise. She didn't know where they were taking her. They went on some romantic tour of all the major cities and took her to some fancy ballet thing. I'm not sure when they're supposed to be back, but it has to be before school starts back up. St. Michael's classes resume January twelfth." Emily leaned against the counter and watched Bella process everything. She reminded her of an old cartoon, the only thing missing was the smoke coming out of her ears.

Italy? They took her to Italy? Bella was livid. In all the years they were together they never did anything like that for her, they were always too buys working. She was lucky she got little trips away with Jake every once and a while, and those usually were connected with business. What made Leah so special? The differences between her relationship with them and the relationship they shared with Leah were devastatingly apparent—and it hurt. Not that she'd ever admit that to anyone, hell she barely admitted it to herself. Hindsight was absolutely twenty-twenty and she now understood where she went wrong. The key was Paul. She foolishly focused on Jake when she should have been putting all her energy into his brother. Seeing the error of her ways she was determined to correct her mistake. She just needed to get rid of the competition, and unlike past girlfriends Leah was not easily scared or bought off.

"I want to go ahead and move forward with our original plan, but not right away. I want to wait a few weeks. Give them all time to relax and become complacent. I want the next step to totally blindside her." She said smiling and reigning in her anger. Emily was quickly becoming her only friend. It wouldn't do her any good to alienate her, at least not until she was no longer useful.

"I'll take care of it. Now that that's settled are you going to tell me what put you in such a bad mood?" Emily asked feigning interest. They were the most unlikely friends, if you could call them that. Neither truly cared about the other, just what they could do for each other.

"The usual. Edward hasn't been home in over a week." Bella was starting to get worried. They'd both had affairs over the years, but this was the first time Edward had actually developed feelings for someone else. She knew the only thing saving her ass right now was their prenup. She also knew the expiration date was quickly approaching. That was another reason she needed to fix her relationship with Jake and Paul. She was accustomed to living a certain way and would do whatever necessary to make sure she continued to do so. "I called and asked when he was coming home and he told me I didn't need to concern myself with his whereabouts."

"Is he still with her?" Emily had seen the tall, leggy blond Bella's husband was currently seeing. She honestly couldn't blame the guy. His mistress was not only a total knockout but reportedly really nice—the total opposite of his wife.

"I'm pretty sure he is. Which means he's been seeing her for almost a year. He doesn't even try to make excuses anymore. He just leaves."

"Don't you rich people sign contracts or something before you get married that says you're not allowed to cheat?" Emily asked trying to keep the conversation going. She didn't know a lot about these things, but she'd seen stuff on TV.

"Yes, it's called a prenuptial agreement only it's null and void if both of us cheat. I didn't really look into the specifics, but it basically states if I stay married to him for five years I'll get a million dollars, one of the houses and a car. If I file for divorce before the five years I lose everything. If he does he owes me triple that amount. If I cheat I lose that money. If he cheats he has to pay it plus and additional million. We both have proof of infidelity so the only option now is to wait for the five-year mark and file for divorce. I really don't understand how it all works myself; I was stupid and signed it without my own lawyer. I trusted what he told me. I loved him and the possibility of us getting a divorce was the last thing on my mind."

"I can understand that. You don't go into a marriage planning for it to end. I never thought Sam would really leave me, but he did and totally fucked me in the process. He's seriously screwed in the head if he thinks I'm not going to fight him."

"He filed for a divorce? That was fast." A little too fast in Bella's mind, "When did he tell you?"

"When I got home I had a package hand delivered to me at my Mom's. He didn't have the balls to tell me to my face. I couldn't even question him about it; he wasn't there. He finally got a job and moved to Oregon…with my son."

"What was in the package?" Bella knew there was no way he did this on his own. It took a lot of money to make a divorce happen in less than a month. Someone was helping him.

"The divorce paperwork and a protection order. Can you believe that shit? I'm not allowed within a hundred feet of my family. I don't know how he can afford it, but he has some high-class lawyer representing him. I need your help. I don't have the money to fight this and if he has a job he should be paying me child support and alimony."

"Can I see the paperwork?" Emily grabbed the manila folder and handed it to Bella. After a few minutes she started laughing.

"What?" Emily asked getting upset. She didn't think any of this was funny.

"Did you see who was representing your husband?"

"Yeah, but I don't know who that is. Should I?"

"Jonathan Bradford is an attorney with Emerson Call and Rosecrans. Embry Call is the personal attorney and a very close friend of Paul and Jakes. It seems he also got a job with NCFG, also known as Northwestern Corporate Financial Group. Most people just call it CFG for short. It's one of their companies and a rather productive one at that. They gave your husband a very well paying job and hired a lawyer for him. I can't help you. Neither one of us have the money it will take to fight this. At least not yet."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked taking the bait.

"If we get your cousin away from them I can make all of this go away." She proclaimed with confidence. Bella excelled at manipulating people and this was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Emily's drama was her ace in the hole; she couldn't have planned it better if she tried.

"You can?" Emily asked a little skeptical.

"Of course I can. I'm sure Edward's going to file for divorce the first opportunity he gets and that's at least a guaranteed million. The sooner we get Leah away from my boys, the sooner I can get access to their money and them. I can convince them to fire Sam and withdraw his legal assistance. Then you will have the money and all the power."

"And they'll give you access to their money? Just like that?"

"Yes, they will. I had complete access before I let Edward mess everything up. I made a mistake and hurt them. I cheated on them with Edward and this is how they're paying me back. Think about it. What would they want with your cousin? Seriously? She's not rich or beautiful. She has nothing to bring to a relationship like that. They're slumming it to piss me off."

"I'm not so sure bout that, I've been following them remember. It seems like they really care for her." Bella gave Emily a look that made her feel stupid.

"They are brilliant businessmen. Of course they'll convince her it's real. I didn't tell you this because I wasn't sure I could trust you, but I met with Jacob the other day. He called me and we had lunch at a romantic little spot we used to frequent. He apologized and explained the only reason they were with her was to make me jealous enough to come back to them when my divorce was final. The reason they picked her is because she's expendable. A nobody." Emily was starting to buy into Bella's lie and she knew it. She just needed to give her a little more incentive.

"Then why be with her at all? It doesn't make sense."

"It actually makes perfect sense. They couldn't start something with anyone who matters. They have business contracts with most of the affluent families in Seattle, dating someone's daughter would be business suicide. They didn't want anyone who would gain national attention like the supermodels and actresses they've dated. They needed to find someone who would just disappear when all was said and done. To be blunt she's nothing but a cheap piece of ass."

"I don't know. It all seems a little far-fetched. How am I supposed to go along with this without a guarantee? What's in it for me?" Bella had been expecting this. If Emily was anything she was predictable. Opening her purse she pulled out a check for fifty thousand dollars and handed it to her with a cruel smile.

"This…and the added bonus of knowing you destroyed the life of the one person you hate the most in this world." Emily's eyes lit up when she saw the amount and her smile rivaled Bella's.

"I guess the only question now is what do you want me to do." Emily said sticking the check in her robe pocket. Bella refrained from rolling her eyes; the only thing more predictable than Emily's greed was her jealousy.

"I heard from my special contact and he got me the information we wanted. I need you to make sure everything goes where it needs to. I also have a friend who works for the Seattle Times. She said she would be more than happy to write the article for us for a small retainer. I told her to wait. I'd rather get rid of Leah before we make their break up public. The final nail in her coffin will be the story she gives the press about their relationship. Once that happens they will destroy her themselves. The one thing they demand is privacy. They have all their little playthings sign contracts before dating them and it is totally indisputable in court. When she breaches her contract she will lose everything."

"They make them sign a contract to date them?" Emily would never understand rich people.

"Yup. All of them except me…what does that tell you?" Bella bragged.

That little tidbit sealed the deal for Emily. For the first time in her life Leah was going to see how it felt to have nothing. "It tells me that I better get to work."